I have been trying to chase up a major sports retailer for an exercise bike purchase that happened about 1/2 a year out of the manufacturer warranty period (which is 1 year). The bike is now faulty (pedals not working). First they sent me to call the technicians (because that is how a repair would be done), and then I was informed that because the bike is out of warranty they would charge a callout fee and of course for any repairs that the bike requires. So I went back and called the store again, and after a few back and forths, there was talk about them emailing manufacturers and seeing what they could do and what not. However after chasing them up for a while and to and fro-ing between another manager and what not, I eventually spoke to the store manager who told me that I was not entitled to anything in this case, even though consumer warranty says:
"Products must be of acceptable quality, that is:
safe, lasting, with no faults
look acceptable
do all the things someone would normally expect them to do.
Acceptable quality takes into account what would normally be expected for the type of product and cost."
http://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees/…
I thought this meant that under normal use, in the average lifetime of the product, the product would have to last and if not, it would be covered under consumer law.
I tried to tell the manager this (that it had been under normal use, and as a result it should still be covered), and they told me they'd just done a course on consumer law and this wasn't covered. That's what the manufacturer warranty covers. They agreed to a compromise which was to pay for the technician callout fee, but not for the repairs.
My family use the bike and they are happy with this compromise after a month or so of chasing up, but I am not. I will accept the compromise on their behalf, but I want to know if I am correct in my interpretation of consumer law, or is this manager correct? and what options (next time) should I try? A complaint to the ACCC? Is that another long drawn out painful process though?
Yada, there are many Whirlpool threads on this and I recommend you look at them. I have no legal qualifications, but I think the compromise you achieved is a good one, given that the labour is the highest costing component of the problem.
Consumer rights is all about "what would a normal person expect from an exercise bike", regardless of the warranty. As a competitive cyclist I know that moving parts wear and we replace pedals routinely. I don't know if sweat, heat or humidity is a factor but I suspect you would have difficulty with this one. However, had the frame cracked or some other major part broken or failed, I myself would have gone through the standard processes or written letter outlining my concerns to the place I bought it from, then to Consumer Affairs and either use them or go to the Small Claims Court.