Long story short, my Mum's Alcatel seniors phone is broken (voice quality terrible). Rigorously tested to confirm that my me
It was purchased Feb 2nd last year at DSE, with extended warranty for an extra year taken.
What are my rights with returning it? Can I ask for a cash refund, or store credit?
We still have the reciept, but it is faded to about 85%. Still can see faint writing, but we did copy the receipt by hand onto a bit of paper.
Thanks
Why copy by hand? It could lead them question how legit the receipt it. Take a photo of it or scan/photocopy it.
I don't know JLove, things the elderly do..
ACL is a headline without a story. It is too vague and difficult to enforce.
The retailers that do abide by it do so out of courtesy rather than the fear of the consequences.
The only way you can force a retailer to honour the law is to take them to a tribunal hearing where an enforceable order can be issued.
You have to pay a fee for this and no outcome is guaranteed.
Prior to doing that some retailers will just ignore you. Happened to me.
The law requires interpretation, which is likely the reason that some people find it confusing or vague. In many areas of law, this requires someone to hire a lawyer and pay them to interpret the law and provide advice. We are lucky to live in a country where the government provides this service free of charge via the public service (e.g. the relevant state departments provide you with experienced advice).
Insinuating that the Australian Consumer Law is a toothless tiger (based on your one negative experience) is simply ignorant. My mate once had $15 cash stolen from him by someone on a public footpath. He called the police and they could not make an arrest, as it was one person's word against another. This one experience would not lead him advertise not to call the police.
It is a shame that sometimes justice is expensive (time and money) but that's life. In any case, I would imagine that being contacted by a state government department would be enough to frighten most retailers into legal compliance. If not, at least you have the option to take it further.
ozzybee is very spirited but ultimately wrong.
Major failures would be treated as above(his first post) - your situation would most likely be treated as a minor failure especially since it has exceeded a year since purchase. - leading to a repair, replacement, or refund at the retailer's/manufacturer's discretion under the ACL.
You will need your original receipt, retailers are under no obligation to accept a bank statement, but many will.
The purchaser is under no obligation to provide an original receipt. Proof of purchas is all that is required.
how does one provide proof without an original receipt… bank statements, photocopied receipts, store labels are all here-say. I'm not saying that some stores wont accept that many will. But their is not obligation for them to.
Remember to go in nicely and in a friendly tone. Don't go in demanding this and that like you're their boss.
Sure!
Always the best way to deal with an issue.
if you are claiming under the extended warranty, then you need to contact the appropriate company (read your contract). if it is within the manufacturer's warranty period, see dse.
they can probably also provide you with a copy of the receipt on request, especially since its a phone purchase.
Just to keep you up to date,
Went into dse, saw guy (let's call him Broden). Broden was a reall $mart&ss, and thought he knew everything.
He stated because I got the phone 1.1 years ago, the ACL wouldn't cover it. He got real bitchy about it, and started tantalising me. I grabbed my stuff and walked out.
I went in nice, but what a D!CK he was
Sorry I didn't see it earlier.
You shouldn't have backed down. ACL also covers that products be warranted for the expected lifetime for the product. I've had things replaced out of warranty because it failed before its expected lifetime, say my HDD on my 1.5 year old laptop. Similarly, the expected lifetime of a phone is definitely more than a year.
Just so you know… you got an extended warranty which entitles you to a 'replacement' or a gift card (store credit). So just call the number and they will send you out a new one or a gift card. Easy.
https://www.dicksmith.com.au/our-services/dick-smith-extende…
You can go in store and they will most likely send it away to be 'assessed and repaired' which could take up to 4 weeks.
Under ACL I doubt you would get a refund - and with a retailer you would have to twist their arm pretty hard for that anyway.
Thanks, I ended up just doing the extended warranty and getting a dse gift card which I'll spend on prepaid recharges which I'll have to buy anyway. Cheers everyone else for your input :)
Never purchase extended warranty. It is a waste of your hard earned. Goods and services have to be of a reasonable quality under the Australian Consumer Law. The Australian Consumer Law covers goods and services sold in Australia. Click your state on the following link, then click through to the website (and have a good browse around) for more info: http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/content/Content.aspx?doc=consu…
If the phone is broken, you are likely entitled to a refund or replacement (e.g. if you didn't drop it / break it yourself). You do not have to accept store credit if you don't want it. Just bring the receipt or other proof of purchase (e.g. from bank or credit card statement) back to the store and ask for a refund or replacement. If they refuse to refund or replace the item (I think you're entitled to choose which - but you can check this by calling the relevant state department which administers the Australian Consumer Law), then call the relevant state department (from the link above) and they will advise you of your rights and how to proceed.