How Is Warranty Affected Now That Dick Smith Is 'closing down'?

LBoomeraang on 28/02/2016 - 01:13
Last edited 28/02/2016 - 06:25

Hi,

Since Dick Smith has officially announced their plan to close down all of their stores, can someone tell me how product warranties are affected? I purchased a TV during their huge sale in December, and it stopped working.

I purchased 2 years of extended warranty on top of the 1 year of manufacture's warranty that came with the product. When I brought it back to them and explained my situation, the staff told me that there was nothing they could do other than offer a refund (even though it still has almost a year of manufacture's warranty)! Given how cheap I purchased the TV, I don't WANT a refund and only want them to send my TV back to the manufacturer. I then called the manufacturer who told me that they could organise a pickup but only through Dick Smith, which wouldn't work as Dick Smith have refused to do it. This is ridiculous!

Can someone advise me on what my options are? Is a refund inevitable? What happens with our warranties (both manufacturer's and extended) now that Dick Smith is 'closing down'? Who do we go through/talk to if there's a problem (e.g. faulty products)? Would a replacement TV (a similarly specc'ed TV) be a possible option?

If anyone's in a similar situation, please let me know what you did to resolve it.

Thanks in advance!

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Comments

  • mweston on 28/02/2016 - 01:50
    +2

    If the manufacturer is unwilling to help you directly, I'd take the refund whilst you still can. The store manager probably has no power to overrule the refund-only policy. I know it's hard to swallow, especially if you got a good bargain.
    Other than endlessly hassling the manufacturer now, I guess the other option would be to wait until Dick Smith do close down. The manufacturer would then be obliged to help you directly under the ACL. That's a risky gamble though, the manufacturer may play games with you by then, which is a waste of your time. Always put a $ value on your own time when going through ordeals like this. You might end up having to wait until the extended warranty begins, which is usually handled by the provider of the warranty (usually a 3rd party, not DS or the manufacturer). NOTE: see update re: warranty

    Info regarding extended warranties & returns is here in the customer FAQ which was written by the administrators in Jan: http://dicksmithholdings.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/D…

    "I purchased a product on or before 4 January 2016 and it is faulty / no longer working,
    what happens now?
    For branded products, please contact the manufacturer directly.
    For Dick Smith branded products, you are an unsecured creditor of DSE. [continued…]"

    "I purchased a product on or after 5 January 2016 and it is faulty / no longer working,
    what happens now?
    DSE’s existing returns policy is continuing. Please refer to the DSE Returns Policy located on
    the Dick Smith website for further information."

    "When I purchased my product, I also purchased an extended warranty, what happens
    now if I need to make a claim?     (key dates/terms highlighted by me)

    For extended warranty purchased prior to 1 October 2015 we understand (are they sure or what?!) that this cover
    remains valid. Please refer to the Extended Warranty brochure, provided at the time of
    purchase, for details regarding your rights available under the Extended Warranty.
    For extended warranty purchased during the period 1 October 2015 to 4 January 2016, this
    cover is currently under consideration by the external provider and is expected to be resolved
    shortly.

    For extended warranty purchased on or after 5 January 2016, this cover remains valid.
    Please refer to the Extended Warranty brochure, provided at the time of purchase, for details
    regarding your rights available under the Extended Warranty."

    A little bit of a mess I say. The extended warranty provider does seem to be external, maybe have a read of the brochure if you were given one? It looks like DS was on an account with the extended warranty provider between Oct 1 and Jan 4 and is in debt with them.

    Update: just realised you purchased in December. I'd definitely take the refund if you have the option. Who knows if your extended warranty will be honoured in the future if something goes wrong again…

    • mweston on 28/02/2016 - 08:22

      Amendment: contrary to what I said, the manufacturer is not obliged to help you directly. Please see the comment by Settero below. That strengthens the argument for taking the refund now. You're lucky they're offering a refund, because the FAQ says otherwise for purchases on/before Jan 4.

  • Randxyz123 on 28/02/2016 - 01:54

    As per the FAQs on Dick Smith's website. The policies could change as the answers were written in Jan while Dick Smith were still "trading as normal"

    The manufacturer warranty you'll have to take that up with the manufacturer. Perhaps send them a email asking if someone can come and have a look at the TV. Otherwise contact the receivers by email (on that PDF) and see if they can help you out by organising a pick-up or authorising the pick-up from your house?

    Kinda sounds like the manufacturer is trying to out of their warranty obligations because you bought from Dick Smith…

    You could also look online and see if you can find the TV you bought in stock. If so you could possibly get a replacement.

    The extended warranties are normally through a third party so extended warranties should be ok. This is answered in the FAQ page as well.

    • Settero on 28/02/2016 - 04:47

      Approaching the retailer or manufacturer
      The retailer who sold you the product or service cannot refuse to help you by sending you to the manufacturer or importer. You can approach the manufacturer or importer directly, however, you will only be entitled to recover costs from them, which include an amount for reduction in the product’s value and in some cases compensation for damages or loss. You cannot demand a repair, replacement or refund from the manufacturer.

      https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees…

      • Jackson on 28/02/2016 - 08:38

        Ok however one thing to consider is that at full price a manufacturer will never want to cover the costs, they will repair or replace the TV almost certainly. However at the price the OP paid (which we still don't know, we just know it's cheap in his opinion) they may choose that it's cheaper than sending a repair person.

        OP could you let us know ow the brand, model, and price? We could probably help you a lot better with this info.

        If they do give him a refund but don't ask for the TV back then he could take the refund from DS and still follow it up with the manufacturer, if your conscience let's you.

  • Jackson on 28/02/2016 - 08:31
    +1

    I purchased a Panasonic from DS and it was sold as a display model. I got home and after realising a major problem that wasn't disclosed (tuner issue, couldnt watch TV!) DS didn't want a bar of it. Following that Panasonic wanted me to return it to DS, but after a few phone calls they agreed to send their warranty agent to assess it and he fixed it.

    You should let us know you brand and model, as all manufacturers have different situations and different stances towards dealing with warranty issues.

    • Boomeraang on 28/02/2016 - 21:33

      It's a Palsonic TV. Not sure of the model.

      • Jackson on 28/02/2016 - 23:48

        The only other significant piece of information left is how much you paid? We could then consider the issue you are having and how much it might cost to fix and work out of the company would like to fix it or not

      • Olokun on 29/02/2016 - 06:12
        +1

        Just call Palsonic and quote them their own warranty policy.

        Any product that fails outside of the 14 day period but within the warranty period will be returned to Palsonic for repair or exchange. Either your store or the customer can contact Palsonic on 1300 657 888 and we will organise collection and re-delivery of the product.

        • Boomeraang on 29/02/2016 - 13:56

          Awesome! I don't know why they insisted that it had to go through Dick Smith! I think knick007 was right. They're trying to out of their warranty obligations.

          Thanks for the help. I'll let you know their response.

  • Olokun on 28/02/2016 - 08:39

    "I purchased a product on or before 4 January 2016 and it is faulty / no longer working,
    what happens now?
    For branded products, please contact the manufacturer directly.
    For Dick Smith branded products, you are an unsecured creditor of DSE. [continued…]"

    This. As you purchased the TV before 4th Jan you will need to approach the manufacturer. What brand TV is it, as I am surprised by the response you received unless it was a home brand.

    The retailer who sold you the product or service cannot refuse to help you by sending you to the manufacturer or importer.

    This won't apply to you as the retailer you purchased from no longer existed as of 4th Jan.

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