Is It Legal for a Company to Offer a Portion of a Refund for a Faulty Product without Box?

jjsu on 11/03/2022 - 08:41

Hi all,

I purchased a pair of earbuds from this deal. They arrived very speedily, and I was happy with them when I received them. They were light, had decent sound quality and the battery life was solid.

However, after using it for a week or two, it has started to develop two significant faults.

1) The volume can seemingly dip up and down without me touching any form of volume controls. I know this is not a fault with my phone, as I also use Sony XM4's without any issue at all with the device too.

2) The connection can drop in and out repeatedly. At first, I thought it was because they had in-ear detection and they weren't positioned properly - but it seems from searching around that they do not have this feature.

I normally keep all my boxes for items, but through sheer lapse in judgement, I chucked it out thinking that I would be happy enough with a sub-$30 set of earbuds that I wouldn't need to return it.

When contacting the seller (xiaomi_global_direct) and sharing my situation, they asked if I would be happy to receive a 70% refund upon the return of the earbuds because "[they] can't sell it again due to a lack of packaging".

Is this legal? Or should I still be receiving a full refund?

P.S. This is not just about the couple dollars I may lose out on. Just would be nice to know for next time, and could help others put in similar situations.

Electrical & Electronics

Comments

  • SF3 on 11/03/2022 - 08:47

    Not sure about a partial refund.

    Could they not sent you another pair as replacement?

    • jjsu on 11/03/2022 - 09:39

      I didn't particularly want a replacement, don't want to run the risk of having the same faults.

      I'll just stick to what I know works for now lol

      • SF3 on 11/03/2022 - 09:42
        +4

        Well, you could get a box/packaging, should you need to refund (again)? :)

        • jrvb42 on 12/03/2022 - 11:50
          +1

          Now thats thinking outside the box.

  • singlemalt72 on 11/03/2022 - 08:53
    +10

    If sold by an Australian business they are subject to Australian consumer law, original packaging is not required. If they are a foreign based business then they can do as they wish in line with their own terms and conditions. As it appears this was an eBay sale then there are the eBay terms and conditions which state;

    "Must be returned with original product packaging: boxes, UPCs, bags or any items used to wrap and protect the item. Must include all items that were included in the original package, such as cords, cables, remote controls, manuals, warranty and rebate cards, free gifts or bonus items."

    • apsilon on 11/03/2022 - 08:58
      +8

      I can't be sure but if it's sold on ebay Aust then I believe it counts as being sold in Australia regardless of where the seller may be located. Ebays T&C also can't over ride Australian consumer law. Of course getting ebay to comply is another matter.

      • Hybroid on 11/03/2022 - 09:52

        It is important to note the ACL does not apply to private sales. This means if you buy something from a private-seller (a person) and not from a business you do not have the protections provided by the ACL.

        Hmm. The 2 questions that remain unclear:

        1) Is a marketplace like eBay considered the seller or the actual shop seller themselves.

        2) If the shop is the seller and they’re not registered in Aus, then is it considered a “private sale” for all intents and purposes.

        No idea, just putting it out there.

        • Hithere on 11/03/2022 - 10:45

          Ebay is considered a selling platform. They are a 'Middleman' and just bring the buyer and seller together (for an exorbitant commission)

          • MrBear on 12/03/2022 - 16:43

            @Hithere: meh. same as the old days when you had to pay to put an advert in the classifieds of the local paper. the local paper was the middleman bringing buyer and seller together

            tell him he's dreaming!

    • Increase1 on 11/03/2022 - 14:33
      +3

      JB Hi-Fi once forced me to give them the box I got with the replacement pair of earphones following return of the faulty set - because I did not have the original packaging. It seems that was not their right - good to know.

      Here's a source for the future:
      Warranties and refunds - a guide for consumers and business

      "a seller may require a consumer to return goods in their original packaging as a condition of claiming a refund under a voluntary warranty. However, a consumer seeking a refund under their statutory rights, and who has met the other requirements listed on p. 8 of this guide, does not need to return the packaging."

  • Quantumcat on 11/03/2022 - 08:57
    +13

    Surely they can't sell them again anyway, who would want to buy used earbuds? And used earbuds that don't work, no less?

    • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/03/2022 - 09:27

      This

    • jjsu on 11/03/2022 - 09:36

      It's possible they could be refurbishing them and reselling them through other channels (as they dont have any refurbished stock listed on their ebay store) - but then again, I've only really seen refurb headphones before, not earbuds.

    • Xistn on 11/03/2022 - 09:43
      +4

      Has earwax fetish, will buy.

      • bdl on 11/03/2022 - 12:42

        tasty

  • bobbified on 11/03/2022 - 08:59
    +2

    1) The volume can seemingly dip up and down without me touching any form of volume controls. I know this is not a fault with my phone,

    I have a pair of galaxy buds pro and it's been doing this for the last few months. Everytime i start with music, it goes up and down repeatedly for the first few seconds. I tried resetting the buds and it still happens. I assumed something was prob wrong with the touch controls when they're in my ear. Until the other day, I connected my phone media audio (instead of just calls) to my car and noticed that it does exactly the same thing. I've concluded it is not the earbuds now and the cause should be the phone itself. Tried installing and uninstalling the music apps, but that hasn't fixed the problem.

    …because "[they] can't sell it again due to a lack of packaging".

    Tell them that they shouldn't be trying to resell faulty earphones anyway! lol

    Is this legal? Or should I still be receiving a full refund?

    They should be refunding fully if you demand it (unless they're based overseas, then it might be hard to enforce the local rules on them) but nothing is stopping you from accepting their offer if you choose to.

    • jjsu on 11/03/2022 - 09:45

      That's interesting to hear. I may try using the buds with another device, but not really hopeful. I've actually used probably a total of three other earbuds/headphones with the same device (S21 Ultra) before and haven't had the same issues happen before.

      I'll probably just look into getting a full refund. Otherwise, losing a couple dollars from a technicality won't be the end of the world.

      • bobbified on 11/03/2022 - 09:59

        I had the Bose Soundsport buds on this phone and didn't have any issues. I use a plantronics voyager 5200 every day for phone calls and that has been fine too. I wonder if there's any specific between the phone an the galaxy buds and my car. If it was just my car, I'd probably blame the car (since bugs in the vehicle software are quite common). Maybe the bluetooth profiles or some setting in my music apps that aren't compatible. I use PowerAmp as my music player.

    • Chandler on 11/03/2022 - 09:57

      Everytime i start with music, it goes up and down repeatedly for the first few seconds

      Volume going up and down could also be an issue with automatic volume levelling (used in some music apps like Spotify).

      • bobbified on 11/03/2022 - 10:00

        I've got spotify on my phone but rarely use it. I use PowerAmp - there's a lot of experimental functions that I haven't touched. It's been okay with the bluetooth devices, so it might be something specific with the buds and my car.

  • JimmyF on 11/03/2022 - 09:08
    +3

    Is this legal? Or should I still be receiving a full refund?

    For Australia no, for overseas companies, they have different rules.

    You got them via ebay australia, so just do a return via ebay for a full refund.

  • Hithere on 11/03/2022 - 09:26
    +3

    Just open an INAD case with eBay, you'll get your money back and keep the faulty earphones which you can bin.

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 11/03/2022 - 09:27
    +3

    and for this reason more or less everything I order now is from Amazon just for the easy returns.

    • jjsu on 11/03/2022 - 09:50

      Yeah I do mostly the same nowadays. In general, their support is so quick and easy to deal with.

      It's just that my inner OzBargainer can't resist deals sometimes lol

    • [Deactivated] on 11/03/2022 - 20:42

      returns are easy on ebay too. just open an "item not as described" case (within 30 days) and ebay will allow you to return, even if the seller disputes it. you can send back a brick for all ebay cares, you'll still get a refund.

  • USER DC on 11/03/2022 - 12:49

    As far as i am aware no it is not okay, as long as you can prove that you made a purchase of that item from that retailer, it is not acceptable to have less refund due to not having original box.

    • andresampras on 11/03/2022 - 13:13

      I'm guessing the grey area is proving the issue is 100% with the earbuds and nothing else.

      Doesn't seem like the seller has done any troubleshooting. So the 70% refund offer is more of a quick fix that saves everyone time and effort.

      For low value items from overseas this isn't uncommon, I personally wouldn't be fussed fighting the seller.

      As others have mentioned, prob easier to ask them for a full refund, and lodge complaint with eBay if they refuse.

  • Seraphin7 on 11/03/2022 - 14:13

    Is this legal? Or should I still be receiving a full refund?

    It is not illegal. As it stands you appear to have a civil (as in the legal definition) dispute. Civil disputes can ultimately be settled in whatever way is agreeable between the parties.

    Should you be receiving a full refund? I would argue yes under the circumstance you have described, but for about eight bucks with some outfits that are know to be somewhat difficult with refunds, I think I'd save my time and cut my losses.

  • BertieBrown on 11/03/2022 - 18:15

    INAL - but, AFAIK it’s not illegal per se to offer it is an option to you. It would be illegal for them to tell you ’you can only have a partial refund because you don’t have the packaging’.

    Ideally yes you would keep the packaging however there are obviously many products that nobody could feasibly keep the packaging for - such as a washing machine, or even an oven (when our oven was delivered it came on a pallet, with a massive card board and timber frame). Again AFAIK Consumer Law doesn’t say ‘for smaller products, you must keep the packaging’. It would just get a bit silly trying to determine what products you must keep packaging for, so I think it’s a blanket ‘if you’ve got the packing great, but it’s not necessary’.

    That’s my understanding anyway.

    You can look up consumer law here for more information -

  • Tee Rex Arms on 11/03/2022 - 18:37
    -1

    Your sub $30 ear buds were absolute trash? What a shocker

  • trapper on 11/03/2022 - 19:12
    +2

    I would not accept anything but 100% refund, they also should pay any return shipping.

  • MontyMacaw on 12/03/2022 - 08:38

    Tell them to get (profanity implied)!

  • dasa on 12/03/2022 - 08:44

    That has happened to me on the last 5 cases of returns from ebay it must be part of the chinese sellers teachings they usually try 50% on the first attempt, then 75% and so on, but stick to your guns and refuse their offers until they agree on 100% refund, and always tell them that you will open a case with ebay if they refuse.

  • OzHunterNSW on 12/03/2022 - 14:24

    contact dep of fair trading

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