Need to Get Rid of $4000 Harvey Norman Credit

My parents bought a $4000 fridge (don't ask) which started to leak in the freezer drawer. They went back to Harvey Norman and long story short - the fridge can't be repaired and cannot be replaced as the model is now discontinued.

Now the fridge leak has become more of a minor annoyance and they've decided they will live with it. Unfortunately that model is the only one that fits their fridge cavity dimensions.

They have been given $4000 credit to use only in the AV/IT department at Harvey Norman. However my parents really don't need anything else from there (neither do any of our family members).

If we pushed for a refund, would they take away the fridge? My parents would ultimately prefer to keep the fridge.

How would you get rid of the credit? Is there some way they could sell it eg for $3000 cash? Or use it to buy a new product to then resell on Marketplace for a discount? Which product would you buy if so?

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Comments

  • +18

    You are entitled for refund under ACL - you ahould not have accepted store credit.

    • -5

      But would they take away the fridge? My parents want to keep the fridge.

      • +7

        They would have the right to so you need to weigh up the risk.

        • +23

          They definitely would take it, because they'd return it to whoever the fridge manufacturer is and get a credit back.

          Honestly I'm surprised they gave the $4k gift card, seems like a win to me.

          • +3

            @freefall101: You beat Gerry, and the supplier.
            The supplier obviously deemed this uneconomical to returm or replace. Normally, it would be picked up, inspected, written off, cords cut, and sent to the scrapyard.

      • +2

        The fridge is dieing, its going to stop working sooner or later.

        If they can get a refund and buy something else they should.

        • If this is to die, depending on council, it mat cost money to get rid of unless they put it out the front -free

        • If the fridge is worthless why do parents want to keep it so bad…

      • So your parents get a free fridge? Sounds like a great deal. Buy a new TV or something, if they won't let you use it on furniture.

      • Can't have the cake & eat it…

        HN had every right to take away the fridge when they issued the $4000 credit…let alone a refund in $..

      • +1

        So, you want the refund and keep the faulty product as well??? SMH

    • +5

      Not really, they have decided to keep the fridge as well. Requesting a refund as per ACL would mean Harvey Norman having the right to also take the fridge back as per ACL.

  • +9

    Need to Get Rid of $4000 Harvey Norman Credit

    Give it to me.

  • +2

    Sell it at 10-15% to a friend?

  • +1

    Sounds like the start to ADAGCHS

  • +1

    Get a new 85-inch TV, sell your old one. Or are you allowed to buy phones? They have decent resale value.

    • Good idea, I will find out if phones are allowed. I wouldn't mind upgrading my own phone lol.

  • +7

    If life was this hard , sigh .

  • +4

    If we pushed for a refund, would they take away the fridge? My parents would ultimately prefer to keep the fridge.

    I'm surprised you got a $4k credit without them taking the fridge away!

    Are you sure when you use the credit they won't take the fridge?

    I had a similar thing for a failed washing machine. Was issued a 'store' credit to spend on a new washer etc, the deal was it had to be delivered and they had to take the old one away.

    But yes, pushing for a CASH refund will most likely result in the fridge going as well.

    If you think it is 'free' money, then upgrade your TVs, sell the old ones. buy new phones, sell the old ones. Buy a new washer/dryer, sell the old one. Lots of things you can do.

    • I forgot to mention in the post that the fridge is 4 years old but they had bought Product Care which is HN's extended warranty thing, so maybe that's why they were more generous?

      I need to find out exactly which products we can use the credit on as it's limited to one department. Thank you for your suggestions!

      • +3

        I forgot to mention

        Ok well that changes a lot of things. You got an insurance payout then in the form of a store credit. They won't want the fridge back if they haven't asked for it, as it costs them money to collect/dispose.

        As for getting a cash refund, I doubt you'll get one, as a store credit costs them less than cash.

        I need to find out exactly which products we can use the credit on as it's limited to one department. Thank you for your suggestions!

        Think this would be the best path, lots of things your parents could 'upgrade' and sell if they need to.

      • +1

        Limiting it to a single department (AV/IT vs. appliance orignally purchased from white goods) doesn't pass the 'Pub test' (but nothing surprises me where GH is concerned), so its something I would have pushed back on… It should have been a 'store credit'.

        They probably have the highest margin on goods they sell in the IT/AV department, or they're hoping your parents are in need of some Monster cables!

  • +2

    the fridge leak has become more of a minor annoyance and they've decided they will live with it. Unfortunately that model is the only one that fits their fridge cavity dimensions.

    Isn't that minor annoyance likely to become a big annoyance? And is it just Harvey that didn't have an alternative in those dimensions? Seems unusual that there is nothing else suitable on the market. I'd press for the full refund.

    • +1

      We have an integrated fridge cupboard. It does restrict the size fridge we can have.

      • Apparently their cavity is 3mm less than the "standard" fridge in that size category.

        Yes, when the fridge dies they will likely have to find a carpenter/cabinetmaker to redo their kitchen which will become a massive annoyance. I guess they're trying to put that off as long as possible.

        • We ended up with a smaller fridge and have a freezer in the garage. You need space around the fridge as well to allow air to circulate.

  • Buy a decent brand of fridge to replace this one when it dies.

  • If not for the AV/IT clause you could buy the exact same fridge model and collect another $4000 gift card and repeat until you run out of space in the house.
    You could also build a box kingdom https://adventuretime.fandom.com/wiki/Box_Kingdom

    • AV/IT limiation for something originally purchased from the white goods department, doesn't pass the pub test, so not something I would have accepted.

  • +1

    Maybe they should see if there's an alternate fridge on the market that meets their space and keep that amount to the side (dependent on its expiry) so that if the current one does die they can make the immediate replacement purchase.

    There's a few questions to find out about the credit they've accepted (all of which should have been asked prior to accepting) - expiry, if it can be split over multiple purchases etc

    As for pushing for refund they'd likely not be successful given the alternate option has been offered and accepted already and it is a more than reasonable offer on their end for a 4 year old product.

  • +1

    I'm curious what the fridge does for $4000.

    The problem with buying something to resell is you may be sitting on it for a while, and people generally don't want to pay anywhere near RRP for something even if it's brand new. So $4k on audio equipment might only net you $2k.

    But still, you're up.

  • +2

    Let me guess - it's Samsung? If it is Samsung, contact Samsung directly and push the issue. At the end of last year, Samsung agreed to refund me the purchase price of my fridge (purchased in 2017 from JB Hifi) and let me keep the fridge. Earlier in the year, they agreed to refund it but then said it would need to be returned and then I'd receive a refund in 45 business days, after it had been picked up and delivered back to Samsung. I wasn't happy with this as I'd be without a fridge and asked for a replacement model which they were happy to consider but after 6 months of waiting for stock, they said they had a new policy and would just refund me and let me keep the fridge.

    • Yes it's Samsung, and wow that's good to know. I might try to contact them, thanks!

  • +1

    Also check the expiry, I’ve had store credit that had a limited lifetime, and yeah, sometimes it’s just easier to buy something new and FB marketplace it before it expires

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