Harvey Norman Refusing to Replace or Refund without Sending Back to Manufacturer. Is This Legal?

Fappo on 14/01/2025 - 21:04
Last edited 14/01/2025 - 21:10 by 1 other user

Hey all. I bought a Google Pixel 9 Pro XL phone recently and was pretty pissed off to find that it had bricked itself the other day (black screen of death, won't accept a charger or respond to anything). The phone is in basically brand new condition and has never been dropped or abused, and I went through all troubleshooting tips I could find and had no luck fixing it. The phone is totally bricked.

Harvey Norman said they were not required to offer a replacement, so now I'm stuck waiting God knows how long for them to send it to Google then have it repaired or replaced by them.

Is it legal under consumer law for them to have denied me a replacement at the store?

What about if I'd asked for a refund instead? I'm starting to think it may have been a better idea to have gotten a refund and chosen a different phone as I'm a bit worried the Pixel 9 Pro XL may be flakey and have inherent issues now.

Mobile Google Mobile Phone Android

Related Stores

Harvey Norman
Harvey Norman

Comments

  • askbargain on 14/01/2025 - 21:25
    +54

    Why shop at HN?

    • Fappo on 14/01/2025 - 21:26
      +13

      Because they had price matched a Black Friday deal and added a $100 voucher on top.

      I generally try to avoid them too.

      • ATTS on 14/01/2025 - 21:35

        How did u get theextra 100$ btw.

        Also is hn bad since ur avoided when possible?

        • Fappo on 14/01/2025 - 22:52
          +3

          The voucher was just part of their Black Friday deals.

      • Brianqpr on 16/01/2025 - 11:04

        because this has never ever happened with an iphone obviously…..

        my pixel 8 pro is hands down a better phone than the iphone 15s my wife and daughter have

        • kungfuman on 16/01/2025 - 12:35
          -5

          Harvey Norman or any apple retailers will swap or return an iphone no questions asked as long as its with in warranty. Besides Samsung good luck doing that with any other android device.

          • spoonmugen on 17/01/2025 - 09:09
            -1

            @kungfuman: even apple phones…
            they ask questions…

            9 out of 10 times somnething is brought back for warranty/replacement is due to user error.

            phones are complicated…
            most of the time its a user setting thats messed up some other function that user is expecting to work…
            ie dnd mode being on stopping notifications/sound etc

            and sometimes they'll send it to apple to check/as they're not trained to diagnose.

      • MrThing on 16/01/2025 - 13:57
        +6

        iPhones are overpriced junk

        • kungfuman on 16/01/2025 - 14:00
          -4

          based on what evidence?

          • MrThing on 16/01/2025 - 14:02
            +2

            @kungfuman: Based on the price ?????? And the closed ecosystem with features android users have had for years and years which apple sell as huge advancements in smart phone technology to keep the NPCs upgrading yearly

            • kungfuman on 16/01/2025 - 14:03
              -6

              @MrThing: the decisions of a company doesn't make a product junk, iphone 5s are still working to this day find an android phone from the era that works today. even the original iPhone back in 2007 still works today. iPhones were built to last. So how are they junk?

              • whuts on 17/01/2025 - 08:53
                -1

                @kungfuman: You can’t argue with android users mate. They rush out to buy plastic Asian phones that look like iPhones.

                iPhone are so “junk” but they cried for years to not have green bubbles in messages, like they’re embarrassed to be Android users.

                They think buying a new $700 phone every 3yrs is better value than a $1200 phone every 4.

                They’re say things like “but with Android Incan customise it. I’m not locked down like Apple!” And then you ask what customisation they’ve done, it’s a wallpaper and some widgets.

                Then their store is full of spyware malware, crypto miners, data minders and adverts.

                Had one guy bragging his SMS app was free. I showed him the messages I get from him include adverts, and that all his texts, personal messages are being hosting (and saved) in servers in China. Idiot sulked for a month.

                Just don’t bother arguing with them mate, they’re jealous and angry because they can’t afford Apple products, so they try to insult Apple and their users to make themselves feel better. Just pity them and move on. Let them enjoy their iPhone clones.

                • kungfuman on 17/01/2025 - 09:15
                  +1

                  @whuts: I think they are under the impression that all iphone users buy a new phone every year. too I know so many peopel have keep iphones for 5+ years before upgrading, I don't know why people are against a piece of tech that people enjoy. Do they wish they had an iphone? thats why they hate on people so much when they own one? are these iphone haters secretly in the closet iphone users?

                • Mrgreenz on 17/01/2025 - 09:48
                  +1

                  @whuts:

                  They think buying a new $700 phone every 3yrs is better value than a $1200 phone every 4.

                  This is the math apple relies on

                • kaybrr on 18/01/2025 - 04:24
                  +1

                  @whuts: What a Biden voter… You need some testosterone supplements.

              • wetsandwich on 18/01/2025 - 19:34

                @kungfuman:

                iphone 5s are still working to this day

                lol, just no.

                I deal with newer models at work (~500 users) and anything older than an iphone X is extremely old, slow and generally dying in some way like freezing up or dropping calls.
                Android isn't better than this in terms of very old phones working, but iphones aren't some magical timeless perfect thing.

            • whuts on 17/01/2025 - 08:39
              -1

              @MrThing: “Based on the price” right, so anything expensive is junk. Android users lol.

              • kungfuman on 17/01/2025 - 11:31

                @whuts: how does that work with Samsung flag ship phones? they cost as much as an iphone or more. do they call them samsung fan boys? :D

        • sajidmib on 16/01/2025 - 14:04

          Its what you pay for? Of it overpriced for you then keep running between the reseller and manufacturer like OP.

          iPhones are not for everyone I know but it works for life.

        • JackFrost on 17/01/2025 - 00:36

          The poor man pays twice. Tell me another phone that has any resale after 5 years, let alone software support.

          • MrThing on 17/01/2025 - 07:33

            @JackFrost: none, they are all landfill when the software support stops…….and even before that as the new apps require higher processing power to operate

            • JackFrost on 17/01/2025 - 21:21

              @MrThing: Well that’s because you haven’t bought an iPhone lol. My comment above applies

          • Mrgreenz on 18/01/2025 - 09:27

            @JackFrost: Samsung flagsship…..

            Looking at ozbargain deals the:

            I phone 16 Max 256gb is ~ 2k
            Samsung galaxy s24 ultra 256gb ~1.5k which has 7 years software support.

            If you get through 5 years with a good condition peice.

            Looking at market place / ebay

            Iphone 11 max goes ~400
            Samsung note 10 goes for ~300

        • whatgift on 17/01/2025 - 14:40

          Overpriced? Yes. Junk? Not at all. Just because you don’t like them doesn’t make them junk. There are plenty of people who switch to android and then go back, and there’s a reason for that.

          • MrThing on 17/01/2025 - 16:05

            @whatgift: they suck you into the ecosystem….yes…shit product, smart marketing team

            • whatgift on 18/01/2025 - 17:00

              @MrThing: The ecosystem is why people buy them, and what makes them appealing. That’s only a problem if you decide to leave the ecosystem (which most people don’t).

  • Jimothy Wongingtons on 14/01/2025 - 21:28
    +107

    accc guidelines

    A business has the right to assess the product or service before they provide a remedy.

    • MS Paint on 14/01/2025 - 21:42
      +125

      You should have waited a few hours before quoting consumer law in order to allow this thread to fester into a cesspool of personal opinions.

      • Jimothy Wongingtons on 14/01/2025 - 21:59
        +77

        My New Year’s resolution was to reduce my daily beer intake to 5 tinnies a day, KFC to maximum once a day, and be more genuinely helpful to the ozbargain community.

        I like to think I achieved at least one today. 🤙

        • Tiller76 on 15/01/2025 - 12:03
          +9

          So how was yesterday's KFC????

        • NagromNniuq on 15/01/2025 - 16:22
          +5

          Can this be the post of the year?

          • Daabido on 15/01/2025 - 21:04
            +1

            @NagromNniuq: It's a bit earlier in the year to be calling a winner.

        • Munki on 17/01/2025 - 00:26
          +1

          Your funny posts provide positivity to this cesspool. I'd say that's helpful enough.

      • pegaxs on 14/01/2025 - 22:03
        +7

        Personal opinions make rants, cheers!

      • DashCam AKA Rolts on 14/01/2025 - 22:49
        +6

        Cesspools make scents. Cheers

    • WatchNerd on 14/01/2025 - 21:46
      +2

      Nice use of the Google website. Thread closed.

    • Bonesaw321 on 14/01/2025 - 22:10
      +9

      A phone bricking itself is considered a Major Failure. "You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage". on a followup it also says "You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure." However when a phone bricks itself thats a major failure.

      • Fappo on 14/01/2025 - 22:22

        Totally. That was my thinking and what I was focussed on when looking at the ACCC website before taking the phone back and I'm not sure whether the quote about assessment is legally definitive.

        I was (and am) justifiably pissed off about a major failure of an expensive product that was no fault of mine.

        [Edit] As I said elsewhere in the thread though, I do understand the need for businesses to protect themselves from customers abusing return/refund policies.

        • TheRealCher on 15/01/2025 - 11:24
          +2

          have had this happen on the google 8 pro - HN sent it off to Google and I had a new one in a week.
          It's a PITA…
          Are you in the right - probably.
          Would you like a quick resolution - probably.
          How much is your time and energy worth arguing with people who won't listen?

          The only thing that might help is if you ask them for a temporary phone while you're waiting for the replacement, but would you really want your data/life going through a second hand phone from HN?

      • gromit on 15/01/2025 - 18:06
        +3

        Depends entirely on the reason for bricking and they are entitled to assess it before a replacement is offered.

          • gromit on 15/01/2025 - 21:45
            +8

            @paulojr: of course they can. drop it in water, drop it, expose to electrical source, humid/salty environments and a thousand other ways most of which can be invisible to an external physical inspection.

          • MrThing on 16/01/2025 - 13:59

            @paulojr: It's not hard to brick a phone

          • TEER3X on 16/01/2025 - 16:58
            +2

            @paulojr: Bricking phones isn't that hard. You're more likely to brick one if you aren't a technical wizard

      • Grunntt on 15/01/2025 - 13:56
        +10

        Abusiness also has the right to decide the remedy - whether to repair or replace.
        Its only a courtesy if the retailern decides to replace a product
        It depends what relationship they have with the supplier

        Why do you continue to spout your opinions as fact when you are constantly shown how wrong you are?

        ACCC

        When a business sells a product with a major problem, or a product that later develops a major problem, it must give the consumer the choice of a:
        refund, or
        replacement of the same type of product.

        • Daabido on 15/01/2025 - 21:06
          +8

          HeDoesn'tGetAnyAttentionOtherwise.

        • Rick Sanchez on 15/01/2025 - 22:19
          +6

          Guy is a conspiracy theorist. Literally zero comprehension skills, and of course he thinks he knows better than everyone.

        • DoctorCalculon on 15/01/2025 - 22:43
          +4

          Their username doesn't check out.
          Maybe it should be HeWhoDoesNotKnow?

          • 2025 on 16/01/2025 - 02:10
            +5

            @DoctorCalculon: The worst part is, storage, electricity, cooling, servers are not free in a data center, so OzB is basically paying to host HeWhoBlows’ gibberish, lies, mistruths, fake news, confused rants, etc

            • Daabido on 16/01/2025 - 10:44
              +1

              @2025: Go Fund Me for Scotty for the poofteenth of a cent wasted?

              • Rick Sanchez on 30/01/2025 - 01:14

                @Daabido: Maybe also a donation to an environmental charity, make up for the waste of oxygen

      • Serapis on 16/01/2025 - 22:16

        Username does not check out

    • Brianqpr on 16/01/2025 - 11:05

      How long does it take to "assess" that a phone is bricked and completely unresponsive?

      • eug on 16/01/2025 - 11:41
        +2

        They have to confirm that it wasn't damaged by the user.

      • gromit on 16/01/2025 - 15:24

        It isn't that it is dead they need to assess, it is what is the likely cause, is it easily fixed or replaced and critically is it likely due to user negligence/error.

  • AngoraFish on 14/01/2025 - 21:29
    +21

    It is legal under consumer law for them to investigate the item and to make an assessment about whether it is a fault with the product or user error or accident. They aren't required to just accept your claims at face value.

    If the item itself is defective then, yes, you are entitled to get a refund, repair or replacement, any of which would be your choice.

    Sending the device to the manufacturer seems a reasonable first step to investigate the problem, and as Jimothy Wongingtons has noted, the business is entitled to undertake their own investigations.

    • Fappo on 14/01/2025 - 21:34

      It does seem reasonable for a business to be able to do this to prevent abuse of replacement and refund by customers. It's just damned annoying knowing that there was no fault of mine and I ended up with a very expensive brick in under two months of buying the phone. And now I have to wait for God knows how long without a replacement.

      • AngoraFish on 14/01/2025 - 21:37
        +6

        My experience is that these kinds of things do tend to get resolved in the customer's favor, however going without a phone for weeks is a significant disincentive to pursuing your rights for sure.

        I've been there myself. Indeed, I've ended up buying a replacement in the interim and then ended up with two new phones :-/

        • muzzamo on 15/01/2025 - 17:09

          In this instance though, because it's a major failure, he should be able to go and buy a new phone and then get a refund for the current phone.

          Harvey norman may not play ball with this easily though so YMMV.

          • AngoraFish on 15/01/2025 - 19:51
            +4

            @muzzamo: It's not a major failure if the problem can be fixed by tightening a loose battery cable, or doing a hard reset of the device. There are lots of reasons why a phone can appear to be dead that don't indicate a critical failure. People reset their phone back to factory settings all the time.

            This is no different from if someone's new car stops working because the dealer forgot to properly tighten the battery clips. The car may appear to be dead, but if fixing the fault just involves reattaching a couple of clips it's not a major failure.

            • 2025 on 16/01/2025 - 02:01
              +1

              @AngoraFish: It’s a major problem if it takes longer than 2 weeks to fix.

            • 2025 on 16/01/2025 - 10:12
              +2

              @AngoraFish: Just for the doubters that don’t read every post, here it is again, specifically its <2 weeks for phones according to the ACCC page 13 https://www.accc.gov.au/system/files/Electrical%20%26%20whit…

              • AngoraFish on 16/01/2025 - 11:52

                @2025: The only person who has mentioned the 2 weeks thing in this thread is you, so I'm not clear who you think you're arguing with?

                OP has provided no information how how long ago they talked to HN, but they have said that they bought the phone in conjunction with Black Friday deals and it worked for a couple of months after that, so one might guess that the conversation they had with HN was fairly recent.

                • 2025 on 16/01/2025 - 11:54
                  +2

                  @AngoraFish: Not arguing, just making the information as visible as possible, people that are informed about their rights and the ACL can expect and demand better outcomes, I’ve been able to educate “Enterpise Incident Managers” with that pdf before

        • Daabido on 15/01/2025 - 21:08
          -5

          Get an iPhone and then return under their 14 day policy. Win/win. You will appreciate your phone so much more when it is replaced. I hope you took your sim card out.

        • gromit on 16/01/2025 - 15:28
          +1

          It is annoying and fully understand your frustration, but look at it from there view, margins are slim and if they took everyones word on "not being at fault" they would quickly lose money. Hell I know of a guy that bricked his phone doing a self screen replacement after he broke the screen, he literally tried to return the phone and claim it just stopped working and tried to intimidate the sales guys to get them to replace it on the spot rather than send it back for inspection (he didn't get away with it).

      • MS Paint on 14/01/2025 - 21:43
        -1

        And now I have to wait for God

        Religion ≠ consumer law

        • Fappo on 14/01/2025 - 22:43
          -2

          It was just a turn of phrase that you misquoted, Mr r/atheism edgy Redditor.

        • SlickMick on 15/01/2025 - 09:56
          +1

          God > consumer law > religion

        • Daabido on 15/01/2025 - 21:10

          Might be waiting for Godot with HN.

      • oscargamer on 14/01/2025 - 21:58
        -1

        Small brick

        More a brickette

      • JonnyQuest on 15/01/2025 - 12:52
        +4

        It's always good to have an older but functioning - 'back up phone' for these types of emergencies that are totally unplanned. If not, then maybe buy a cheap, but well reviewed Motorola, TCL, etc. for that purpose ? Or if you don't wish to support a Chinese Company directly ( who's funds may return in part to the CCP) pay a bit more for a cheap Samsung perhaps ?

        • iknowtj on 15/01/2025 - 23:33

          I've still got my pixel 7 for exactly this reason.

          • TEER3X on 16/01/2025 - 16:59

            @iknowtj: Check out Mr moneybags. Some of us are using that phone as our daily driver.

            • iknowtj on 16/01/2025 - 20:37

              @TEER3X: Hahaha I wish, was free to keep when upgrading my plan.

      • gimme on 15/01/2025 - 17:26

        They don't know that though. For every genuine case like yours there are probably several idiots (who have dropped their phone in the toilet) they have to deal with on a regular basis. So it's FAIR for them to have it assessed professionally. It may be inconvenient for you but life isn't always convenient.

      • Pratty on 16/01/2025 - 07:10

        Hopefully God expedites the completely acceptable process for you! As annoying as it is.

  • 7ekn00 on 14/01/2025 - 21:33
    +12

    Should have spoken to Google directly, good chance they would have just sent out a new one ;)

    Similar thing happened to me with a Pixel 7 Pro purchased from OfficeWorks (cracked glass on the camera bump), spoke to Google, they sent a new one the same day (they didn't even request proof that I had sent them the cracked one) …

    • Bruceflix on 14/01/2025 - 21:36
      +1

      Samsung should take note of this service!

    • Fappo on 14/01/2025 - 21:49

      As soon as I walked out of the store this is exactly what I started to think. I'm now reliant on Harvey Norman sending things back and forth instead of just dealing with google directly myself. 🫤

      • eug on 14/01/2025 - 22:58
        +2

        JB is pretty good too, a few years ago I had a problem with a Pixel and it got swapped on the spot in-store with a new boxed replacement.

        • Loopholio on 15/01/2025 - 10:15
          +1

          Same here. I had to return two new (days old) phones to JB Hi-fi and it was easy enough.

          • JumpingUnicorns on 15/01/2025 - 13:44
            +2

            @Loopholio: OP hasn't stipulated the timeframe, that will play a role in what the retailer can do

            • Grunntt on 15/01/2025 - 14:00

              @JumpingUnicorns:

              OP hasn't stipulated the timeframe

              Well, actually they did -

              I ended up with a very expensive brick in under two months of buying the phone

              • JumpingUnicorns on 15/01/2025 - 14:01

                @Grunntt: Oop okay well then the days old example above doesn't relate to OP. Two very different time frames. 30 days is usually the DOA period for a direct swap but varies by Brand.

                • Grunntt on 15/01/2025 - 14:03
                  +1

                  @JumpingUnicorns:

                  Two very different time frames. 30 days is usually the DOA period for a direct swap but varies by Brand.

                  Yeah, I would see sending it away for assessment as being a pretty reasonable thing considering it's been in use for almost two months.

        • starburstyellow on 17/01/2025 - 17:23

          Same, bought the Pixel 6. Came home unboxed had a pink line that went from top to bottom. Went next day, they just gave me brand new one in store.

  • Bruceflix on 14/01/2025 - 21:35
    +3

    They will find out that you dropped it in the toilet.

    But seriously, they've sent it for assessment. Then when it's known why the device failed you can take further steps.

    • AngoraFish on 14/01/2025 - 21:40

      You say seriously, as if bricking my phone by dropping it into the toilet hasn't happened to me more than once. :-/

      • WatchNerd on 14/01/2025 - 21:50

        If you sit down to pee then you won't be able to do this. Also it stops overspray & splashback.

        • Bruceflix on 14/01/2025 - 21:56
          +3

          Life finds a way

        • AngoraFish on 14/01/2025 - 21:58
          +6

          See, I have this habit of putting the phone into my shirt pocket before sitting, so that I have easy access to reading material without having to reach around in pockets somewhere around my ankles while I do my business.

          The problem with this approach is that if someone has left the seat cover down I have to bend over to lift up the seat cover, at which point the phone has a tendency to wiggle out of my shirt pocket and take a quick splash in the pool while I'm distracted.

          The solution to this problem is clearly to either buy shirts without pockets, toilets without seat covers, or to poop standing up. Still, I like shirts with pockets.

          • Fappo on 14/01/2025 - 22:04
            +5

            @AngoraFish: And this is why I don't like handling other people's phones 😄

            • eug on 14/01/2025 - 22:59
              +6

              @Fappo: I have a feeling your friends won't dare handle your phone either, judging from your username.

              • Fappo on 14/01/2025 - 23:00
                +2

                @eug: What they don't know won't hurt em.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join