Rebel Won’t Entertain a Faulty Garmin Watch after 14 Months

Save 50 Cent on 29/03/2025 - 14:47
Last edited 29/03/2025 - 16:53 by 1 other user

Hi, I purchased an $850 Garmin watch from rebel 14 months ago. It shat itself after an update. I tried all solutions on internet but no luck.

Store manager told me it is only one year warranty and the best he would offer is to contact Garmin on my behalf without even taking the watch. And that was offered as a last resort after he tried to brush me off to sort it out myself with Garmin.

Mentioning consumer law got me nowhere.

Should I make a complaint to fair trading or just contact Garmin? I would like the store manager to get educated is he was wrong thru a formal complaint.

Electrical & Electronics Garmin

Related Stores

rebel
rebel

Comments

    • Save 50 Cent on 30/03/2025 - 22:58

      ACCC complaint done. Will post update

      • Duff5000 on 01/04/2025 - 13:14

        Not that it matters now but i have found a call to head office first threatening ACCC is normally all you need to do. THey know they are not going to win that and should force the store to do what they should.

  • gezza90 on 30/03/2025 - 22:20
    +2

    ACCC it.

    I purchased a Microsoft Lumia 950xl for $950 back in 2015? yeah I was stupid. 13 months in and it had many many software bugs. It was only 12 months warranty.

    Took it back to JB Hifi, out of their Goodwill, they gave me a replacement loan phone (HTC 10), which was a beast of a phone back then while they took my Lumia 950xl for "repairs". They called me up a week later to say my phone is ready lol. I clearly told them, the software is unable to be "repaired" and it's not fit for purpose. I ACCC'd it and got my $950 back.

  • Nutrino on 30/03/2025 - 23:13

    Whats the point of having a manufacture warranty period if there is ACL. Hell, ask 10 people and they ll give 10 different answers to ACL warranty period.

    • browser on 31/03/2025 - 10:26
      +1

      Manufacturer's warranty is more a certainty.

      ACL you have to "fight" for it, sometimes maybe a waste of time.

      • photonbuddy on 31/03/2025 - 11:42

        ACL you have to "fight" for it, sometimes maybe a waste of time.

        This. I hear so many people say they would never buy an extended warranty because of ACL. ACL won't help you when your fridge dies in the middle of summer and you take the merry-go-round for weeks on end to get a result.

  • Bobwithtwohammers on 30/03/2025 - 23:53
    +2

    Hey OP

    First time poster here,

    Can’t comment on the rebel side of things….

    Just thought I’d give my two cents with Garmin returns
    Having returned a watch out of warranty(2 years old)
    There online chat support system was easy (just upload few pictures of watch) talk about broken watch and doing hard reset to see if it worked, it didn’t…

    Within 20mins return process was underway and exchange for new watch was about a week, basically return watch via post and they post new watch out
    Fuss free

    • Duff5000 on 01/04/2025 - 13:16

      Yeah i'd have dont that before contacting the store personally. Had a fitbit fail out of warranty, they just asked for a pic showing it and some paper with the date and a reference number they gave me. Then just shipped me a new one.

  • Oz em on 31/03/2025 - 00:33
    +1

    Contact Garmin directly.
    They will likely replace it for you.

  • dono2 on 31/03/2025 - 09:23

    If they still have the same model in the store, buy another one then return the faulty one on the new receipt.

    • BillyG687 on 01/04/2025 - 17:49

      Heads up: I'm not sure about Garmin products, but a lot of retailers capture the Serial Number at time of purchase.

      That said, a staff member who follows training will also try compare the serial number on the box to the device being returned. That said, most don't have the time to actually do that.

  • Flying Ace on 31/03/2025 - 10:14

    I used to work in the returns side of a retail business. Honestly you'll provably get a quicker response going to the manufacturer directly. They will be able to help you much quicker than the store who will get to it "eventually".

  • LukeStringwalker on 31/03/2025 - 10:37

    A warranty period is just a guide; if you visit the ACCC website, you will see that a product should last for a reasonable amount of time regardless of the warranty period stated.

  • pharkurnell on 31/03/2025 - 10:41

    So how did your call to Garmin go?

  • Spootage on 31/03/2025 - 11:31
    +3

    Never understood why people go back to the retailer when the item is out of warranty. They are just acting as a middle man talking to the manufacturer and relaying the message back and forth. I’d rather go direct to the source (manufacturer) every time.

    • Kiro on 31/03/2025 - 11:33

      Correct me if I'm wrong but in Australia the warranty period is for 24 months.

      • Spootage on 31/03/2025 - 11:46
        +1

        Depends on the item

    • BillyG687 on 01/04/2025 - 17:51

      Sometimes it can save you on return postage which the manufacturer isn't always obliged to pay for. Larger retailers also have a system set up to assist with processing warranties that can make it a little simpler for the customer.

      Unless it's Apple, I'll go back to the retailer - as sometimes I've managed to get the retailer to just straight up replace or do a full refund even outside of their predescribed automatic replacement policy.

  • chickentaste on 31/03/2025 - 12:03
    +2

    Rebel scum…

    • axlfan on 31/03/2025 - 17:39

      Where's the death Star when you need it

  • 2025 on 31/03/2025 - 12:48

    ACCC have a variety of PDFs outlining retailer obligations in regards to the ACL. Send the links to the manager, or print them out. Ask the manager to explain how their handling of this matter is compliant with the guidance and the law. If they can’t, ask to speak to the area/state manager.

  • Drakesy on 31/03/2025 - 13:49
    +2

    Just go straight to garmin and skip the middleman.

    Retailers are useless when it comes to this (yes i know it's part of their remit though) just slows down the process.

  • havabeer on 31/03/2025 - 14:42

    Contact Garmin its OOW but they are known for having good support, especially for issues like this.

  • xuqi on 31/03/2025 - 15:04

    Contact Garmin, don't buy items from Rebel.

    https://www.garmin.com/en-AU/legal/consumer-warranty-repairs…

  • axlfan on 31/03/2025 - 17:39
    +3

    Did you even try to contact Garmin. In the past when I had issues with my Fitbit, they just sent a replacement. Didn't even bother with retailer.

  • fredk1000 on 31/03/2025 - 21:53

    Can you describe the fault/symptoms? Will not boot after the update? Or it updated and it died? And exactly what model is it?

  • mauricem on 01/04/2025 - 00:54
    +1

    Garmin replaced my out of warranty Amazon purchased watch with zero problems. I tried the old it was a gift so didnt know where it came from so no receipt spiel but the serial # of course filled in the gaps!
    It was about 9 months past warranty so I had no issue with the replacement being a refurb which has worked flawlessly for 4 years. About twice as long as the original!

  • JayEmmGee on 01/04/2025 - 08:46

    Contact Rebel Head office (they suggest using live chat here: https://www.rebelsport.com.au/help-centre/returns-and-exchan…)

  • niyiaw on 01/04/2025 - 08:55
    +1

    Agree with everyone else. Garmin is easy to deal with in getting replacements outside of warranty. Never had to call them, just sent them emails with info and they organise posting back the old one. New one sent almost immediately.

  • iamlesterjoseph on 01/04/2025 - 19:30

    I am not sure about Rebel. I purchased a Garmin watch at JB Hi-Fi years ago. I contacted Garmin directly each time I encountered issues. They always replace my watch after I raised a request. I was able to do this twice.

  • Lucille Bluth on 01/04/2025 - 19:59

    My Garmin was out of warranty by 2 years. I contacts Garmin directly and they replaced my watch free of charge.

  • affable on 02/04/2025 - 13:35

    I pursued a screen issue with a Forrunner 45 direct with Garmin and they spent 10 weeks using every excuse they could to avoid replacing it, hoping I would give up. They never returned a call or email without chasing them up.
    Don't give up, become "the squeaky wheel".

  • Muppet Detector on 04/04/2025 - 14:07

    Shoulda bought an iwatch.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join