I purchased a Soundbar on 16th Jan 2023 from the Rockingham WA ALDI store. It died on 30th April 2023. I took it back to the Aldi store I bought it from and they flatly refused to refund my money - they said that after 60 days, their policy to pass all Warranty claims on the manufacturer (Braun in this case). When I protested that my Purchase Contract was solely with them, they vigorously refused a refund and would only offer contact details for the manufacturer. How can they legally say that that is their policy and it over-rides any consumer law? What exactly is the law? What can I do to force a refund from the store?
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It is not good when a retailer tries to sidestep their obligations under the Australian Consumer Law by pushing customers to deal with manufacturers.
I would take a copy of page 15 of this document (Passing on responsibility for a remedy to a
manufacturer):
If Aldi continue to push you to the manufacturer to resolve, say you will take it up with the ACCC and your local office of fair trading since Aldi struggles to meet their legal obligations under the Australian Consumer Law.
Hopefully this is enough to ensure you can exercise your rights (âconsumer guaranteeâ) under the ACL.
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You might also ask you Aldi manager if they are keen to cost Aldi similar amounts to some Harvey Norman franchisees for the same behaviour.
Note that was almost a decade ago. One would have thought the message dong ago gotten through. Seems not?
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Purchased a âStirlingâ split A/C several years ago. When error message: âclean filtersâcontinued to appear, and stop the A/C from working - despite having Cleaned the filters, I contacted the number on warranty.
They required: 1. Proof the A/C is installed! 2. The Original receipt. 3. A/C and Warranty numbers. As I didnât have the receipt I couldnât access a warranty investigation. Two years later without being able to use the A/C I phoned the Stirling number again, they referred me to their âtradesmanâ in my area. Now out of warranty it will cost $180 for this person to look at my A/C.
I will not purchase electronic or any expensive equipment from Aldi again. The after sales âserviceâ is inadequate.
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Did you have any other proof of purchase such as a Credit Card statement showing the purchase? If so, this can be used to prove or help prove that you did purchase the unit. Under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) a business is entitled to ask for proof of purchase, before they are required to provide repair, refund or replace rights to a consumer
" Returning a faulty product
The right to return a product
Consumers have the right to return a product if they think thereâs a problem.
The product does not have to be in its original packaging, but a business is entitled to ask consumers to provide some form of proof of purchase, such as a receipt."
" Businesses can ask for proof of purchase before repairing, replacing or refunding
If a consumer requests a repair, replacement or refund, the business can ask for a receipt or another form of proof of purchase.
Other forms of proof of purchase include a:
- credit or debit card statement
- lay-by agreement
- receipt number or reference number given over the phone or internet
- warranty card with details of the manufacturer or supplier, date and amount of purchase
- serial or production number linked with the purchase on the supplierâs or manufacturerâs database.
The consumer may need to provide more than one of these things.
The law doesnât give a definition of how much proof is enough â the consumer just needs to reasonably demonstrate that they bought the item.
The consumer can provide original documents, photos or photocopies."
This is why it is imperative for a consumer to either retain the receipt, or have some other suitable proof of purchase, or in the case of receipts that fade to take a photo of the original and store that photo in a safe place (e.g. in a safe back up device, of the digital photo). There are a number of ways to prove the purchase but the business is within their rights to refuse if no proof is tendered in a reasonable time when it is requested.
If you have proof of the purchase in some form that is sufficient, then even after 4 years or so even if warranty has expired, it may still be within your ACL rights to seek repair, a refund, or a replacement of the unit. Warranty does not replace your ACL rights, they are additional to your ACL rights. Most AC businesses quote an expected lifetime for split systems of 10 - 20 years, and the minimum I could find was an expected 7 years. CHOICE have also given some guidance about the expected lifetimes of units and again 4 to 5 years would be within the expected time-frame.
" Heating and ventilation
- Cheaper to replace at 10â15 years
- Life expectancy:
- Budget / entry level: 6 years
- Mid-range: 8 years
- High-end: 12 years
An air conditioner is an expensive appliance to replace and doing so may require a bit of structural work on your house if you need to run new ducting or wiring. Parts may be hard to get for older models though, and after five to 10 years they might just not perform as well as they did when new.
Air conditioners are also energy-intensive appliances, and upgrading to a newer model using the latest R32 refrigerant will lead to a significant reduction in running costs, less noise both inside the house and for your neighbours (a particular pain point with air conditioners), and new features such as Wi-Fi controls.
A broken air conditioner is likely to get expensive no matter whether you opt for repair or replacement so itâs a good idea to get quotes for both options before making a decision.
CHOICE tip: Regularly clean your air conditionerâs filters and keep outdoor units free of obstructions to help your air conditioner work at peak efficiency. Passive climate control, like sealing drafts and installing ceiling insulation, can reduce your dependency on expensive air conditioning."
So, if you have proof you should get formal with them by either emailing them or sending them a letter asking for the required outcome. CHOICE and the ACCC provide templates for writing these requests. If a member of CHOICE they also have a help service that can provide advice of the steps you can take.
For the templates see
ACCC
CHOICE checklist including links to templates
You may also want to avail yourself of free legal advice through Consumer Law centres found throughout Australia and we have a small list on the site that may help you
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Thanks, as I frequently purchase more than one item if in Aldi, proof of purchase can be tricky, however this was a cost of thousands - so hope to be able to track via a debit or credit card. And must remember to use a card and photograph receipt. Aldi dissuades customers from using a card by adding an extra charge!
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Iâve never had this problem with Aldi. The 60 days is a satisfaction guarantee i.e. I donât like this crap take it back no questions asked guarantee.
If something break, ACL apply. I returned things in the past outside 60 days, within the advertised warrantee (not that it should matter) period and they took it back without dramas.
âIf during the period of the warranty, one of our high quality products should fail to be of an acceptable quality, please do not hesitate to contact the manufacturerâs helpline or your local ALDI store for assistance. Please note that any manufacturerâs warranty and ALDIâs change of mind policy are additional to your rights under the Australian Consumer Law.â
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We try to get in the habit of paying for expensive warranty items seperate and not lump it with a trolly full of groceries. It makes both tracing it on back on bank statements and scanning the smaller receipt easier.
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You are indeed fortunate to not have had a problem with Aldi as they donât honour the Australian Consumer Law in that they pass on responsibility to the manufacturer. This is contrary to the law. If you look back in this subject group you will see a url to the leaflet put out by the ACCC which clearly states that that is wrong. You have also quoted Aldiâs statement and I conformed with that also in that I produced my receipt and I visited my local store for assistance. I see no point in contacting the manufacturer - who is supposed to be German, although the item is stamped âMade in Chinaâ - but what is the manufacturer going say? He will say âReturn the item to the store you bought it fromâ - which is what I did. I also tried to contact the importer but they donât pick up their phone. So what am I to do?
As a matter of interest - you quote the â60 Day âguaranteeââ Where have you seen this written - because I cannot find any reference to it in Aldi literature.
I have written to the ACCC in WA.
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I photocopied the Harvey Norman reports plus the ACCC leaflet and sent them to the Manager of the store - also pointing out that he is personally liable for legal transgressions as well as his employer, Aldi.
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I had a more fortunate experience - I bought an Aldi 65" Smart TV. It died at 15 months. Aldi refused to do anything as the guarantee was 12 months. I went to the major electric/electronic repair shop in Mandurah WA and asked them to repair it. They refused to handle an Aldi product because they said they cannot get the spare parts from Aldi. I took the back off the TV (I am knowledgeable in electronics) and found that the set has 3 motherboards and the fault was on the power board. I found out who the importer was for Aldi and asked them to supply the desired part - they said they didnât keep spares and they came from Germany on 3 months delivery. I wrote to CHOICE and the Community advised me that it is a legal requirement to keep spares for a reasonable period. I re-contacted the importer and repeated that fact. Eventually they offered me $600 (the set cost $1000). I accepted that. I put the set on Gumtree for $100 with full disclosure of the background. A young guy turned up and said he worked for a TV repair company and gave me $100. End of story - except I should have learnt my lesson on Aldi electrical products but you live in hopeâŠ!
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I have a sequel to all the above - with a big surprise to me.
I wrote to the A.C.C.C. They fully explained my rights - which are as I expected - Aldi cannot exclude their responsibility to repair, replace of refund but what surprised me is the statement that A.C.C.C. are not the body to go to with a complaint - the letter states that A.C.C.C. âfocuses on broad and national issues, your local consumer protection agency may be able to help your dispute by negotiating an outcome.â So how about that - A.C.C.C. donât want to know problems at street level - hence my surprise!
They did explain that your rights against the Seller and the Manufacturer are fundamentally different. I quote âYou cannot demand a repair, replacement or refund from a manufacturer.â but you can from the Seller. I am sure Aldi head office clearly understand the legal ramifications - so why do they instruct their store managers to apparently mislead the customers? Looking back on my discussion with the Manager he forcefully instructed me to go to the manufacturer but I donât recall him actually saying âI refuse to refundâŠâ He said it is store policy to tell you to make a Warranty Claim - A.C.C.C. explain that a Warranty claim is over and above your consumer rights, you can insist on limiting your demands to those granted by law but it needs to be done in writing.
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It comes as a surprise to many that a purchaser cannot demand a refund.
The remedy is up to the seller and or supplier. They get to choose whether to repair, replace, or refund.
And not surprising the ACCC told you what they did. They do not, as they say, handle individual consumer issues. Never have. So it is pointless to even complain to them about some retail issue unless it has broader issues.
A complaint generally needs to be made to the state consumer affairs agencies. They generally are able to arm wave but have no power and only a little more interest than the ACCC itself.
If you search the Community you will find many references to both âstate consumer affairs/fair tradingâ and the ACCC.
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They can ask for a refund from the seller in the case of a major fault.
It makes sense that the manufacturer may chose not to provide a refund when a product is bought elsewhere from an on seller. The sales contract and financial transaction is between the buyer and seller. Details of the financial transaction is also held by the seller.
And the keyword there is ask. The seller is quite entitled to say no and deal with it in another manner of their choice. Replace or repair.
If the fault is something that cannot be remedied by a replacement or repair, then the obvious remedy is refund. For instance, the item does not do what it is described to do, and had one known about that, it would never have been bought.
The exact wording is :
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.
Under the ACL for a major fault, a seller is obliged to offer a refund and replacement. The consumer then choses. If a seller doesnât know their ACL obligations, then a consumer has the right to ask for a refund. A seller is obliged to accept this request. If a seller refuses to honour their obligations under the ACL, no matter a consumer does, they are unlikely to offer the restitution required under the ACL.
And then you get bogged down into what is considered a major fault.
Which is where the ACL is very fuzzy.
My car wonât start. It is a major fault since it is not usable. Give me a replacement, or refund my money back. I think not.
Why will your car not start?
Is it repairable within a reasonable time?
Is the fault reoccurring and causing the vehicle to be unusable for a significant portion of time?
Fuzziness, or a requirement to objectively collect the evidence that a tribunal or court can consider.
The ACCC (some examples), inspirational or not, of major failures?
