I bought 5kg of walnuts from a company in Victoria called Royal Nuts. When I opened them there were ants spilling out onto my table from holes in the plastic packaging. The customer service team have told me that they will look into it but I have heard nothing. Where do I go to get my money back from this company? I am in Queensland.
The challenge will be where did the ants originate?
If the ants entered the walnut packing whilst in the hands of the seller (viz. before delivered to you), they sold something which has been contaminated and the seller should resolve.
If the ants entered the packaging when it was in your house, say from ants wandering around in the pantry or those wandering around where the package was left when delivered, then this unfortunately is your responsibility.
Determining when or where the ants entered will be challenging, unless you opened the walnuts immediately on delivery finding the ants. If this was the case, the seller would be responsible as you can confirm the ants were there on receipt of the walnuts.
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The ants originated from in the box which was sealed when I received it. I have a video of the ants going in and out of the small hole in the plastic packaging. The seller is not responding to me. What organization do I need to get in touch with to get some traction with the seller and to get my money back.
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If the package was sealed when you receive it and later there was a small hole allowing ants to enter and leave, this suggests the ants found the package when they were stored in the house. The information you have posted suggests that you might be responsible for the ants, which means it won’t be possible to get you money back.
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If only it was a simple as going down to the local police station and advising of a crime? It’s not. It is more a civil matter. In the days long past where there was a dispute between two parties over a sale, goods and payment it relied on the aggrieved party to make their case before a court/magistrate and for the other party to respond. How it might be determined and any rulings, as much down to the diligence of the parties in preparation and presentation as it might be to any evidentiary facts on the day.
Today somewhat different although as a Consumer in most instances it’s initially one of self help. As to your chances of success - some would suggest balancing the time and effort and perhaps cost of taking action vs the cost of dumping the product. Assumes it is no longer usable.
To reiterate the previous posts and response by @phb. The exact timeline, numbers of ants/evidence of nesting in the product and also the variety (species) of ants in the product are all facts that may have some value to proving one or the other possibility. Uncertainty makes a positive outcome less likely.
If there is further interest one place to start including links on further guidance.
To note that even when enlisting the services of your respective State or Territory Govt Consumer Affairs Office or equivalent it’s important to have first completed and exhausted all the requirements they advise.
It’s important to have made a formal complaint. How this is done needs to meet a standard, some suggest needs to read like a lawyer making out a case to go to a court of law. It’s far more demanding than providing a photo of ants moving in and out of a hole in plastic wrapping. Choice, the ACCC/Aust Govt and individual State/Territory Govt’s provide guidance on what is required. Some resources to consider:
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@h_e_day stated they appeared when the box was opened. The hole and ants could have ‘happened’ anytime from picking to packaging to storing at the producers or vendors or more unlikely, the delivery service, or if they were kept at the customers unopened, at the customer premises.
The issue is a video of ants and a hole does not include time domain information unless images/video was taken and ‘time stamped’ when the box was received and again when it was unboxed to reveal the hole and ants. Images/video after the fact that ants were seen is inconclusive, which as prior posts indicate do not in itself support a claim.
For what you can do if you have not, if this is the company the nuts were purchased from their claims could be cited to support a request for refund or replacement under the ACL.
However their T&C have numerous clauses about storage conditions.
How long has it been since customer service responded that they would be looking into it? If they have been unresponsive for more than 2 weeks and then do not reply to further queries it would be assumed they are not interested in resolving the customers problem and could engage in a ‘she said we said’ that would go nowhere unless the company decided to do a goodwill gesture.
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I also did not hear back from Royal Nut Company when emailing about two different (albeit minor) issues. That said, I am generally happy with their products. I have discovered that a polite but public comment e.g. social media or reviews can sometimes prompt a reply in these situations. And can recommend Nuts About Life for customer service instead (might not always get a reply first time but customer service is handled by someone with the power to address issues and the motivation to keep customers happy).
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