Don’t buy a Heatlie BBQ. They don’t uphold their warranty
We bought a Heatlie Island, Gourmet Elite 600. The BBQ was instal by a technician, under cover and with all the specifications on the manual.
It worked well for a while, but the ignition stopped working, while under warranty.
The shop we bought it from in the sunshine coast close down, so we contacted the main office. After many requests, phone conversations, emails, photos, they even asked for videos, they refuse to send a technician to fix it or even to check if it was a warranty issue.
If you decide to buy a BBQ don’t count on the warranty from this company
Although Fair Trading is known as window dressing that passes claims back and forth without becoming an advocate, I recommend you send Heatlie a formal ‘letter of complaint’ per the ACL. There are many links on the Community to your consumer rights as well as tools to help write ‘the letter’. Use the Community search function to find them. Reputable companies will engage and less reputable ones know they can do their customers with impunity unless the customer takes them to court or the xCAT - rare events because of costs and processes.
‘The letter’ needs to be written as if you are a silk arguing in front of a judge, citing the legislation, their warranty statement and how you claim they refuse to honour it, T&C of whatever, and reciting your consumer rights. It is not as onerous as that might sound, especially using the tools available. Keep your copious notes about attempts at resolution to date, and reference them on each occasion. Close with what you want by when for their reply.
No matter how rigorous or detailed your exchanges have been, until one goes formal according to the ACL many companies will only treat a customer problem as ‘idle chit chat’, and idle chit chat is generally meaningless under consumer law although can be accepted as evidence. A formal letter of complaint often will get appropriate attention since among other things, it signifies to a company you know your rights and are going to secure them. Of course it is not quite that idealistic in our real world but I trust you might have a go.
@Fred123’s question is whether the closed shop was a retailer or company owned store is germane. Normally when a company store closes your business was with the company; if a franchise operation it is usually a transaction between the customer and that franchise, not the company; a retailer ‘owns’ the warranty’ but when a retailer closes one necessarily needs to go to the manufacturer, including putting on record why that is the case and pointing to the manufacturer/importer as having responsibility as you see it.
Good luck, and please report back if you do, and how Heatlie responds, or doesn’t respond.
