Since early May this year I have been trying to get a refund from a manufacturer for a faulty food product (major fault) - a process that has required multiple emails and phone calls. I advised them that I would pursue my consumer rights and was, eventually, offered a replacement. This was impracticable for me to accept, and I requested a refund. I have since heard nothing further despite advising the owner of the business that I would pursue my consumer rights if I did not receive a refund by June 30th. I now have a CBS complaint form open and all of my supporting documentation. However I am hesitant to move forward as I am worried about potential repercussions and a little fearful. I don’t know exactly what the CBS will do or how what personal details of mine they will share with the manufacturer. This is fueled by some inappropriate (not overtly aggressive) comments made by the owner of the business on what services I should have access to where I live and opinion on how I should behave. So I keep wavering - the easy path- just let it go (it’s less than $10) or pursue the principle - hold the manufacturer responsible for acting in a proper fashion under consumer law.
At this stage I am reluctant to write specific details here although I do believe that consumers should be informed of this manufacturer’s conduct. I realise there’s no black and white answer but would appreciate knowing how the matter is handled by the CBS and if I would need to have any further involvement with the manufacturer.
As it is a food product, I suspect you bought it from a retailer rather than the manufacturer. If this is the case, is there a reason why the retailer wasn’t approached? This is because retailers, especially bricks and mortar stores, will address problems quickly when approached.
Two reasons - it’s a 50km round trip to the shop, one I undertake only once a week. When I have previously telephoned about a spoilt food issue they have taken the details, told me to bring it back on next visit and when I did no-one knew anything about it. I still got a refund but it was a hassle. The main reason, though, is that I wanted to let the manufacturer know of the issue for their own quality control purposes - it’s a product that I enjoy and would like to know I can buy with confidence.
If this second case is also food spoiling, it may not be a manufacturing issue. It could be a manufacturing issue if say the product sealing failed…it is likely to more than an isolated case in such circumstances and the manufacturer may/may not know about it. As food products are generally low value, a manufacturer may also try an resolve an issue with one of their products as a gesture of goodwill, even if the issue wasn’t their responsibility.
Spoiling can be from incorrect storage or poor handling which occurred after the product’s departure from the manufacturer. Neither may not be the responsibility of the manufacturer. It could even also be tampering by someone within the store, such as someone breaking the seal allowing spoiling to occur. I personally would be taking it back to the retailer as they potentially could be responsible, and may be able to investigate if the spoiling occurred at their end.
If say it was contamination, something foreign which shouldn’t be in the food…if the product was sealed on purchase, the manufacturer most likely will be responsible. Nonetheless, food with a contaminant can be taken back to the retailer for resolution under the Australian Consumer Law. Under the HACCP system which is used in most of the food supply chain, the retailer should report incidents of contaminants back to the manufacturer/grower. This is a feedback loop to ensure Australian food products remain safe to the consumer.
If you pursue it with CBS, it is important to try and determine who is responsible and who should respond to a claim. I am unsure from the information you have provided that it is definitely the manufacturer who is responsible. I also question at this stage if the CBS is the appropriate course of action, as there are other avenues to have the issue resolved, such as taking it back to the retailer when they are visited in the next week. This avenue should be explored especially when it is suggested the retailer has been accommodating in the past, by providing refunds.
The manufacturer has accepted responsibility insofar as they postulated a possible cause for the product fault that could have occurred during production and offered a replacement. I requested a refund and heard nothing further despite contacting them twice more. What would be of value to me here is a response from someone who has experienced taking a complaint to to CBS - how things went. If you have experience this I’d be happy to hear from you.
