@Dueller2007 Welcome to the Community, I hope you find some help with your current issue and that you benefit as a member here into the future.
I have moved your post to this existing topic that covers poor business behaviour where the businesses are using COVID as an excuse for bad or poor behaviour.
As you read through the posts here you may find some useful hints in dealing with this sort of issue and I’m sure your experience will help others to avoid similar pitfalls. Thank you for posting.
Certainly writing a formal complaint to the Head Office of the business detailing the issues would be worth considering. Remember to avoid abusive comments as this can taint the response or lack of response you get and be factual not emotional. As it was a service as well that was provided you could also seek some compensation for the problems you experienced.The Australian Consumer Law allows this seeking of compensation.
" If you have a minor problem with a product or service, the business can choose to give you a free repair instead of a replacement or refund. When you have a major problem with a product, you have the right to ask for your choice of a replacement or refund. For a major problem with a service , you can choose to receive compensation for the drop in value below the price paid, or a refund."
"A service has a major problem when:
- it has a problem that would have stopped someone from buying it if they’d known about it
- it is substantially unfit for its common purpose and can’t easily be fixed within a reasonable time
- it does not meet the specific purpose you asked for and cannot easily be fixed within a reasonable time
- it creates an unsafe situation."
"Cancelling your service
If you have a problem with a service, take the following steps:
- Contact the service provider verbally or in writing to explain the problem. If the provider cannot fix the service in a reasonable time, state that you want to cancel the service contract.
2. If relevant, also ask the service provider to compensate you for any damages or losses caused by the problem.
3. If you’ve paid for the service and it has already started or been delivered, negotiate a refund to cover the services that failed and any advance payments. (my bolding of what may be relevant sections) - Show proof of purchase with a receipt or bank statement.
You can also lodge a complaint with your Office of Fair Trading, you can lodge a complaint with the ACCC. This ACCC complaint process often will not result in any action being taken by the ACCC unless a threshold of a number of complaints have been reached or the ACCC deem it important enough. You can also seek compensation through the Civil & Administrative Tribunal in the State/Territory where the problem occurred. There are steps you need to take before taking formal action via Fair Trading or Tribunals and CHOICE Help service may be able to give you advice about how to do this if you are a member of CHOICE (https://www.choice.com.au/topics/choice-help-service & https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/consumer-rights-and-advice/choice-help).
Before going down the path of seeking compensation I would advise getting some legal advice, there are many community free legal advice centres around and we do list some in the following topic that may be useful as starting points:
