When something breaks or doesn’t work, you should get a refund.
Right now, Consumer Affairs Ministers are deciding whether or not to make your refund rights better.
Can you fill out a short survey about your experience seeking a refund so we can get better laws?
We’ll include your stories in our submission to the consumer guarantees consultation. These stories will help provide the evidence that we need stronger rights, including:
An automatic right to choose a refund, repair or replacement if anything goes wrong with a product in 30 days (instead of having to prove a ‘major’ failure); and
A right to choose a refund, repair or replacement if a product has a series of ‘minor’ failures (instead of needing to accept a repair if the seller insists).
I didn’t have a hard time - but I would never have known a refund was possible if my son hadn’t told me. I have just got $47 back on my green slip - apparently everyone with one can get a refund for last year. Why wasn’t it publicised, or was it and I missed it!! Just had to go to Services NewSouth Wales - very simple.
Maybe this isn’t the place on your website to say this - feel free to move it!
cheers,
Petrina
I find that the supermarkets (Woolies/Coles)/department stores (Target/Kmart/Big W) seem willing to refund without many questions (usually they offer option of refund, replacement, voucher to be used in the future to buy something else). They also have replaced items even if the receipt/proof of purchase was lost (they won’t refund under such circumstances).
The white goods/electronic/furniture retailers are a different matter and getting resolution is like getting blood out of a stone.
Beyond them there are the small ‘mum and pop’ shops that are cases of ‘one’ or ‘small local chains’. They can make the white goods/electronic/furniture retailers look relatively good in comparison. Why? I think the small operators either don’t take the trouble to keep up with their legal obligations beyond the ATO, or don’t care about those obligations, or fully appreciate that the ACCC will not be coming for them and at worst a state fair trading office might give them a friendly ring about a particular customer issue; they pass their attitude onto the aggrieved customer as ‘got a problem? SU!’
