In August I bought an HP LaserJet MFP printer that failed to connect by Wifi both to my iPhone14 and DELL XPS13 laptop after numerous attempts. HP Technical Support in Sydney were useless. I returned the MFP to Sydney and requested a refund.
But TechSupport have emailed several times saying they are closing my case because I am difficult to get hold of by phone! I have returned all their phone calls, and have the support of the HP seller, who escalated my case several times to the so-called Customer Service Team in Sydney.
In my view, it is unethical to close my case when I returned the unusable MFP to Sydney and requested a refund, supported by the online seller.
How can HP Australia think it is ok to ignore my case number (given in acknowledgement of my difficulties) and not give me a refund? To me that would be theft: a breach of Australian consumer law and of my HP warranty. Can anyone advise please how best to progress my case?
Iâve started by reporting HP Australia to HP Asia in Singapore today, pointing out their dishonorable behaviour.
Thank you
Welcome @Prof to the Community.
There is a lot to unpick here.
Firstly, HP did not sell you the printer. The seller sold you the printer. They are the ones responsible for sorting out your problem. So who is this seller who seems to be âsupportingâ your issue with the printer whilst not taking responsibility under the ACL for a remedy?
Secondly, you do not have any right to a refund. You have a right to repair, replace, or refund. Not your choice. The decision on that lies with the seller in conjunction with the manufacturer based on warranty arrangements.
Thirdly, what does returned to Sydney mean? To the seller or to HP? You own that printer. Get it back and insist under warranty that it works as it should. If that means a callout to an HP authorised service technician to come to you, rather than attempts over the phone to try and diagnose problems, obviously failing, then so be it.
And finally, are you sure you know how to connect up the printer to networking? Is it to act as a WiFi hub, or part of another hubbed network? What documentation did you follow before going to phone support?
Correction Gregor, Choice agree I am entitled to a refund or replacement under Australian consumer law
For a major fault. Sure. It has yet to be established that there is any fault at all. I would say it is a confuguration issue.
Would that have been through Choice Help? As @Gregr posted the seller is responsible for refunds as well as getting problems sorted. Reading between the lines suggests you are being âled aroundâ by the seller rather than supported.
I also agree it is probably a configuration issue that should be easily resolved by a competent, attentive tech support person.
In the absence of being able to get support, have you given the seller a formal âLetter of Complaintâ citing the product does not work and HP support has been unable to help get it working possibly because they have not been contactable? If you need assistance with that there are many links on the Community, from Choice, and from the ACCC to be found by search tools.
The support ticket is possibly a furphy and it should have no bearing on a refund being issued by the seller, online or not although it could be argued this is not a major fault - however you could claim it is not fit for purpose as you are a typical consumer and should not require expert support to get it working.
Is the crux of the issue is that the seller is intransigent unless HP âgives upâ and the underlying problem from their side is the claim HP support has not been able to contact you? If so and you have documented dates and times where they could not be contacted, include that in your letter of complaint. Regardless that should have no bearing on the fitness for purpose.
Would @Prof have purchased the MFP if they had known previously of the connectivity issue? If not so, then they are covered by the refund choice under ACL
" Products and the consumer rights that apply
When buying a product, a consumer has the right to expect the following things.
Fit for a particular purpose
(Consumer rights and guarantees | ACCC)
This guarantee applies when:
- a consumer tells a business they want to use a product for a particular purpose
- the consumer buys the product based on the advice of the business
- the business advertises in any way that the product can be used for a particular purpose.
In any of these situations, the product that the business sells must be fit for the particular purpose stated.
This guarantee does not apply:
- if itâs unreasonable for the consumer to rely on the skill or judgement of the business
- if the business tells the consumer the product wonât meet their purpose, but the consumer buys the product anyway."
@Prof also unsuccessfully attempted getting the issue resolved by having contact with the manufacturer, this failure to provide the functionality means they have a product that did not meet itâs claims. This again, is grounds for a refund under ACL.
"
Major failures
Major problems cannot be fixed or are too difficult to fix.
There is a major failure to comply with a consumer guarantee when:
- You would not have purchased the product if you had known about the problem. For example, you
would not have bought the washing machine if you had known the motor would fail after 3 months. - The product is significantly different from the description, sample or demonstration model you
were shown. For example, you ordered a red bicycle from a catalogue but the bicycle delivered
was green. - The product is substantially unfit for its normal purpose and cannot easily be made fit within a
reasonable time. For example, the raincoat you bought is not waterproof because it is made from
the wrong material. - The product is substantially unfit for a purpose that you told the supplier about, and cannot easily be
made fit within a reasonable time. For example, you told the seller you needed a car to tow a boat,
but the car they sold you is not powerful enough to tow your boat because its engine is too small. - The product is unsafe. For example, the electric blanket has faulty wiring.
There is also a major failure to comply with a consumer guarantee when there are multiple minor
problems with the product and you would not have purchased the product if you had known the nature
and extent of the problems, taken as a whole."
The seller of the product as others have pointed out are the responsible party under ACL and they should not be directing the purchaser to use the manufacturer to resolve their claim. As @PhilT has stated this should start with a formal letter of complaint to the seller, though this may require getting the MFP back from the manufacturer (HP) so as to be able to return it to the seller or the complaint letter may need to be sent to HP if that is not possible.
If the letter fails to elicit the response required then a complaint to the Fair Trading body of the State/Territory will be required. If they fail to get the result required, then a claim will need to be made through the relevant Civil and Administrative Tribunal/Court for the State/Territory. Getting legal advice is also very highly recommended before starting out in taking further action. For some free legal advice centres that may help see Free Legal Advice Centres
WiFi connectivity has been around for a long long time. If HP sold a printer with specs that said that that connectivity in addition to other usual methods like USB or Ethernet were supported then it should work. And I am pretty sure it would.
But there will be some configuration required. There may well be some software required on any device connecting to the printer. This would be explained in a user manual.
There are some pretty good techos in the Community glad to help if you want it.
I appreciate the support and help thank you. The community support is already making me feel better and better able to fight. I am going to the Gold Coast Community Legal Centre today and will take copies of my evidence base (have photographed everything including the configuration issues).
Thank you again : )
It depends what the issue is. If the printer is defective, such as the WIFI circuitry/chips are defective, then it would fall under the Australian Consumer Law.
However, if it is a network issue at your end, it might sit outside the Australian Consumer Law as it could be something at your end which is causing the WIFI connection issues. This could be a range of things which arenât the fault of the printer. This website explains some of the common WIFI connection issues which can occur with HP printers and how to fix them:
https://thewiredshopper.com/why-is-your-hp-printer-not-connecting-to-wi-fi/
I would be trying the above fixes first before taking it further. If you do take it further before trying the above fixes, there is a risk that they might give you a refund to allow you to purchase another printer, only to find out that the next WIFI printer (inc. non-HP brands) you buy has the same issues.
Trying out these fixes also reduces the risk that the issue is with settings/firmware/software at your end.
This also then makes escalation of the issue easier as you can than outline what things you have done to try and make the printer connect to WIFI.
Thank you but I did everything on the WiredShopper list multiple times. Hence my frustration.
My MFP has built in support for âWiFi-Directâ as it is termed. @Prof indicated they purchased the MFC to work with their iPhone as well as their computer, so I suspect that they wanted the WiFi Direct capability as well as the standard WiFi support. Neither of which services appear to be working for them. This WiFi Direct does not require the normal WiFi connection and works directly between the phone (Android and iOS types) and the MFP/MFC, a basic explanation of the differences follows.
" What is difference between Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct?
Connected devices on a typical Wi-Fi network can only communicate through a centralized wireless access point or router. This is not the case with Wi-Fi Direct. In contrast, Wi-Fi Direct allows for direct device-to-device communication, bypassing your router or access point, even with no internet connection."
This is built into many of the newer printers, a useful feature if you just wish to print directly without having a standard WiFi network handy to connect through.
I get the distinct impression that the OP is really just looking for the money back. In essence a change of mind refund. Which has no rights under the ACL.
But wherever the printer is now (and that has not been divulged except it is in Sydney), all HP have to do is test it for a fault. If it works as described, no fault. No refund.
If they find a fault, then at their discretion they can choose the remedy. Being a printer, that would probably be a repair. Or a replacement. Whatever is in their interests.
Being a current model, both those options should be available, and refund not considered.
But as the printer was not sold by HP, any refund would have to come from the seller. An entity the OP has not divulged. Also what representations made by the seller as to capabilities the printer has.
There is movement today from the HP seller. I have received an authorisation form for a replacement printer so will take that option given the advice on this forum.
Thank you everyone again for your input.
Well it will still be up to you to configure the same printer model for your use.
Back to square one. Whenever the replacement arrives. I do hope it actually was a device fault, and next time config goes well.
I want to thank everyone for their help. I secured a refund. Case closed 
Thanks for âclosing the caseâ.
