Bought a LG Dishwasher late last year ,recommended by Choice ,I had issues with a burning smell .Harvey Norman at Dandenong is not interested,Consumer affairs cant do anything ,and so Ive been playing phone ping pong with LG head office ,they finally sent out a so called technition ,who just turned it on ,didnt do anything and said he had to take it back to the workshop ,I believe if the the product is not fit for purpose shouldnt hey replace it .Not take it back to the workshop ? what are my rights
andrewp
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Welcome to the Community @andrewp,
According to the Australian Consumer Law, that HN Franchise ‘owns’ your problem. If they fobbed you off I do not understand why Consumer affairs ‘cant do anything’.
Numerous HN franchises have been fined large amounts for misrepresenting consumer rights and their obligations (eg fobbing off customers).
A burning smell is not exactly not fit for purpose, it is a failure. Without knowing more the best advice I can provide is related to
Search the Community for the Australian Consumer Law, ACL, and Choice advice regarding your rights and have a read.
If you are not satsfied with how you have been treated you will have to write formal letter of complaint per the ACL and deliver it to the manager at HN Dandenong. The letter has to include what you bought, what is wrong, the responsibility for same under the ACL, and what you want and by when as if you were a silk arguing in front of a magistrate.
If HN Dandenong continues to fob you off (and as a practical matter LG has not fixed it) you can take your letter to the ACCC/Consumer Affairs and make a formal complaint regarding violations of the ACL.
Please let us know how you proceed, or if you need further pointers, and the outcome.
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What my house has to burn down before LG lifes not good will replace my dish washer .Get real .
Consumer Affairs are a bunch of toothless tigers ,they even admitted it to me . This crappy D/W is now holding up my clothes dryer.At least its useful for one thing.
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Have you given them a serve on Product Review yet?
Also a serve for LG dishwashers.
Ime not going to waste my typing ,You people are aware of how crappy Harvey Norman customer service is .Thats what I need to do .
Did you lodge a complaint/claim with your Civil and Administrative Tribunal (CAT) seeking reimbursement? Fair Trading/Consumer Affairs are just a step you have to take so a CAT will hear your claim. The claim should be against the Harvey Norman Dandenong franchise (as made clear by @PhilT) as the retailer but you could try against LG. Australian Consumer Law in action is best taken against the retailer as you can seek compensation for additional costs that have occurred because of the failure. If you claim against LG the remedy is only for the cost of the machine, no compensation beyond that can be made.
If you stopped your action at the Fair Trading level because they couldn’t help you, then you likely may not have taken full advantage of your rights under ACL.
I must also say that just because your machine failed it doesn’t mean that all those machines have or will fail, in fact they may be very good machines and you just got a faulty one. I know many brands have had failures because nothing in this regard is perfect. That’s why we have ACL to help address issues when they crop up.
Hopefully you searched this site about how to formally address your claim. As pointed out previously there is quite a bit of information of how to go about it.
A bit about your rights from the ACCC website
Who to claim a remedy from
Products
You can claim a remedy from the retailer if the products do not meet any one or more of the consumer guarantees, with the exception of availability of spare parts and repair facilities.
The remedies you can seek from the retailer who sold you the product include a repair, replacement, or refund and in some cases compensation for damages and loss.
The retailer can’t refuse to help you by sending you to the manufacturer or importer.
You can claim a remedy directly from the manufacturer or importer if the goods do not meet one or more of the following consumer guarantees:
- acceptable quality
- matching description
- any extra promises made about such things like performance, condition and quality
- repairs and spare parts - the manufacturer is responsible for ensuring that spare parts and repair facilities (a place that can fix the consumer’s goods) are available for a reasonable time after purchase unless you were told otherwise. How long is ‘reasonable’ will depend on the type of product.
You are only entitled to recover costs from a manufacturer or importer, which include an amount for reduction in the product’s value and in some cases compensation for damages or loss.
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In the case of HN it would be the specific franchisee. The HN business model is referenced many times on the Community.
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Dont buy from Reese Mill Park ,they dont honour their warranty
Consumer Affairs are a waste of space they tell you stuff you should allready know they are a "Toothless Tiger and the reatailers know it
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CAT whats Cat ,we dont have that in Victoria ,apart from the feral ones
Sort of outlined that in the post you reference but I had not made it State specific as some States still use the Magistrates Court to hear these matters:
In Victoria it is the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT), and it isn’t Victoria’s Consumer Affairs Department (CAV https://www.consumer.vic.gov.au/)
This the CAT site for your State.
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There is no argument that businesses that ‘want’ to comply voluntarily or under duress will, and others will fob their noses at the system and go their ‘merry way’ unless a consumer goes to their state xCAT or lodges a formal suit in a regular court.
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