We received this question from a supporter: I bought a smartphone from JB Hi-Fi and when home, peeled off the clear plastic circle stickers to look at the charger. On realising that it used a ‘c’ charging cable and that this would be a third type of cable, I decided to return it and buy a different phone at an additional cost of $200. The manager ultimately agreed to do this as a ‘favour’ but showed me the no change of mind policy. I was not aware of this policy, was not advised at the time of first purchase, nor is it on the receipt. How can it be reasonable to have a policy and not advise consumers. Does a policy exist if a consumer is not aware of it?
Answer:
Businesses are under no obligation to offer change of mind refunds, so they’re not required to display a change of mind or no refund signs. In fact, ‘no refund’ signs or similar signs are unlawful, because they imply that you cannot get a refund or exchange the product under any circumstances, even if it fails to meet a consumer guarantee under the Australian Consumer Law. Signs that read ‘No refunds will be given if you have simply changed your mind’ are acceptable. We’d recommend that if you’d like the flexibility to change your mind on a purchase, that you check the retailers website for their Ts & Cs (JB Hi-Fi specify their policy on their website) or ask a staff member to ensure that option is available to you.
What does advise mean? The T&Cs including Change in Mind are available online…
This only suits those shoppers which have access to the internet (which is most Australians) and those who take time to check before leaving to or when about to make a purchase (maybe a small percentage as often change in mind isn’t usually a thought when making most purchases).
I suppose they they could place them on a notice board on a wall within the store, but how many customers would read them?
They could also place a hardcopy at the register in a stand (their hardcopy refund and return T&Cs are in a brochure format…but again, how many would take and read these before purchase.
Should they volunteer the information at purchase…would a purchase become a longwinded process and become like some of the telephone calls where one has to listen 30 seconds or more to privacy policies. I wonder how many consumers would get disgruntled by waiting say a minute extra per customer in front of them as the store attendant communicates returns policy, privacy policy etc to each customer at the time of purchase?
I also expect that they would be provided or communicated if asked…JB Hifi have provided a hardcopy when in store (see below). I often ask about change in mind policy when purchasing items which may fit into change of mind (such as clothing, shoes etc bought for others when shopping).
I recall when we returned a toasting machine to JB HiFi outside the warranty but for what we believed still came under the ACL consumer guarantee, JB Hifi were more than happy to provide a hardcopy of their Refunds and Warranty guide as evidence that due to the price paid, they would not offer any resolution under the ACL for the faulty product (fortunately I was successful in gaining a remedy by explaining my rights and also that the product had a manufacturing fault causing it to fail).
I bought a product and took it home only to find that it was not what I thought I had bought. Two very similar lines by the same manufacturer were side by side on display, and I didn’t check the small print on the packaging when I took it off the shelf. It seems that some of the products had been mixed up, either by staff or by customers so they weren’t in the correct position.
The next day armed with the receipt I tried to swap the unopened product for the one I wanted (both were the same price). I was told that this was a change of mind and I could not swap.
I maintain it was not a change of mind, but a product placement error. The store wouldn’t budge. I was most miffed because it wouldn’t have cost them anything to swap the unopened item bought the day before for the correct one.
So, sometimes ‘change of mind’ is used as a very broad weapon.
Our local Woolies has been reliably hard nosed about ‘changes of mind’ (including picking up the wrong product, or display issues, etc) since their policies changed during COVID…
Woollies seem to getting more shonky on a daily basis as I have posted in other topics.
One of their modus operandi is to use price signs for “fresh food” items in the deli as being on “special” in lieu of stating as “reduced to clear”.
A few days ago, I bought some chicken thigh fillets on “special” for a recipe my wife wanted to try, but when I went to Coles, they had some chicken breast fillet slices marked down by over 86% so she cooked it the next day, which was the day after after the Best Before date and it was fine.
The next day when I cooked the Woolies chicken thight fillets for a curry, they appeared to be not very fresh but I have lived to tell the tale.
The bottom line is that if you see a “fresh” product in the deli displays at Woollies on “special”, make sure to ask what the used by date actually is as the local Woollies staff will usually look at the back of the sign and say that it is today or tomorrow,
“Woolworths, the fresh food people, with never ending scams for you”
Locally Coles has routinely had better, fresher, fresh everything excepting they still have not gotten the knack for thawing products before they get on the shelves
We recently bought a bed frame/side tables/tallboy and a mattress from a local store. Total of $3550.
When the delivery came, the bed frame won’t go upstairs because of its size (one piece welded) so we asked the truck driver to return it to the store’s wearhouse- we paid the delivery guys their delivery fee of $90.
We then went to the store and told our story to the manager, she asked us to choose something else- we looked around but didn’t like anything.
So we asked the manager for full refund, and she immediately refused saying it was our responsibility to make sure the dimensions were right and it’d fit. She offered us store credit or 75% of the total we paid. Apparently it’s their policy to charge customers 25% in such cases.
I told the manager, the furniture didn’t even come inside our house, the delivery driver took it back. What’s 25% for?
They made us sign a contract prior to delivery which I have attached.
What are my options from here to get 100% money back?
I merged your topic into this germane one because in spite of events on the day, it is explicitly covered in your sales contract at #8 and #10 and because the bed would not fit up your stairs, it simplistically reflects a change of mind for the purpose you posted.
#8 in your sales contract it is quite explicit
In addition to #8, #10 is applicable.
Other than appealing to the shop’s good will, probably none since you have already been refused. It appears the best outcome you could attain would be 75% ‘cash’ refund noting there is nothing on the contract indicating a refund is only available as a credit although it seems ambiguous because of that omission.
Excepting for the credit-only offer the shop seems on solid ground. The only other suggestion might be to approach the owner (if s/he is not the manager) and try to negotiate a better outcome as a matter of their good will.
I don’t understand how this falls under change of mind. We didn’t even open any of the boxes? The good that we returned are brand new, what did they lose that they’re asking 25% for? They can sell these items as new again.
Just because they have this in contact doesn’t make it fair?
In theory you could have put the bed in a different room but you changed your mind about buying it after you discovered it would not fit where you wanted it. It was, after all, your responsibility to make/assure it fit, per #8 as a condition of the sale.
To help you understand how broad a ‘change of mind’ issue can be, you might be interested in this other topic. There is a similarity to your problem, eg ‘it did not fit’.
Restocking fees are common for returns in many businesses regardless of whether a box was opened or not, and that you may feel hard done by, your situation is not uncommon regarding having to pay a restocking fee for returning goods.
Restocking fees can cover potentially lost sales if you had the only stock and they could not deliver to another customer, or in cases where a ‘box’ was opened or protection ripped or removed, it often cannot be resold as new at full price.
I did not suggest I thought it was, however excepting for the form of refund of the 75% that is not well defined, your situation is covered in the contract of sale to which you agreed by your purchase.
Unless another member has a different view my suggestion is to pursue a ‘cash’ refund and write off the 25% as an educational expense. I know that is not what you hoped to hear, but it is how it looks from ‘here’.
However if you were not given a copy of that contract at the time of purchase you may have a position to stand on. Whether you gave them a signed copy at the time could also be relevant.
As @PhilT indicated, as there is nothing wrong with the product and you decided you didn’t want it because it was the wrong size/didn’t fit, then it is a clear change in mind.
Change of mind is when a customer decides that they no longer want a product for some reason. It could be that they forgot they already had another one, saw it cheaper somewhere else and wanted to take it back so they could buy it elsewhere, it was the wrong colour or size and such like. The Victorian Consumer Affairs as posted above provides good examples and definition of what is a change in mind.
Generally, a store does not have to give a refund or replacement if a customer simply changes their mind about a product.
Under the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), a customer is only entitled to choose a refund or replacement for a major problem with a product covered by consumer guarantees.
It is unfortunately situation you are in as the store can determine what their change in mind policy is. In your case where you effectively wish to cancel the (unopened) order you have received, this would mean that you would lose the 25% deposit (value) of the product if returned.
You could try and negotiate a 100% if there was another product you could exchange it for that they sell…exchange product price = price you paid for the unwanted product.
This comes up a couple times in this thread, so I feel like it needs to be mentioned.
Consumer law guarantees products sold are fit for purpose, accurately described, and free of defects among other things. It does not provide protection if the product functions as expected, but does not fit (unless you were mislead about the dimensions or your ability to get a refund if it wasn’t right). In these instances it is down to the store’s refund policy, and it’s up to the customer to be aware of it before making the purchase.
Perhaps you could negotiate a 100% credit on a product from them that did fit your needs? This might be something they will consider. But it is not required that they do so, it is purely up to their good will if they do or don’t.
They are generously offering 75% for change of mind when the ACL is quite clear they have no legal need to do so. Of course the contract you had/have with them sets that they do and you can only rely on that to the 75% of the cost as set out in the contract. In this regard it is like a warranty provided that increases your protection above the ACL levels.
From the ACCC on the ACL about change of mind:
"Consumer obligations
Consumers’ rights are not limitless and the consumer guarantees do not require you to provide a remedy unless one of the guarantees has not been met.
For example, you may not be required to provide a remedy if a consumer:
simply changes their mind, decides they do not like the purchase or has no use for it"
Restocking fees as others have noted are common and not illegal on Change of Mind purchases. There are costs such as the extra labour in warehousing the returned goods that while not apparent to the person returning the goods have real impacts on the profitability of that item to the business that they would not have otherwise had to outlay if the goods had not been returned.
If the goods had been faulty no restocking fee could have been charged, but this was not a faulty product it would seem.
While 25% is on the high end a range of 10-25% is common when there are restocking fees, they do not need to justify it, just put it on the contract.
Their goal is to ‘encourage’ consumers to buy carefully and not return items that are not flawed, cover their costs of inventory, recompense for a potentially lost sale while ‘you’ have it, delivery, inspection prior to delivery and on return, and additional warehousing for that item.
Some businesses also have ‘floor plans’ for their goods. eg they are financed and every day the goods do not deliver revenue is cash out of pocket, so they need to cover their financing rather than reduce profits because of a customer change of mind.
It is likely they have ordered (and potentially paid) for replacement stock on the ordering of the items you purchased - this is common practice of stores to maintain inventory. If this is the case, and the particular item you bought aren’t popular models, the store may now have 2 sets they need to sell. If they don’t sell, the are likely to be (heavily) discounted at a future date so they do.
Notwithstanding this, the store has their cash bound up in the additional stock as well as it taking up space to store which could otherwise have been used for other items.
The store has to be profitable and the costs of having additional inventory through a change if mind of a customer (which is outside the stores control and a decision of the customer) could reasonably expected to be paid in part by the customer.
A store could also refuse any refunds or returns for a change in mind…so 75% could be seen as better than getting no refund and having to keep items one doesn’t want.
They have generously decided that they won’t keep the entire sum and not accept the change of mind return is their probable take on the matter. They are backed up by Australian Consumer Law that allows them to absolutely refuse a refund on Change of Mind, or no longer wanted goods.
The fact they allow the return, that they have included the conditions of it in the contract and will pay 75% of the value is a very good outcome in light of what they are allowed to do by Law. The Contract has saved you about $2,670 rather than if in the circumstances that you had no Contract that you would have lost $3,550 (subject to their goodwill only).
