We purchased a Dashcam from The Good Guys about 3 years ago. Just before the 1 year warranty was about to expire, it lost the plot and forgot how to actually record footage of whatever was in front of us when we were driving the car.
The Good Guys gave us a replacement Dashcam, which was the next model up and we decided to pay $29 for their Concierge service to extend the warranty from 1 year to 3 years… or does it add an extra 3 years to the already existing first year of warranty? Not really sure about that one.
Anyways, earlier this week the replacement unit died. It’s been bit over two years since we got it as a replacement unit and paid for the extended warranty. So this morning I contacted the Good Guys store where we got the thing from and they gave me a number to call their Concierge people direct. The person who answered the call at the Concierge place took all the details of the product, the receipt number and what was wrong with the thing and then said to just take it back to the store for a replacement. Before we could do this, the local store called us to say we’ve been given an in store credit for $120. The original unit itself was worth $130 when we purchased it, so it seems the extended warranty doesn’t actually cover the full price we paid for the thing. I know it’s only $10 short, but surely a warranty should cover the full purchase price if they haven’t got any stock to replace a faulty item. In store credit’s not much use to us either. I don’t remember being told that this would happen when we signed up for the extended warranty.
We’ll have to go into the store tomorrow to claim the in store credit and see if they’ve actually got anything else that we want to purchase from them. Not happy with the lack of choice in Dashcams we saw online with them when we did some web browsing this afternoon though. Apparently everyone sells the same model of Dashcam that we need replacing except for The Good Guys who have discontinued most of their stock compared to what was available a couple of years ago.
I would be pushing them for a refund. Their website clearly states that they will meet the ACCC in relation to products under the Concierge Service…Gold Service Extras.
A store credit is unsatisfactory as you will end up buying something that you don’t want/need, on order to spend this credit rather than getting the value of the goods refunded.
I would also be asking for the full amount of the product value paid at purchase, which you are entitled to and not $10 less like they have offerred.
I would go back to them and say they their website says refund under rhe ACCC is possible and you will only accept this as the product is faulty and would require replacement again…for the third time.
I would also say that if you don’t receive a refund, you will be lodging a complaint with the ACCC and/or Office of fair Trading in your state and will be providing information from the Good Guys website and from their communications as evidence you are entitled to a full refund.
Yes, the ACCC website states that refunds for faulty goods must be for the full amount and paid back via the method originally used to pay for the item. I’ve dredged through my old bank statements and found the original transaction from the initial eftpos purchase of the first Dash Cam on the 6th of March 2015. So they can put the money back in my bank account. I’ll give them a call and tell them what the deal is.
Apparently their extended warranty is actually an insurance policy via a third party and the insurance policy states that if a refund is required then it will be for store credit only. Probably written in the large book full of small print I was given after I’d paid for the thing. The sales person never mentioned anything about it being a store credit deal when he asked me if I wanted to pay for the extended warranty, and never mentioned it was an insurance policy through a different company to the Good Guys. Who the hell reads pages and pages of fine print after they get home and after they’ve already paid for something? I spoke to Consumer Affairs here in Tassie and they say it’s complicated when it comes to extended warranties, although it’s still considered to be a warranty under Australian Law and still has to be refunded via the same method I paid for the thing. The Good Guys are trying to generate a loophole by calling it an insurance policy and apparently, according to the legal dept of Consumer Affairs I have a choice of accepting the in-store credit or taking them to court over it. Although it’s the insurance company I have to fight for this one as they dictate to the Good Guys how the refund will be made. There are no laws in place in Tasmania that will get them prosecuted by the government for breaching the consumer protection laws in this case. If I want action done I have to do it myself. Too much hassle for $130 I’m afraid. I’ll take the store credit. At least the manager quoted the correct price for the refund, Won’t be in a hurry to purchase from the Good Guys again though. Not for anything that might need an extended warranty.
Have you spoken to the Good Guys since speaking to the Tassie Consumer Affairs to pass on the information received…that the Tassie CA take the information provided by Good Guys as a warranty under the ACC Law and that as such, provisions of the ACCC apply. Also state you have made the Tassie CA aware of the Good Guys trying to circumvent the ACC Laws. Under the ACC Law they are also responsible as the retailer. You can also ‘threaten’ that you may go to the media.
It may help change their response as a final attenpt.
We have noticed that since the Good Guys have been taken over by JB Hifi, the standard of service has deteriorated,…possibly because most Good Guys were franchises and the frachise owners strongly endeavoured to keep customers happy as any lost customer hit their own hip pocket.
I spoke to the local store manager who said he’d have to get back to me. While I waited I spoke to Consumer Affairs and then their legal department. I then told the store manager what was said and he didn’t care. As far as he’s concerned it’s between me and the insurance company I didn’t realise I was signing up with when told I was paying for an extended warranty instore at the Good Guys.
Irrespective of the paid ‘extended warranry’, it appears that the dashcam was not reliable and should be refunded by the store. Fobbing off to an insurance company is not good customer service and does not diminish their responsibilities under the ACC Law. They are the retailer and did not advise you of the limited extended warranty insurer t&cs when buying the extended warranty.
I would make contact with the Good Guys head office in writing (email or letter) outlining your experience and how you are entitled to a refund but the local store is only providing store credit which is both inconvenient and unsatisfactory, and does not meet ACC Law.
Also say that you may take the matter further based on the advice of the Tassie consumer affairs.
Sent a query to the ACCC seeing as Tas Consumer Affairs seem to be unable to do anything other than say I can take it through the court system if I can be bothered with it. It definitely lists it as a warranty on the invoice though.
Sadly a text book example of how government makes rules “protecting” citizens that are only applicable to those providers / companies willing to comply. On the other extreme if government can get revenue the penalties are spelt out and often ridiculously severe.
Actually - if you were given the fine print booklet after you made the purchase then it cannot be consider to be binding on you. To be binding, they should have made their terms clear to you before you sealed the contract.
Offer, Acceptance, and consideration are the 3 elements of a contract. Trying to foist additional terms on you after the event would not hold up in a court of law. You should take it to small claims tribunal if they dont fully refund you - otherwise they will continue to flout the law.
Which will all boil down to my word against theirs on whether I was informed or not 2 years ago. Can’t be bothered mucking about with them. They did lose a customer though and I’ve spread the word about their dodgy extended warranty.
Nup. Just a printed receipt on an A4 page. So I went and picked up my instore credit today. Apparently it’s only good for 12 months, so hopefully they’ll have something we want sometime between now and then.
The Department of Fair Trading is the place to go to for this type of problem not ACCC or Consumer Affairs.I had a similar fight with The Good Guys and eventuall Fair Trading stepped in for me and I collected my full refund the next day!!
I WOULDN’T BUY A POSTAGE STAMP FROM THE GOOD GUYS AFTER THE CRAP THEY TRIED WITH ME OVER A FAULTY GPS WORTH A LOUSY $214.00!!!
