During recent years, when we have found relatively low priced to be defective, I have contacted the manufacturer to report the problems instead of simply returning them to the store, especially in the case of food products.
Whilst retailers such as Coles happily provide a refund of the purchase price, I strongly suspect that the items end up in the trash and the manufacturers are not made aware of the problems.
I have contacted manufacturers regarding pressure packs of oven cleaner and shaving cream which ran out of propellent long before they were empty, toothbrushes with dangerous plastic extrusions, hair conditioner which was not properly welded at the base of the tube, a carton of milk with an off taste which was not actually off, and many other items.
On most occasions, they sent us a prepaid satchel to return the defective products for examination, or if not viable, they requested the manufacturer’s data on the packaging.
In all cases, they provided us with a physical or electronic gift voucher rounded up to the nearest $5.
So for a little extra effort on our part, the manufacturers were made aware of the problems and we received a little more than the purchase price.
