Warranty periods for replacement goods

Edit: New readers to the topic can join it as of January 2023 by clicking here.

I recently had cause to return a faulty generator still under warranty, to the supplier.
The supplier informed me the replacement generator would not receive the new machine warranty but would have a warranty period equal to the warranty time left on the faulty machine.
Another fact here is they could not supply the same model as a replacement and I agreed to take a smaller capacity machine.
Is this correct?It seems fair and logical that the new replacement machine should have a full warranty period just like any other new machine?

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Hi @buddytess,
Regarding the replacement, it should be an equivalent machine. If not and you weren’t happy with the smaller capacity generator, you could argue for a refund instead.

With the warranty, it really comes down to customer service and I agree it would be common sense that the new machine would have a full warranty. However, failing that you are also covered under the Australian Consumer Law. The generator should be fit for purpose and last a ‘reasonable’ amount of time, otherwise you can claim a remedy in the form of a repair, replacement or refund.

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Thank you , Brendan . . .

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I have had to have replacement goods and always argued (almost always successfully) that:-

The goods being supplied should be of equivalent quality to the new product, and therefore should have the same warranty as a new product. That is, the warranty should start anew.

If they refuse, then you can always say that this indicates that the replacement product they are providing is not of the same quality as required under ACL, OR they don’t have faith in the product they are providing you. Neither of which is acceptable. Therefore they should provide a product that they will warranty for the full new period.

As I said, that generally confounds their arguments and is usually enough to convince them to start the warranty period anew.

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Thank you!
I will give it a try. . .

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I would like to share my experience with the community regarding the warranty on replacement goods where the replacement has been occasioned by a good breaking down in the warranty period.
I bought a generator ( another topic but do not buy anything off EBay that may require repair under warranty,no matter how good a price!) which went bung in the warranty period.
The company finally agreed to replace it but the warranty on the replacement generator continued on from the original machine warranty.
The NSW fair trading service confirmed this is legal inNSW so there you go . . .
Cheers

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I too had a generator that recently failed, from Bunnings. The Briggs and Stratton warranty was one year full warranty plus one year parts only, and we’d had the generator for 1 year and 5 months when something in it seized, either motor or generator, I’m not sure. In any case, the rope pull would not move, so I removed it for testing, and it was fine, also removing the spark plug to make sure the cylinder was not full of petrol, it wasn’t. Oil was full, and I’d recently changed it. This indicated some other mechanical seizure, so upon returning the service man had a quick look before phoning their supplier to discuss it.
The result was a new replacement generator of the same model! :slightly_smiling_face:
I did not enquire about the warranty, but if this one fails, I’ll certainly be pushing for the full stated warranty period.

I agree with @buddytess, buying equipment of ebay traders is very risky if you want to be able to claim on warranty. I learnt this the hard way from a rotary hoe that failed after only 3 hours use. That was an expensive mistake!

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I recently returned an Omron blood pressure monitor to Omron after it stopped working. I’d had it for one and a half years, and the warranty was for five years. They said to send it in which I did.
They said it was faulty and gave me a new replacement which was actually an upgraded version as the one I had was no longer available.

So far so good. But I was surprised to see that although the new unit was eligible for a five-year warranty, they said they would only give me three and a half years for it.

Surely if it is a brand-new unit, it should have come with the full warranty of five years?

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Hi @Clea

It is based on when you bought the first unit, not the warranty replacement. If you had purchased the new replacement unit it would have their 5 year warranty but it was just a unit that they sent rather than repair and return your old unit.

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Prima facie your assumptions seems logical; but I have to concur with @grahroll as this is generally the practice used by businesses which provide replacement/repair products under warranty.

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According to the ACCC Consumer Guarantee, the consumer can ask for a refund if the product had a major problem (I would consider a product that needed to be replaced, a major problem).

Meanwhile, ACCC says, “a product or good has a major problem when it has a problem that would have stopped someone from buying it if they’d known about it.” I guess one could say a product that breaks down in 18 months, if known, probably prevented Clea from buying it in the first place.

So at that point, Clea could ask for a refund, instead of repair or replacement. So, if Clea received a refund and bought the newer model, it would have 5-years warranty. Therefore, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect full 5-years warranty on replacement products in my opinion.

Maybe that will encourage manufacturers to make products that will last. I rather pay more at the start for a product to last. Better for the consumer, environment, etc.,

Hi There,

I have an xbox elite 2 controller that has been replaced under warranty already

originally purchased on 30/06/2020
replaced on 14/05/2022
manufacturer warranty valid until 22/05/2024

The controller has again failed, I have approached the retailer EB games and they have advised that the controller is out of warranty as the replacement controller did not come with its own new warranty and instead continued on from the initial purchase back in 2020.

Is this right? I cant seem to find anything in regards to this situation on the ACCC website but would have assumed that given it is a new product a new product warranty would apply.

Any suggestions or links to any literature regarding this kind of issue would be greatly appreciated it’s a $250 controller and is marketed as a premium product so I feel like I’m copping a bit of a raw deal here.

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Welcome to the Community @Shae,

I merged your post into this existing one where a few members had similar questions. It may pay to peruse the entire topic.

A warranty is essentially a benefit provided by a manufacturer and it starts from the original purchase date. A replacement product is akin to a repair so their warranty carries on, not starts again. OTOH the Australian Consumer Law transcends a manufacturers warranty and with perseverance consumers have been successful with [well researched] claims on product quality and durability.

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I purchased a Surface laptop in 2020. It worked fine until late 2022, when a forced software update completely bricked it. It wouldn’t even turn on.
Microsoft provided a replacement of the same model, even though it was “out of warranty” - which doesn’t apply under Australian Consumer LAW (ACL).
Less than two months on, the keyboard and touch pad of the replacement laptop have stopped working, and the touch screen occasionally works. Troubleshooting indicates it’s probably a hardware problem. I suspect my replacement is a reconditioned second hand laptop.
Microsoft only provides warranty for these replacement devices for 30 days(!), but lucky me, I just squeaked in with my service request. Aside from the fact a 30 day warranty would clearly contravene the ACL. They offered another replacement. I requested a refund instead, as this is a major failure and a refund is my right.
They denied that request.
Since then I’ve been trapped in customer service hell, including being hung up on multiple times. It has been days spent on hold, being transferred to the “right department”, explaining myself endlessly, being provided no follow up, and never having my request for the direct contact details of an escalation manager met. My favourite conversation was the guy in charge of supervising refunds who told me:

  1. He doesn’t know the ACL at all
  2. He doesn’t have a copy of the ACL on his Microsoft system
  3. The Microsoft system won’t allow him to search the Internet for a copy of the ACL.
    I am trying to follow up any leads on agencies which will actually assist me in getting my rights observed, which I suspect is my state/territory fair trading branch. It’s painstaking to put together the documentation without a laptop.
    This is not the first time it’s been almost impossible to hold a large company accountable for faulty products (I will never purchase from Hisense again).
    Does anyone have any specific advice on holding Microsoft to account here?
    I’m also curious if others have had this same experience with Microsoft - are they fleecing many people of their rights and getting away with it because we have no easy way to fight back?
    They’ve absolutely built a system based on fundamental misinformation, and which makes it impossible for consumers to hold anyone to account.
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Welcome to the community @byomonkey.

I have merged your post into this existing topic which covers warranty for replacement goods.

The first question is where & how did you purchase the laptop? Did you purchase from a retailer or directly from Microsoft? Under the ACL, you should deal with the retailer, and they should not pass you on to the wholesaler or manufacturer. If you bought from a retailer, then that is who you should be approaching, not Microsoft.

If the merchant/retailer who sold you the laptop won’t play ball under the ACL, you can approach your state Fair Trading / Consumer Affairs department. Be aware that these are no more than a post office and will not be able to do more than request the business to co-operate. If the business chooses not to do the right thing, your only recourse is to see a solicitor.

In addition, you can report the business to the ACCC, but they worn’t assist you either. They merely log statistics, and when a threshold of complaints is passed they negotiate an enforcable undertaking with the business. They may even in extreme cases take them to court, but the consumers who have been shonked by the business rarely see any benefit.

Not just Microsoft, but many businesses.

The problem for consumers is that the current ACL etc has no teeth and little support from any level of Government, and relies on businesses to do the right thing. Clearly this an enormous leap of faith that results in consumers being the ones who fall into the void.

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Thanks for the response.
Given that the current faulty product was supplied to me directly by Microsoft, not the retailer, will the retailer be able to refund the product?

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If you have the receipt for the 2020 purchase, yes if they choose to be good citizens. The retailer can then take it up with Microsoft.

Regarless of the business’ warranty, or the manufacturer’s warranty the ACL would still apply. You would expect a laptop to last for more than two years. (If you read back through this topic and the previous one you will see that often businesses will not extend their warranties for replacment goods.) And having two laptops fail in that time can be viewed as a major failure.

Again, you are reliant on the retailer doing the right thing. Who was the retailer?

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Hi @byomonkey, welcome to the community.

Microsoft have a 1 year manufacturer warranty with Surface Laptops, which can be extended up to 4 years by paying for their support program. This tends to suggest that Microsoft may believe its Surface Laptops have a minimum usable life of about 4 years.

Notwithstanding this and as you are aware, the Australian Consumer Law also applies and can have different or expected fault free periods. Microsoft also cover their obligations under the ACL here and their staff should be aware of this.

Choice has also covered what a reasonable consumer would expect the life of a product, such as a laptop would be around 6-8 years for a product like a Surface laptop. One would expect a good portion of this to be trouble free.

Using this information reasonable person would expect a Surface Laptop to be fault free more than the manufacturer’s warranty period offered by Microsoft. This assumes the fault isn’t one which is excluded under the ACL.

Where things get a little more complicated as it appears a software update cause the laptop to stop working for some reason.

Lets assume this update was from Microsoft as part of their standard OS updates. It may be that something corrupted the OS data causing the laptop to fail. Was it hardware failure, was it the update or was it non-Microsoft software on the laptop? This is a big unknown and may not be Microsoft’s responsibility if it was some other software which caused the fault. It it is confirmed it is Microsoft hardware or software which caused the fault, it may fall under the ACL. I say may, as it is possible that a power supply or other things not relating to the update caused failure coincidentally at the same time.

Do you have independent advice as to the cause of the failure and it is Microsoft responsibility?

This may not contravene the ACL. Any repairs are covered by the warranty or consumer guarantee provided at the date of purchase. It is often a mistaken belief that a warranty restarts when a product is replaced. This is incorrect and explained in other threads in the community, like that above.

In relation to a warranty for a repair, a business can chose to do this in addition to the consumer rights under the ACL or a new product’s manufacturer warranty.

The 30 day additional manufacturer warranty may have no impact on consumer rights under the ACL or a new product’s manufacturer warranty, and isn’t inconsistent with the ACL.

As asked above, do you know what caused the fault for the original laptop? Did you take out/pay for a support program? Knowing this might assist with what action may be possible.

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Hi, could you clarify for me which is the defect on the which to base a claim here - the original failure, or the failure of the replacement laptop?
In the terms of the original failure, I returned the product to Microsoft and was never provided any details on the what was the fundamental cause of the failure.

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I am attempting to follow up with the retailer now - JB Hifi.

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