Big W in hot water over returns policy
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has accepted a court-enforceable undertaking from Big W after it admitted it may have breached the Australian Consumer Law by making false or misleading representations when dealing with customers who purchased faulty Dyson appliances.
The ACCC was concerned that between at least 30 December 2016 and 30 April 2018, Big W’s customer service staff told consumers who complained about faulty Dyson appliances that they would need to deal directly with the manufacturer to obtain a remedy if the complaint was made more than 14 days from the date of purchase.
“Big W has acknowledged that its conduct may have misled consumers about their rights to a repair, replacement or a refund for faulty products,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.
“Consumers have a right to ask the business they have purchased a faulty product from for a repair, replacement or even a refund, depending on the seriousness of the fault,” Ms Court said.
“Retailers cannot shift their responsibility to manufacturers or set an arbitrary time limit on their obligations under the consumer guarantees.”
As part of the undertaking, Big W will publish a notice on its website, inviting consumers to contact Big W if they believe they have purchased a faulty Dyson appliance.
Big W will review all consumer queries about faulty products in line with its obligations under the Australian Consumer Law. This includes Dyson appliances previously purchased from Big W.
Big W has also undertaken to review and improve its Australian Consumer Law compliance program for Big W retail staff.
Have you purchased a faulty Dyson product from Big W? Did you receive an appropriate remedy?
No, but I did purchase a Dyson poduct that has perfomed magnificently. This aticle may interpreted to infer that Dyson products are inferior when they are definastely not. As an engineer I believe that Dyson products are in the higher echelon of quality. That does not mean that none may fail prematurely, that is the nature of modern mass production.
The discussion should be on many rertail outlets mistaken belief that after a short period (ie 14 days) they have no responsibility to remedy a failure. I had a similar situation with an Electrolux product which I bought as a gift for my daughter. When it failed on first use the retailer (not BigW) refused to replace the item as I had bought it more than 14 days previously. I contacted Electrolux, they were apologetic and contacted the retailer to organise a replacement to be sent to us the same day.