Do you know any online stores breaking these return rules?

Over the ditch, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has recently looked at 2,000 retail websites and found some using terms and conditions that may contravene the Australian Consumer Law.

Our own Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) gives New Zealanders similar rights. So, stores here will likely be breaking the law if they’re leading consumers up the garden path about their rights.

Potentially misleading statements found by ACCC include:

• imposing time limits for returning a faulty product
• imposing blanket ‘no refund’ conditions on sales or specialised items
• referring to manufacturer warranties as the only avenue for consumers to claim remedies for faulty goods
• placing restrictions on consumers’ right to a remedy, including stating that delivery fees paid for faulty items are non-refundable and charging restocking fees if customers return faulty items.

The Aussie businesses that were using these statements received a warning letter from the ACCC.

ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe explained consumers have basic rights when buying products and services.

“These rights are separate from any warranties offered by a business and cannot be taken away by anything a business says or does,” Ms Lowe said.

“Our action led to the majority of businesses changing or removing concerning statements from their websites and improving consumer guarantee messages to consumers.”

Have you seen any stores selling online in New Zealand that are breaking these rules? We’d like to know so we can put together another article about your return rights. Send any examples to [email protected].

How to deal with a faulty product in New Zealand

The CGA gives you powerful after-sales rights on products that aren’t up to scratch. The Act says products must be of acceptable quality, be fit for purpose, match their description and be delivered on time, among other things.

You can ask the retailer to rectify the problem if it doesn’t meet those guarantees. A sign in the store or a term on a website that says “no returns” is likely to be a breach of the Fair Trading Act – because it’s misleading you about your rights under the CGA.

• Minor faults: The retailer can choose to either repair the item, replace it or refund your money.
• Major faults: It’s your choice whether you opt for a replacement or a refund. A major fault means a reasonable consumer wouldn't have bought the product if they'd known about the problem.

The retailer can't palm you off to the manufacturer – you have the right to return the item to the retailer and have that retailer deal with the problem.

You also don’t have to accept store credit if you’re returning faulty goods.

In addition to getting the fault sorted, you can also claim back any other reasonably foreseeable losses you incur because of the faulty product. For example, if you have to post or courier goods back to be repaired, you don’t have to pay those costs.

If you’re a Consumer NZ member and need help returning a faulty product, you can contact our Consumer Advice Line for free. We have legal experts who will talk you through what to do.