Officeworks Will Only Assist You to Repair Out-of-Warranty Phone if You Pay for Postage

Kingfabay on 27/12/2017 - 21:16
Last edited 28/12/2017 - 09:14 by 1 other user

I want to state that I just left OW Milton and I am still very frustrated and hurt due to the customer service I received moments ago. I am not shaming the store and regardless of who was right, I think no one should be treated with contempt or feel absolutely helpless and gutted when speaking to a retail staff. I hope someone here can help me understand my options and how to proceed onwards.

Situation:
More than 1 Year ago: Nexus 5x developed a fault 6 month after I purchased it from OW Milton (Purchased on July 2016). Google support was not able to troubleshoot the error and asked to return the phone to manufacturer. OW state that it might take 1 month to be repaired. As a result, I decided to only send the Nexus 5x for repair until i have a spare phone around to use.

Today: After showing the receipt of the Nexus 5x, on duty manager Jack with no last name and no employee number at OW Milton stated that the phone is out of warranty. He said that he can send the phone to the manufacturer but I will have to pay for the postage and repair. Jack and employee A also claim that if a phone is out of warranty, the customer need to contact the manufacturer. I tried to reason and say that this phone has a retail price over $500, it is unreasonable for it not to last at least 2 years, OW should be responsible for repair. Jack simply stated that some phones dont last that long and OW is not responsible for a phone that is out-of-warranty. Employee A also claimed that if its over its warranty period, no mater how expensive it was purchased for, the customer is out of luck and out of pocket and the retailer can not help you (He said this it what OW trained him to say).

During the discussion, I repeatedly mention that it is unreasonable for this phone to not last 2 years and what they are suggesting is against my consumer rights. The staff not only say I am wrong about the Australian consumer rights and continued to pressure me to think that once the product is out of warranty, there is nothing they can do other then direct me to the manufacturer. The most they can do is send the phone to the repairer and I'll have to pay for postage. (They also mention that if the product has 2 years of warranty, they will only provide warranty for the first year. The customer needs to contact the manufacturer themselves after the first year)

Questions: Do I have any right to seek repair through OW? Can OW actually ask the customer to go speak to the manufacturer directly?

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Comments

  • Nutrino on 27/12/2017 - 21:31
    +4

    I'm just here for the replies, fireworks gonna begin any moment now.

  • garetz on 27/12/2017 - 21:39
    +2

    Yes you do, contact the accc. You should of asked to speak to their manager, sometimes i think all ow employees are trained to say no, when they really got no idea what they are talking about. You should make sure you record this encounter and include it in your complaint to the accc. You might also want to contact the head office first and let them know what happened and you are about to contact the accc. See what they say.

    btw, arguing with employees of any retail store never gets you anywhere, always ask to speak to the manager.

    • Kingfabay on 27/12/2017 - 21:49

      Thanks Garetz, its nice to get some assurance. I did seek the manager after being yelled at by a employee who thinks that I have no warranty claim. However, its the on duty manager who declared that he would do nothing but send the phone to the manufacturer for a fee. He said that the phone has only 1 year warranty and its over a year since it was purchased.

      I just checked the LG website and it definitely say 2 years warranty. http://www.lg.com/au/support/support-mobile/lg-H791-Charcoal…

      • poohduck on 27/12/2017 - 21:56

        Do you think the accc will do anything? I'm quite sure they won't.

        • Kingfabay on 27/12/2017 - 22:22
          +1

          It sucks to think that physical stores provide this kind of warranty services. Whats the point of buying Australian stocks? Would we be better off buying imported phones from online retailers? At least most of them provide pick up and return repairs from what I've been reading on OzB.

  • skragger on 27/12/2017 - 21:45
    +3

    I remember the good old days working in OW fighting with customers about warranty and repairs…

  • BTP1993 on 27/12/2017 - 21:46
    +4

    Contact the ACCC or better yet, call the manufacturer directly and seek an authorization number on the product for a possible replacement, credit or refund if at all possible.

    Irregardless of the situation, retailer have the same rights as do customers.

  • theclearout on 27/12/2017 - 22:58
    +6

    So almost 12 months after you first experienced an issue with your phone you went back to OW.
    In that time were you able to use the phone, access apps, surf the net. etc. ?
    If it was unusable you wouldn't have needed to wait until you had a spare as that would have been pointless, yes?
    What was the error exactly?

    • Kingfabay on 27/12/2017 - 23:23

      The issue is that the phone cant be connected or recognized by a PC. Therefore I can't transfer files and photos which is an absolute pain in the ass when I dont have any decent internet at my area. Google support think its an hardware issue. I delayed it till this point because I've got a hand me down at home at the moment. Still, I dont think delaying repair is a valid reason for OW to deny warranty though. The phone is faulty and its still in its warranty period.

      If you do have a solution for the fault, I would love to know please.

  • Yttrium on 27/12/2017 - 23:11
    -5

    you are owed a refund ,

    ring officeworks head office

    • whooah1979 on 28/12/2017 - 00:08
      +3

      you are owed a refund ,

      A refund is an unreasonable request for a minor fault. A more suitable remedy would be to send the item for a repair or replacement item.

      • Yttrium on 28/12/2017 - 08:50
        +1

        Good point, you are correct.

  • akyeeeahdude on 27/12/2017 - 23:49
    +2

    Ring the 1800 number and complain as the item is still within its 2 year defined warranty. I’ve also had a disappointing experience with ow Milton regarding a price beat. The Manager refused to do it so I called the 1800 number and it was accepted and I organised pick up from Milton.

  • whooah1979 on 28/12/2017 - 00:04
    +2

    Do I have any right to seek repair through OW?

    You may, but ow doesn't repair the items. The items either goes back to an authorised repair, manufacturer's service centre or the importer.

  • RobMel on 28/12/2017 - 06:08

    Had a similar argument with an uneducated Aldi store manager about a TV.
    They SHOULD know guaranty is not warranty.
    Just contact state consumer affairs.

  • BertieBrown on 28/12/2017 - 07:15
    +1

    Here is a bit more information about this gear https://www.choice.com.au/shopping/consumer-rights-and-advic…

    Now, let’s say that you bought, for arguments sake, a spatula from K-Mart for $15 and the manufacturer provided a ‘voluntary manufacturers warranty’ of say 10 years, it would be reasonable to expect that K-Mart would fix you up for the first year (most sellers will help you for the first year at any rate), if in say maybe a year and a half the spatula’s tip peeled or broke or something, then you’d chase the manufacturer and not K-Mart; the cost, use and type of the item has an effect on the expected life.

    So, even though LG provides a warranty for 2 years that is separate to consumer guarantees that’s the manufacturer offering their own voluntary warranty, which will probably have certain limitations etc.

    Any reasonable person would expect that a $500 product would last at least two years and not expect to have to pay for repairs additional costs to enjoy normal usage during that time.

    • ippybear on 28/12/2017 - 10:03
      +3

      Actually many Android mobile phones are made NOT to connect to a computer by cable unless a series of setting changes are made.
      You have to activate developer mode, search how that's done for your phone, and then enter developer mode.
      In this mode are a series of switches that will activate the cable connection to the computer. You need to activate Adb ( android debugging ) this switches the cable connection on.
      I not sure why this is done - maybe for security reasons, but all the last 5 phones I have owned, including this one, required this to be done.
      Or you could download a play store programme that downloads / uploads via Bluetooth, which is easy to use.

      • BertieBrown on 28/12/2017 - 10:26

        Fair enough. I guess the consideration is that the OP is gen about the phone being faulty, but yeah def if it’s not then there’s no issue to be considered I agree.

  • Savas on 28/12/2017 - 10:45

    did you try hard reset? you haven't even told us the issue.

  • andyhui01 on 28/12/2017 - 11:27
    +1

    OP, one thing to remember is I would class your fault as a minor fault and not a major one. If the phone had a major fault, you would not have been able to use it for another 6 months on a daily basis.

    Another thing to note is if you have documentation to support your claim you have notified them of the fault after 6 months for the exact same problem. That is good enough and even if it has taken you 6 months to send it back, you are still covered under warranty.

  • Peck on 28/12/2017 - 11:41

    As alluded to, you should always take problem items back ASAP

  • minniethemoocher on 28/12/2017 - 12:04

    Contact them through Facebook messenger. It worked for me in the past.

  • Olokun on 28/12/2017 - 12:10
    +1

    Hi OP,

    I would suggest you try one the following options (in order of preference) if you want to get your phone repaired.

    1. Contact Officeworks head office for assistance

    2. Try a different Officeworks store. The Adelaide St store is only 2.5km away from the Milton store

    3. Contact LG for support

    Going through the ACCC will not get you a resolution as they do not deal with individual issues.

  • Associatedthequestionablelife @ Officeworks on 28/12/2017 - 16:36

    That's pretty sad. If something is out of warranty, it's definitely harder to get a repair because depending on the company, sometimes they are strict with it.

    At my Officeworks we would have probably been a bit nicer about it. It is our responsibility to send an item away but we can not guarantee that the company they made the phone will replace or repair free of charge if it's outside of warranty. At the same time if something is outside of a warranty period it's at our discretion whether or not we send it away I guess.

    For most things I suggest calling the company directly as the consumer as you'll probably have more luck and it will take less time as we get a lot of repairs sometimes so it can be a long wait.

    Contacting head office or calling up 1300office can sometimes prove helpful.

    Good luck with it all!

    • Olokun on 28/12/2017 - 20:18

      The OP has indicated a purchase date of July 2016 which makes the phone 18 months old.

      The LG Nexus 5x support page indicates manufacturers warranty period of 24 months which makes this a 'within warranty' discussion.

      So not withstanding the rights the OP has under the Australian Consumer Law, Officeworks have an obligation to handle the warranty claim and any hint of a fee for postage could constitute the making of misleading statements

  • Rifraf on 29/12/2017 - 03:55

    OP have you tried using a different cable?

    I've had a faulty cable with a past phone which allowed it to charge from a wall charger but not connect to a computer.

    Just asking as sometimes it can be a silly little thing such as a cable putting a spanner in the works.

  • Kingfabay on 19/01/2018 - 18:47
    +1

    Update: Called officeworks and escalated the issue to a supervisor. Supervisor apologised for the mocking around and offered replacement or refund.

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