Question about ACL and Faulty Item Received as Gift

Lsydnic on 09/10/2019 - 14:39

Hi all,

This is my first post and I am not sure whether this is the right place to post this. I have read a few posts on Ozbargain about ACL (Australian Consumer Law) and how other ozbargainers were able to successfully get their faulty items replaced/repaired and just wanted to see if I can get some opinion on this issue.

I received a housewarming gift (Breville BKE825 kettle) November/December last year and it stopped working around end of July 2019. The kettle was brand new, in a box with plastic etc.

Fast forward to yesterday when I contacted Breville (because it is under 12 months since I started using it), they advised me that the PDC number on the kettle indicates that it was made in 2015 so therefore it is now out of warranty and because I was unable to provide proof of purchase, the best they could do was offer 40% off rrp any of the kettles on their website.

I have asked the person who gifted me the kettle to see if they still have the receipt and unfortunately they do not.

I replied quoting ACL and I got the following reply:

"According to the ACCC Consumer Rights & Guarantees, A business can ask you for proof of purchase. "To use your rights to a repair, replacement or refund you will need to keep the receipt or other type of proof of purchase".

I have escalated your case to my manager and as advised without the receipt, the best we can offer is a special price on a new kettle".

The kettle in question retails for $189.95 on their website and its shocking that it has failed so quickly and even more so that the manufacturer has declined to offer any assistance besides a discount code as I can't obtain a proof of purchase.

Can a retailer/manufacturer decline a replacement under ACL if an item is received as a gift? I thought that gifts are also covered by ACL? or am I mistaken?

In the meantime if anyone knows a good reliable kettle brand please share! :)

General Discussion

Comments

  • pyramid on 09/10/2019 - 14:42
    +10

    How would retailer know that its genuine gift and not stolen from stores? Hence they ask for receipt or proof of purchase.

    Will there be a chance that person who gifted you got it as gift in 2015 and passed to you as gift….

    • sydnic on 09/10/2019 - 14:53
      -1

      That is a fair point. That is a possibility. I didn't question them on whether they passed it on to me as a gift but yes, it is a possibility… but then again it could just be old stock sitting on the shelf…

    • blitz on 09/10/2019 - 15:16

      I agree. OP, could this be a regift?

      • sydnic on 09/10/2019 - 15:41

        regift or not, it was a gift and I accepted. At least I got 7 or so months of usage before it failed :(

    • cameldownunder on 09/10/2019 - 15:55
      +1

      A Raffle prize, kept in the storage room, for when you need to gift someone !

  • newjerseydamo on 09/10/2019 - 14:44
    +5

    You've answered your own question:

    "According to the ACCC Consumer Rights & Guarantees, A business can ask you for proof of purchase. "To use your rights to a repair, replacement or refund you will need to keep the receipt or other type of proof of purchase".

    As for:

    I thought that gifts are also covered by ACL?

    Of course it is. You just need the proof of purchase as per above.

    • sydnic on 09/10/2019 - 15:11
      -1

      The wording is quite clear. So with that, if one receives a product as a gift, say during Christmas, and it breaks/malfunctions, and without keeping receipts (because generally during gift giving one does not include the purchase receipt with the gift) the retailer/manufacturer can just wipe their responsibilities clean?

      • dcep on 09/10/2019 - 15:18
        +9

        So say i bought the kettle at 2015 and it failed recently after 4 years of use.

        Can i call up breville and say the kettle was a gift from last christmas and i only used it for less than a year ?

        If breville is replacing it, then everyone will be pulling the same trick ?

        Be fair. Onus is on you to proof the purchase made.

        • sydnic on 09/10/2019 - 15:33

          I see your point. But yes, hard to ensure proof of purchase is kept when it was a gift. Looks like the consensus is, keep the receipt or ACL doesn't apply! In saying that… One would expect a $189 kettle to last longer than 4 years, no?

          • HighAndDry on 09/10/2019 - 15:59

            @sydnic:

            But yes, hard to ensure proof of purchase is kept when it was a gift.

            Not really. You can give receipts (in case the person wants to exchange it anyway), and gift receipts are also a thing. It's not really that hard at all, you just don't have it in this case.

        • SirFlibbled on 10/10/2019 - 16:16

          To be honest, I don't think it's unreasonable for a $200 kettle to reasonably work for more than 4 years. Perhaps the OP can go back and argue that, receipt aside the kettle would still be under statutory warranty.

          • Ughhh on 10/10/2019 - 17:10

            @SirFlibbled: Even if the kettle had a 10 year warranty, retailer/manufacturer still has the right to request proof of purchase.

            • SirFlibbled on 10/10/2019 - 19:42

              @Ughhh: I agree but the basis for the receipt request appears to be that it was manufactured in 2015, so they need a receipt to show when it was bought.

              I reckon the OP's friend regifted it.

      • blitz on 09/10/2019 - 15:21
        +1

        Buying a gift during Christmas is very different to buying a gift during Christmas four years earlier.

        • sydnic on 09/10/2019 - 15:39

          I wouldn't have had a clue that it was made in 2015. From the outside it looks identical to the current model. In fact it still bears the same model number. So if you bought a gift for someone off the shelf, how would you know when it was made? It could have been made this year, or 4 years ago. It shouldn't matter. A proof of purchase would have resolved this, as manufacturers guarantee starts from date of purchase right? As it was a gift, I didn't get one.

          • blitz on 09/10/2019 - 15:47
            +2

            @sydnic:

            as manufacturers guarantee starts from date of purchase right?

            Which neither you nor your friend can prove. For all they know, you've been using the product for four years

            • sydnic on 09/10/2019 - 15:48

              @blitz: yeah I know. So yes I agree.

  • H E B on 09/10/2019 - 15:04
    +1

    A lot of shops are nice enough to accept a bank/credit card transaction nowadays might be worthwhile asking again.

    At least you got it as a 'gift' so it didn't cost you anything!

    I get what you're saying but from their point of view they kind of need something too to prove they're not giving things away without cause, and it's to their credit somewhat they're offering a compromise for a 2015 model that most shops would've likely cleared out maybe latest 2 years later?

    I've had my breville kettle for nearly 10 years. I was actually thinking about this the other day how good it's been with multiple use a day and somewhat amazed that a $70 kettle lasted this long in a day and age when things are designed to fail quicker.

    • sydnic on 09/10/2019 - 15:21

      yeah it would be awkward to ask for someone's bank account statement so I'll just leave it. and yeah I agree at least it was a gift so no cost to me. Anyway in reading about this particular Breville kettle, a lot of people are saying it is failing, sometimes repeatedly even after replacement. Its just sad to see such a pretty kettle go to land-waste so soon after using it. Makes me weary of buying another Breville…

      • tomsco on 09/10/2019 - 15:53
        +1

        Anyway in reading about this particular Breville kettle, a lot of people are saying it is failing,

        People that have a negative experience are always more likely to speak up about it. For every one negative review, there could easily be a dozen or so satisfied customers.

        Makes me weary of buying another Breville…

        If you look at any brand on Product Review, I'm sure you'll find the phenomenon stated above. Looking at a $209 (RRP) kettle by Smeg - this has 45 one star reviews (6 shy of yours) and 73 two star reviews (36 more than yours).

        If someone is spending almost $200 on a kettle for a Christmas present, I'm sure they're close enough to ask about a copy of their statement, or even get them to contact the shop.

    • SirFlibbled on 10/10/2019 - 16:17

      Yep. Mine (a breville) cost about the same and has lasted 12.

  • PissLUR on 09/10/2019 - 15:15
    +1

    they advised me that the PDC number on the kettle indicates that it was made in 2015

    it is an old product and they have verified it already.

  • Gaz1 on 09/10/2019 - 15:19
    +2

    I suspect if it was a gift & the manufacture date was not too long ago (perhaps 2017) then they would have helped out, but you can understand that they couldn't do much on a 2015 manufactured kettle without proof of purchase otherwise everyone with a old kettle could just claim they don't have a receipt.

    • sydnic on 09/10/2019 - 15:26

      That is a fair point. It was a gift so I am not too buggered by it. From my perspective, manufactured in 2015, first used in 2018 and breaks in 2019. Just shows quality isn't really there… The model is still current and upon reading reviews about it, I am not the only one who is experiencing problems with it.

  • Sergeant Salami on 09/10/2019 - 15:55
    -2

    Buy another one, keep the receipt, return the old one and get your money back. You'll end up with a new one.

  • garetz on 09/10/2019 - 16:16
    +4

    Warranty doesnt start from when your receive a gift, but when it was purchased, if you cannot prove the purchase date, then the manufacturer has no choice but to use the manufacturing date. Thats standard practice for pretty much every manufacturer provided warranty. You basically have nothing you can do about it, take the 40% off they offered you as thats more than you are entitled to.

    • sydnic on 09/10/2019 - 16:34
      -1

      I see their point and I agree. I was considering the discount but given the kettle, which is one of their premium offering, failing so soon makes me weary about Breville’s quality. Online feedback about their kettles in general doesn’t look great.

  • Ughhh on 09/10/2019 - 18:18

    Fast forward to yesterday when I contacted Breville (because it is under 12 months since I started using it)

    Warranty doesn't start from when you first take it out of the box and use it or when it was gifted, it starts from invoice date.

  • Scantu on 09/10/2019 - 19:53
    -2

    Statute actually only binds the company to the purchasor. So even if you had the receipt you technically have no ACL remedy.

  • [Deactivated] on 10/10/2019 - 08:12

    if the person who bought the gift paid by card, it might be possible for the store (head office) to reprint the receipt, but that might be asking too much

    • Ughhh on 10/10/2019 - 10:50

      You still need to ask the gifter for when they made the purchase and maybe last 4 digits of their card.

      • sydnic on 10/10/2019 - 11:13

        I could, but that would indeed be asking too much. Not worth it for a kettle, and apparently this particular model breaks down frequently with people having theirs replaced multiple times! :O

        • tomsco on 22/10/2019 - 09:50

          So your friend would be happy to know that your kettle they spent close to (if not) $190 on stopped working?

          I know if I gifted an $190 gift to a friend and that friend told me it stopped working less than 12 months later, I'd be giving that friend everything they need to get it replaced.

  • whooah1979 on 10/10/2019 - 17:24

    $189 for a kettle is pretty expensive. What can it do that a $15 one from Kmart can’t?

    • sydnic on 10/10/2019 - 19:26

      at this stage, it can't even do what it's originally designed to to, that is to boil water! lol

    • kerfuffle on 20/10/2019 - 21:17

      Variable temperature e.g. heat water to 80 degrees Celsius for your green tea

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