Does a Shop Have to Offer a Warranty?

L[Deactivated] on 16/08/2020 - 18:56
Last edited 16/08/2020 - 19:09 by 1 other user

I bought a sofa not long ago from an Australian high street retailer in Melbourne. It was an ex-display floor stock item.

When purchasing the sales assistant informed me the item does not come with any warranty, I was surprised by this and asked “what about something like a manufacturing defect?” She said it would not be covered but if something like that happens come back to the specific store and they could probably work something out.

I decided to go ahead with the purchase as it was a very good price (40% of ordering one custom made) plus I could have it the same day and Melbournes lockdown was looming.

Thinking about it now. Are they allowed to not offer any warranty at all. At the time I thought this is probably not legal and I should be entitled to some sort of warranty, decided to check now. Looked at this PDF but could not find a definitive answer -

TLDR: high street shop told me an ex display sofa has no warranty, is this legal?

Related Stores

ACCC

• 

  whooah1979 on 16/08/2020 - 18:57

  +7

  Floor stock is sold as is. The buyer should take their time and check it for imperfections before buying.

  Manufacture faults that are not present at the time of the purchase is of course covered by ACL. E.g something like a spring that breaks in six months time is covered while the leg that is broken at the time isn't.

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    [Deactivated] on 16/08/2020 - 19:53

    +1

    Yeah the item had no damage and looked identical to what I would expect to receive had I paid full price.

    Completely understand no change of mind, no refunds. It’s more a case of if a store can legally absolve themselves of any warranty obligations by simply writing “no warranty” on the receipt. The sales assistant would have liked me to believe that if a spring broke after 6 months then it would only be fixed as a gesture of goodwill which doesn’t sound legal.

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    try2bhelpful on 17/08/2020 - 08:43

    +1

    The manufacturing fault would need to be something the customer could, reasonably, notice or the seller pointed out as a fault; they just can’t claim blanket avoidance. If the break in the leg was concealed then the seller would be still liable. However, the principle is sound.

    I buy stuff from scratch and dent areas a fair bit and, most of the time, they are either demo stuff, sets where something is missing, discontinued lines, damaged packaging, or returns. If there is something wrong it is, usually, given an attached note.

    I would’ve asked the seller if there were any known faults with the furniture; that should be the basis of AS IS.

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  holdenmg on 16/08/2020 - 19:03

  I'd suggest you keep the receipt.

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    [Deactivated] on 16/08/2020 - 20:07

    100%! Goes for any big purchase regardless of if it’s floor stock or not.

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  garetz on 16/08/2020 - 20:54

  +3

  No they cannot absolve themselves of warranty obligations. If you buy a demo unit tv, you should get the balance of the warranty remaining at the very least. I would expect the same for any other floor stock including furniture.

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  Any thing on 16/08/2020 - 21:14

  I think you have to take into account the age of the item you’re buying, could it already be out of the warranty period considering it is floor stock and has been used for how long?

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    [Deactivated] on 16/08/2020 - 21:48

    Interesting train of thought. Does consumer law differentiate between manufacture date and sale date?

    Having bought ex display items from Harvey Norman before they say you get the full warranty (even when it is supplied without packaging). Although in this scenario perhaps the store is offering to take on the the warranty from the manufacturer.

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 17/08/2020 - 00:20

      If you buy a demonstrator car the warranty period had already started when it was first registered, not when you bought it.

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  the Unforgiven on 17/08/2020 - 08:50

  have a read, bookmark the site every1:-

  https://www.accc.gov.au/consumers/consumer-rights-guarantees…

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  [Deactivated] on 17/08/2020 - 12:20

  If you see a defect like a dent when buying it and still decide to buy it, you can't take it back. If it collapses in a year, you can take it back for a refund.
  Writing "no refund on sale items" or "30 day return only" is illegal, companies have gotten in trouble for doing shit like that

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  spersephone on 17/08/2020 - 16:09

  They can only absolve themselves of faults that are known to you at the time of the sale. If you take it home and it's not fit for purpose because it disintegrates, that is not something you willingly accepted, and they would still have to replace the item or refund.

  Floor stock, sold as is, must make any defects clear, so that you know why you are paying such a good deal, and you have accepted this. Unknown defects that are a major fault are not covered by this declaration (i.e. they cannot hide behind the term "Sold as is").

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    [Deactivated] on 17/08/2020 - 16:23

    This makes sense and what I was thinking when I purchased it. If a fault does develops over the next 12 months I will just have to see how they respond to a warranty claim.

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      lolz112 on 17/08/2020 - 21:37

      -1

      The price you paid also matters here. If you paid 40% the cost of a new one, reasonably I would suggest you get 40% of the warranty of a new one for large defects.

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        [Deactivated] on 17/08/2020 - 21:43

        Not sure I agree with that logic. When does that become true? I.e if I use. 10% off voucher do I only get 90% warranty? If I win an item in a competition does the manufacturer have to provide 0% warranty?

        The price I pay (not rrp) does not affect the quality of the item so I don’t see them as related.

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          lolz112 on 17/08/2020 - 21:48

          @[Deactivated]: You might not agree with it but the accc law that you wish to claim on states differently.

          "Acceptable quality takes into account what would normally be expected for the type of product and cost."

          You've bought from the clearance section which implies there is something wrong with it. Therefore the type of quality and cost is 40% of one with the full statutory warranty guarantees.

          • 

            lolz112 on 17/08/2020 - 22:01

            +1

            @lolz112: Your pdf also mentions the following:

            Sellers do not have to give refunds, credit or exchanges if consumers:
            • had the defect drawn to their attention before buying (for instance, when goods were labelled as seconds, or faults were clearly marked)

            I would suggest that even know if does say that. If you take it home and the next day one of the arms falls off that you would still be entitled to warranty because you would expect that the arm isn't off. But something like scratches or anything on the sofa would lead to no recourse.

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              spersephone on 18/08/2020 - 12:58

              @lolz112: As I said further up - if you know about defects at the time of sale, and purchase it with this clearly advised, that is not covered by a warranty. However, a major defect would still entitle the purchaser to a refund. A retailer cannot sell something "as is" and waive themselves of all liability, only liability for those known faults.

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                lolz112 on 18/08/2020 - 16:52

                @spersephone: Sure, I don't think I've disagreed with anything you've said. I also think the fact that it is show room condition means you can't expect full warranty length of something you pay full RRP for. Just throwing an example out there. If you expect the springs to last 10 years, the fact that it is a demo model and has been used you wouldn't expect the springs to last the same as completely new. The price is used as a guide and at 40% of full RRP I think you can only reasonably expect the springs to last 4 years.

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                  spersephone on 21/08/2020 - 11:07

                  @lolz112: I wouldn't be happy with that expectation. I would assume that new stock is coming in and that's why they're clearing old stock. If it's on clearance as a demo model, I'm going to expect probably 90% of what you'd expect for new in terms of longevity. In fact we bought our couch that way, liked what was floor stock on clearance and asked if it was possible to get an extra chair for it, which was ordered in separate. I don't assume that the couch will not last as long as the chair, they're part of the same set, manufactured around the same time.

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            Zephyrus on 18/08/2020 - 18:28

            +1

            @lolz112: The clearance section does not imply something is wrong with it. It implies the seller needs to get rid of it faster. For example, it's the last one they have or it's not selling well. Doesn't mean it's defective.