If Santa was as bad to you as Billy Bob Thornton was in the infamous Christmas movie, consumer rights legislation can be your friend.
If Santa was as bad to you as Billy Bob Thornton was in the infamous Christmas movie, consumer rights legislation can be your friend.
OPINION
The daily food-induced kip will soon be no more for people enjoying the last of their summer holidays. On the bright side, they’ll be relieved knowing it’s another year before they see that nasty uncle who argues relentlessly about the good ol’ days and political correctness gone mad.
Manypeople may be trying to figure out how to regift, return or dispose of unwanted gifts received over the holiday period, whether due to administration induced by the pre-work terrors or feeling the pinch thanks to the country being in financial ruin. In any event, let’s discuss your options.
Thanks Mum, but no thanks
The consumer law bible is in the form of the Consumer Guarantees Act, which covers goods and services.
Goods constitute pretty much everything, be it the appliance you didn’t want, the mustard-coloured cardigan you will never wear or the packaged panettone that will sit in your “gift cupboard” for much of the year, waiting to be regifted a day shy of it surpassing its expiring date.
Panettone tiramisu and its derivatives or relatives constitute "goods" under the consumer law. Photo / Babiche Martens
The goods could be new, second-hand, hired or gifted. The old chestnut comes in the form of requiring goods and services to be sold by sellers “in trade”. Meaning, private sales don’t apply unless they’re sold in second-hand shops, or online by businesses trading in New Zealand.
Whether you have no desire to vacuum the house hands-free with abandon thanks to the Roomba your mum gave you, or you have one already, this “change of mind” approach to returns isn’t going to cut it.
Sure, you may feel duped because your mum could have got a better deal elsewhere, but unless the business offers “no questions asked” returns or credit in the interests of customer service, you’re probably hard out of luck.
Retailers aren’t under any legal obligation to exchange or refund products unless they meet consumer law requirements. They must, however, ensure the vacuum is of an acceptable quality, is fit for purpose and matches the advertised description and store model.
Although over-priced, it can’t be unreasonable, and if it’s to be delivered, it must be done in a reasonable timeframe.
You might not love the robot vacuum cleaner your mum gave you, but a "change of mind" approach to returns isn’t going to cut it.
Where do manufacturers come in? Written warranties must be honoured, and the vacuum must match its description and be of acceptable quality. Say it spontaneously combusts or spouts razor blades, then the authorities will likely knock on the manufacturer’s doors.
Note, “reasonable” and “acceptable” are not the same as “premium” or “good” quality. A gold-leaved panettone at an eye-watering price will need to be of a higher standard than its budget-label counterpart, for example.
If you got the cake at a discount because it was squished during delivery and you were made aware of it, well, too bad.
Sure, the mustard-coloured cardigan looked more yellow than dijonais on the website, but the question comes down to whether this was a misrepresentation or if it’s time to get your eyes checked.
Similarly, the polyester fabric may be creating an unfortunate saveloy effect when coupled with your body, but the label described the fabric make-up in its description, and sadly you could have benefited from “trying before buying”.
You break it, you bought it
Imagine your dubious uncle-in-law gave you a bikini (gross) for Christmas and the stitching was all out of whack. If you break it, you bought it, or so the saying goes, which means it needs to be established the fault was present at the time of purchase.
Similarly, be sure to follow the advice on the label (bleach in the washing machine to rid said cardigan of its mustard-ness won’t fly, for example). In any event, be sure to read the fine print.
Back to the faulty string-ridden bikini. Your first port of call is to go to the retailer - BikinisRUs - as opposed to the manufacturer. The company could then choose to repair the item, replace it or give you a refund.
If BikinisRUs refuse to solve the issue, it’s unsalvageable, the issue is substantial, or can’t be fixed within a reasonable amount of time, you can reject the wares, claim compensation or have it repaired elsewhere and recover the costs from the retailer.
In other words, you’re entitled to a full refund. Store credits be damned!
Suppose the retailer has gone out of business or is proving to be useless. You can complain to the manufacturer or importer directly.
People mightn’t know that if the product is faulty, you don’t have to pay for the repair delivery costs.
Likewise, say you desperately need to vacuum the cesspit you call a flat and your new Roomba is undergoing its repairs - you should be compensated if you choose to hire a replacement. Any reasonably foreseeable extra costs should be covered.
Sellers hoping to be sneaky can’t contract their way out of their legal obligations - like the A4 sign that boasted “no returns under any circumstances” in Comic Sans at my local hardware store, for example.
It just means people will have to embrace their inner “Karen” and go to the effort of asking to speak to the duty manager. Failing that, there’s always the Commerce Commission or the media.
Sasha Borissenko is a freelance journalist who has reported extensively on the legal industry.
