Word of Advice

11 August 2008

When goods go bad

How do you deal with faulty goods?

Let’s look at this example: you bought a new DVD player a couple of months ago from a high street store. All was going fine, but one rainy Sunday afternoon you settle down on the sofa to watch your favourite DVD, The Goonies, but the DVD player won’t play.

You’ve worked out it’s not your beloved movie which is the problem - so it must be the DVD player. It’s faulty. What are your rights and what can you do to get the problem fixed?

What does the law say? The Consumer Guarantees Act says that the trader who sold you the DVD player has to sort out the problem. The trader can’t make you go to the manufacturer to fix it.

Among other things, the Act says that anything you buy has to be of ‘acceptable quality’, this means the goods have to:

• be fit for purpose (do what it’s supposed to do)
• be safe
• be durable (last a reasonable amount of time)
• have no minor defects
• and be acceptable in look and finish

How do I know what ‘acceptable quality’ is?

The law considers what a reasonable consumer would think of as acceptable quality, bearing in mind the type of goods and how much was paid for them (obviously, a $10 watch won’t be of the same quality as a $300 one). Also taken into account is anything said on the packaging, or anything said by the sales assistant when the goods were purchased.

In the case of the DVD player, it fails in a number of these categories – it’s not doing what it’s supposed to do (play DVDs), hasn’t lasted a reasonable amount of time, and obviously has a defect.

What are my rights? For minor faults (such as a scratch on the display panel) you can ask the trader to fix it, replace it, or give you a refund. The trader is allowed to choose which option they will provide.

If the trader won’t fix the problem, or takes longer than is reasonable time to fix it, you can ask for your money back. Or, you can ask for a replacement, if the same type is available. Or, you can take the goods elsewhere to be fixed and ask the trader to pay for the repair.

If the problem is a serious one (like the DVD player won’t play DVDs) or is unsafe you - not the trader - can choose to:

• return the item and get your money back, or
• return it for a replacement of similar value and type (if one’s available), or
• keep it and have the price reduced to make up for its drop in value.

How do I go about returning goods?

If the fault is serious you must reject the goods by taking it back to the trader as soon as you can. You must explain to the trader your reason for rejecting the goods. It’s wise to put this in writing. If the goods are large (like a washing machine) or are attached to something (like a plasma screen to the wall) you can ask the trader to arrange to collect the goods. In this case, the trader should pay for the removal because the goods are faulty.

What about going to the manufacturer or importer instead? You can choose to go to the manufacturer instead of the trader. This is useful in situations where the trader has gone out of business or is unreasonable to deal with.

You can ask the manufacturer or importer to:

• give you some of the money back to make up for the drop in value of the goods caused by the fault. But if you have a manufacturer guarantee saying they will repair or replace the goods, you first have to give them an opportunity to put the problem right
• pay for any damage caused by the goods when they became faulty (see below)

Normally, you’re best off going to the trader who sold you the goods first, to give them a chance to put the problem right.

What about any extra loss I’ve suffered?

The Consumer Guarantees Act allows you to claim compensation from a trader for any extra loss or damage (called ‘consequential loss’) that you have suffered as a result of something going wrong with the goods you bought.

For example: your new freezer breaks down while you were away for the weekend. As a result of this, all the food in your freezer goes off. The trader will be responsible for the cost of replacing the lost food as a result of the fault. But bear in mind that you have a duty to try to prevent and further loss if you are able to.

More information

For consumer advice, visit the ‘Consumer Information’ section of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs website or contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau [external website].