What the words mean
The terms you have to already know to read GuaranteesOnRecord, and the ones that are easy to mix up. Each one says where it comes from, so you can check it.
- #Consumer guarantee
A right you get automatically when you buy something, whatever the shop’s policy says. It is not a warranty, it does not expire on a date, and a business cannot sign you out of it.
These basic rights are called consumer guarantees. They are included in the Australian Consumer Law.
- #Major problemalso called a major failure
The serious end. When a problem is major, YOU choose the remedy - a refund or a replacement - and the business does not get to insist on repairing it first.
has either one serious problem or several smaller problems that would stop someone buying the product if they knew about them beforehand
- #Minor problemalso called a minor failure
Everything that is not major. The business must fix it free, and it may choose to repair rather than refund. If they take too long, or cannot fix it, it can become a major problem.
the business must fix the problem or repair the product for free
- #Acceptable quality
The standard goods have to meet: safe, lasting, free of defects and doing what that kind of thing normally does. "Durable" is part of the test, which is why a two-year-old appliance failing can still be covered.
(2) Goods are of acceptable quality if they are as: (a) fit for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly supplied; and (b) acceptable in appearance and finish; and (c) free from defects; and (d) safe; and (e) durable;
- #Warrantya manufacturer’s warranty or express warranty
A promise the seller or maker adds on top. It is optional, it has an end date, and it sits ALONGSIDE your consumer guarantees - it never replaces them. "Out of warranty" does not mean out of rights.
Warranties are voluntary and are additional to consumer guarantees.
- #Extended warranty
A paid product that lengthens a manufacturer’s warranty. Often sold at the counter for rights you may already have for free, which is why the ACCC has a rule about how it is sold.
An extended warranty or care package extends the length of a manufacturer’s warranty.
- #The $100,000 threshold
Consumer guarantees are not only for personal shopping. Anything under $100,000 including GST is covered even when bought for a business, so a tradesperson’s tools and an office fridge have the same rights your kettle does.
A product or service bought for business use is covered by consumer guarantees, when it meets at least one of the following conditions: it costs less than $100,000 including GST
- #Change of mind
Deciding you no longer want it. This is the case where the shop’s own policy governs - consumer guarantees are about faults, not regret - but a business that advertises a change-of-mind policy has to honour the one it advertised.
However, if a business has a ‘change of mind’ policy, they must follow it.
- #Proof of purchase
What shows you bought it, which is not only a paper receipt - a card or bank statement can count too, though you may be asked for more than one thing where a statement does not itemise what you bought.
Sometimes you may need to provide more than one of these things to support your claim – for example, when a credit card statement does not clearly itemise the product.
- #Consequential loss
What the fault cost you beyond the item itself - the food in the freezer that died, the day of work missed. Recoverable when it was reasonably foreseeable.
Consequential loss is the cost to a consumer of a problem with goods or services. It is usually financial but can include other costs, such as lost time or productivity.
The wording above the quote is ours, written to be read quickly. The quote is the source’s own, unedited. Where the two could be read differently, the source is the one that counts - and how the rest of this site is built explains why it is kept that way round.