Wonder if it is worth letting Fair Go know about this. Would be right up their alley.

KiwiSurfer:

 

Wonder if it is worth letting Fair Go know about this. Would be right up their alley.

 

I'd be surprised if Fair Go has ever pursued an overseas company with no representation or footprint in New Zealand.

An update.

I sent my phone to Australia. Nokia had said it was a charging connection problem. Buymobile confirmed this. I have received a new phone and a refund for the $55 postage cost. Took a while but a good result.

Great, but still not worth the hassle - always buy a phone from an NZ retailer.

In my experience, Nokia have been pretty good to deal with over the years. I have never bought one under these exact circumstances as my phones are also for business so I need local warranty and support, but in the past contacting Nokia directly has resolved my Nokia related issues, even semi-complicated ones like this, very quickly. 

Unlike some manufacturers, they have traditionally been less worried about incidental costs and more about how their brand is perceived. 

I will mirror the others recommendations that in my opinion, critical items like phones, should be sourced locally even at a reasonable premium. Once upon a time the overseas market could supply phones >30% cheaper and it was worth while to take some risk, but with globalisation, usually any signficant price difference is more the result of alternative specifications rather than excessive margins charged here. 

People love the CGA and rightly so, but there is a cost to companies to comply with this.

All this is wonderful in highsight, I am glad you got the result you wanted. 

I haven't thought through how it would work and what the downsides would be fully, but in my view, companies shouldn't be allowed to set up to sell in NZ without having an NZ representative who can be held accountable.

Hmmm, I found this forum thread while I was doing some research about this Buymobile.co.nz - Happy I found all your info and experience - it has made me cautious!

I did notice on their website that they do in fact have a New Zealand Company number "BuyMobile.co.nz is operated by Be Commerce Limited, a New Zealand registered company, NZ Company Number 7178454." Therefore they should be bound to the Consumer Guarantees Act and you could make a claim as such.

Also, no matter the retailer - if a product needs to be sent anywhere that is unreasonable for you to get it there, it is their (the retailers) responsibility to arrange shipping / postage and to cover the cost. You will only be liable for these costs should the item not actually have any issues.

IE: We had a faulty 65" tv that can only be transported vertically and would not fit in either of our cars, we also live an hour away from town and the repair center. The retailer had to pay and organised for a van to come out to collect and transport the television.

JustinSA:

 

I did notice on their website that they do in fact have a New Zealand Company number "BuyMobile.co.nz is operated by Be Commerce Limited, a New Zealand registered company, NZ Company Number 7178454." Therefore they should be bound to the Consumer Guarantees Act and you could make a claim as such.

 

I thought they might have made up that number, but it seems to be genuine—you can look it up on www.companies.govt.nz. Has addresses for (what I suspect) is their lawyer in Johnsonville, Wellington. The directors however are all based in Australia and the contact phone number is +61 indicating an Australian number. Incorporation date is fairly recent (11 Dec 2018).

"Has addresses for (what I suspect) is their lawyer in Johnsonville, Wellington. The directors however are all based in Australia"

Registered Office:Suite 9288, 24b Moorefield Road, Johnsonville

I don't know about the 'Suite 9288' bit, but that street address contains a small mail redirection company (it's only ten minutes away and I called in when I was trying to get a faulty printer cartridge replaced from another company).

JohnPettigrew: I don't know about the 'Suite 9288' bit, but that street address contains a small mail redirection company.

 

9288 will be their customer number with the redirection company. Anything addressed to suite 9288 will go to BuyMobile.