Briscoes - CGA. They say no

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#2246756 28-May-2019 07:50

kiwiharry:

I had the pleasure of dealing directly with Russell Hobbs earlier this year. I had a toaster and 3 months after the 2yr warranty ended, the toaster started sparking and gave a really bad electrical smell. I'd obtained the toaster with my Qantas Air Miles from the Qantas store, so pretty hard to return it or claim CGA. I emailed RH directly to report the issue and said I was concerned about the safety of the device. I didn't ask for a replacement.

They got back to me and asked me to drop it off to them. They are located a few minutes drive from my workplace. A few days later they called me to say they will replace it, and they couriered me a new one.

Realise that this thread is more about a retailer understanding and honouring their CGA obligations, but just wanted to share my experience dealing directly with Russell Hobbs.

Thats great service. Probably them keeping their brand reputation. Possibly being aware of CGA responsibility, but either way, great stuff. No need to lie, mislead, to chase that extra $ of savings as retailers seem to do

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#2246785 28-May-2019 08:11

rugrat:
I brought something from JB-Hifi in last couple of weeks.

At point of sale they tried to tell me purchase of an extended warranty would be less hassle if something went wrong after a year.

I took it from that, they would deliberately make it a hassle if a CGA claim after a year. I didn't buy the extended warranty.

Looks like the com com prosecutions are having no effect.

A few years ago I bought a tablet from JB-Hifi that needed repair at about 15 months. The manufacturer's warranty was 1 year but JB's warranty seemed to be 1yr manufacturer + 1yr "CGA".

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#2246802 28-May-2019 08:29

I think JB are aware of CGA, I had a BT speaker fail a month out of warranty, took it into them and they replaced it straight away.

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#2246810 28-May-2019 09:05

rugrat:

I brought something from JB-Hifi in last couple of weeks.

At point of sale they tried to tell me purchase of an extended warranty would be less hassle if something went wrong after a year.

I took it from that, they would deliberately make it a hassle if a CGA claim after a year. I didn't buy the extended warranty.

Looks like the com com prosecutions are having no effect.

JB's a funny one, as they also have a 'voluntary warranty guide' that claims to offer protections over and above that of the CGA for a period that may extend beyond that provided by the manufacturer's warranty. I was alerted to this when I bought a TV from them the other week, and the salesperson said that any purchase over $500 has a two year warrantee (and he made no attempt to sell me an 'extended warranty').

Reading this message has reminded me to dig into what he meant, and found the following document; unsure if it's current, given it's dated 2015, but it's clearly what the salesperson was meaning - it claims to provide additional protections relative to the price and age of a product - see the brochure here.

@rugrat - if the product was over $500 did they happen to make any mention of this 'voluntary warranty guide'?

I'm really not sure what the true value of this document in terms of what it offers over and above the CGA, but it's interesting (but not surprising!) to hear some are still pushing extended warranties even with this 'guide' in place.

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#2246815 28-May-2019 09:24

Huh! I wrote the reply above before reading these additional posts commenting on JB - hopefully the link to their document explains their policy, and it's good to hear of experiences of it actually seemingly making the repairs/replacement process smooth.

The salesman had only mentioned to me >$500=2 years, but it's interesting to see this goes quite a bit further more expensive produces, with those over $4k having the same additional coverage for 3.5 years in total.

tdgeek

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#2246816 28-May-2019 09:25

How I see that for JB is, they recognise that they must honour the CGA, so they incorporate that into their own warranty. Essentially increasing the JB warranty to CGA level. There is no effect on JB, as they have to comply with CGA anyway. Its also adds a customer benefit of extra warranty (even though CGA is there anyway) as many people dont really know about the CGA

So JB gets extra cred, simply by showing customers the bigger warranties.

Nice work

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#2246835 28-May-2019 10:00

How do you know how long you are protected under the CGA for an item?

I'm going to noob myself past judgement

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#2246842 28-May-2019 10:23

networkn:

Rikkitic:

If the CGA is clear on this (I don't know), no doubt or room for interpretation, then NZ retailers should be called out on this once and for all. There should be some kind of official statement to retailers and consumers, it should be all over the media, penalties should be specified, and they should be enforced. If the law is clear, why then do we have to keep going round and round this circle?

There is no need for this, it's been done. Every large NZ retailer knows their responsibilities inside and out. What they try and get away with, is a different thing. Some staff may not know, but I believe it to be pretty unlikely that experienced retail staff don't know their obligations.

Having said that, until the punishment outstrips the rewards from being badly behaved, it's not going to change.

It's the same as plant shops opening over Easter. I know a guy who owns one and he calls it the "cost of doing business".

Personally, I feel the CGA is abused by both sides.

The real issue here is lack of training for sales staff. I expect they have a high turnover which makes training more difficult. Ask to see store manager and if no joy go to head office.

jonathan18

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#2246850 28-May-2019 10:38

Lyderies:

How do you know how long you are protected under the CGA for an item?

There's deliberately no specific timeframe mentioned in the act, as it is relative to a bunch of variables - cost, expected lifespan for the type of product, condition (for second-hand goods), how the product has been used etc. As an example, you wouldn't expect a $50 phone to last as long as a $2500 phone.

Consumer publishes figures on what a typical lifespan for various types of products should be, which can be a useful starting point.

All the major NZ consumer-related sites will have info on this, eg these examples from Consumer's site may give you a sense as to how it works: https://www.consumer.org.nz/articles/consumer-guarantees-act-faqs-about-goods

trig42

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#2246865 28-May-2019 10:49

The benefit of an extended warranty (for some) is the hassle free 'instant' fix.

For example, you buy a washing machine, with a standard two year warranty. You have the option of a five-year extended warranty for (say)$79.

Washing machine breaks down after 4.5 years.

Sure, you're most likely covered under the CGA, and the store you bought it from has to help you.

This could involve the store/manufacturer taking it away for assessment and/or repair.

The $79 warranty will mean you get a replacement. No fussing, no time wasting. That's what they mean by less hassle.

Most times, I will rely on the protection of the CGA. Sometimes, my time is worth more to me than the value of the warranty (and, for example, not having a washing machine would definitely be worse than $79)

tdgeek

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#2246866 28-May-2019 10:51

Bluntj:

The real issue here is lack of training for sales staff. I expect they have a high turnover which makes training more difficult. Ask to see store manager and if no joy go to head office.

I cannot agree

The time to train sales staff to sell sell sell is a huge amount more than a list of bullet points that covers CGA requirements. Its the law. Businesses have been fined big amount consistently. Behaviour in retail is not a niche subject

We have all had the extended warranty hard sell. My example as OP here was a 100% you are wrong discussion by the store manager, as in I am wrong, as CGA only covers the manufacturers warranty, she told me, mildy aggressively. The other branch said the same, the manager then said, no we will replace, no problem. Even then, the reasonable office manager I talked to insisted that just the manufacturer being good. There is so much wrong. Even when I asked her how much she knows she was insistent that they have to know everything (that's correct) and she said she did know everything

My example didnt involve sales staff

networkn

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#2246871 28-May-2019 11:02

I believe it should be mandatory for all new staff that sell retail to have this, and a test to prove understanding, as part of their onboarding of new staff. You can't take the floor and talk to customers until you have passed the test.

Better still, have a course, nationally recognized which touches all the critcal parts, which people who have completed it, can add to their resume. Make it free to learn and free to sit. Require recertification every 12 to 18 months.

Even better, have a sticker that means any store having this, every staff member has met this requirement.

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#2246874 28-May-2019 11:05

Way back when the Fair Trading and Consumer Guarantees Acts were introduced Telecom had training sessions and all staff dealing with customers were given a booklet for each. Other companies would have done the same. The work has been done so they should be able to recycle it.

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#2246878 28-May-2019 11:09

Bung: Way back when the Fair Trading and Consumer Guarantees Acts were introduced Telecom had training sessions and all staff dealing with customers were given a booklet for each. Other companies would have done the same. The work has been done so they should be able to recycle it.

Agree, its not hard. Its not a 45 page booklet. Its an A5 page of bullet points, and 2 A4 pages of extra detail, its not a highly convoluted issue.

networkn

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#2246881 28-May-2019 11:12

tdgeek:

Bung: Way back when the Fair Trading and Consumer Guarantees Acts were introduced Telecom had training sessions and all staff dealing with customers were given a booklet for each. Other companies would have done the same. The work has been done so they should be able to recycle it.

Agree, its not hard. Its not a 45 page booklet. Its an A5 page of bullet points, and 2 A4 pages of extra detail, its not a highly convoluted issue.

Whilst it's cheaper to pay the fines than to comply....

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