I would still carry on with the complaint to the Comcom. TWG need a giant kick up their backside.

quickymart:

 

One of the HP Envys or HP Spectres?

 

I would love one of the Spectres, but they are unfortunately a bit out of my price range. I'll look into the Envy line though

eracode: MacBook Pro.

I had actually replaced a MacBook air with the surface. I've enjoyed using a mac, however the price to performance isn't there for me.

HcoNmeM:

According to CGA you have to give them the chance to make it right.. 2 times.. maybe 3 times? and then they are in breach of the act if they fail to replace or refund after a fair and reasonable chance to make it right..

Taubin:

 

I've not had a chance to reply yet, but it looks like I'm at least getting someplace.

 

[Mod edit| reference number removed]

Thats fantastic news.  Congratulations!.  What action do you think directly related to this response?

[Mod edit: Fixed excessive quoting, please keep quoting at a minimum]

I'm not sure to be honest, I had informed them I was going to complain to the CC and submit a complaint to the disputes tribunal as well. I'm just pleased to get some form of resolution.

Taubin:

 

I'm not sure to be honest, I had informed them I was going to complain to the CC and submit a complaint to the disputes tribunal as well. I'm just pleased to get some form of resolution.

 

Well that is good to know.  It took months to get the washing machine sorted.   I personally think you had done more than enough to solve the problem reasonably.

I also had issues with The Warehouse Stationery although it worked out in the end. My phone died completely and so they sent it away for assessment. The repairers didn't end up repairing it and told TWS that it was eligible for a credit. TWS offered a new phone up to the value of what I paid. They no longer had any of the phone I had in stock as it was about a 18 months since I had purchased it and I didn't want any of the garbage phones they had in stock. CGA remedies only include refund, repair, or replace with goods of the same type and value. Because they wouldn't repair it nor could they replace it, I requested a refund which they refused. I can see how they might interpret the "replace" remedy as meaning just replace it with any other cellphone that costs the same but I don't see it that way. Further, the fact that the device died completely and was unusable meant that it was a fault of substantial character therefore I can reject the goods outright and request a refund.

Anyway, the manager disagrees with me and I just assume that I'd just encountered the wrong staff member so I call their customer service line and they say they think the manager is right (so even their customer service line doesn't know how the CGA works!) and their only suggestion is to go back and talk to the manager again. I go back and explain that they aren't complying with the CGA and the manager says "I can contact the regional manager and have him explain the CGA to you." So I tell him to do that and wait a couple of days. The next time I get a call it turns out the two apparently went through the CGA and I was right. Went back in and got a refund. Never went back to that specific store again.

And as far as light laptops go you could consider the XPS 13. I purchased a XPS 9360 (8th Gen i5, 8gb ram, and 256gb SSD) off the Dell website mid-last year on sale for $1570. The price I thought was decent for the specs. I like the design too but quality control is a bit shoddy compared to a Macbook e.g. the fingerprint sensor isn't quite lined up, there is a bit of glue around the bezel which I had to clean off, there is a bit of a rattle which turned out to be a ribbon cable hitting the inside of the case, and LCD backlighting is a bit leaky. 

If you look at the examples here and some of the allegations that are being levelled at companies in the TWG on Facebook, TWG appears to be an entity that isn't interested in spending the most elementary sums in training their staff on their CGA obligations. Their overall tactic seems to be to obfuscate, frustrate, or even make bald-faced lies, and any reputational damage or regulatory fines are merely seen as the costs of doing business. Quite clearly they haven't learned their Noel Leeming's Comcom lesson. And this is a good reminder to people to look beyond the usual corporate horse manure around fund-raising for local schools, claims of taking responsibility to local communities seriously, and all the usual BS. What really matters in the end is how a shop treats you when things go wrong. TWG doesn't look that interested in doing right by people.

dejadeadnz:

 

 What really matters in the end is how a shop treats you when things go wrong. TWG doesn't look that interested in doing right by people.

 

Thats right.  When the contents insurance was with TOWER, they used Noel Leemings as their preferred supplier........

bunker:

 

I also had issues with The Warehouse Stationery ... Never went back to that specific store again.

 

So... which one do we avoid?

Mine was Wairau Park. I'll never shop there again.

On the plus side, I've found a new laptop and am using it now. There was a HP Envy on sale at JB Hi-Fi, they actually had a more decent selection than Harvey Norman's new "flagship" store did. I got a great deal on it, and it's actually more powerful than my desktop.

This is the one in Wairau Park too eh? I must go in and have a look.