Warranty return inspection charges

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shrub

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#162010 26-Jan-2015 20:55

Basically i purchased an car amp in October 14 (4 months ago) it was cheap only $150 its died and i was going to see if i get it fixed or replaced but the retailer charges $49 for an inspection fee. 1/3 the original price non refundable if found to be miss used. I don't really want to pay $49 for a $150 amp that they will more than likely say is miss use to get out of it. Is this fee normal or are they just trying it on?

From there website.

Warranty Term & Condition

·         ALL warranty MUST provide proof of purchase (Invoice)

·         NO invoice No Warranty

·         Basic Handling and inspection of $49 fee has to pay IN ADVANCE if product need to technician inspection. This fee will be refund if found out this product default and under warranty

·         Extra fee might require for handling or inspection or repair if product not under warranty.

·         Fee applied for products not under warranty

Inphinity

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#1222738 26-Jan-2015 21:17

Many places do this, because a relatively high portion of returns are not actual warranty issues. If it is a warranty-covered issue, the fee should be refunded.

jeffnz

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#1222739 26-Jan-2015 21:19

CGA

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sleemanj

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#1222806 26-Jan-2015 21:52

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/legislation-policy/policy-reports-and-papers/discussion-papers/consumer-law-reform-a-discussion-paper/12.-consumer-guarantees/multipagedocumentsection.2010-06-11.6413180929/12.1.3-issue-bonds-to-assess-faulty-goods

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/opinion/news/article.cfm?c_id=466&objectid=10910995

---
James Sleeman
I sell lots of stuff for electronic enthusiasts...

shrub

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#1222839 26-Jan-2015 22:24

ok so its normal i had a look on consumer affairs website but missed those bits. Oh well i don't think ill bother giving them $50 to check its faulty.

Geektastic

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#1222855 26-Jan-2015 22:48

I'm not used to the funds being demanded up front.

I have come across before (overseas) people telling me that if it is not under warranty I will be charged but never a demand for money up front.

It's not (IMV - YMMV) a very savoury business practice but I suppose they have reasons.

Aredwood

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#1222890 27-Jan-2015 00:21

They do that probably because of people like one of the guys at my old work. His car amp stopped working. Spent ages trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Took it back to the shop, They tested it in front of him and it worked. He then got me to have a look at it. The problem was the fuse in the main power cable to the amp was blown. Car amps are easy to test anyway. So tell me what the symptoms are and what tests you have already done. (No worse than the more common "My internet is slow" threads that are usually on GZ)

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nzkiwiman

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#1222983 27-Jan-2015 09:07

Vodafone at work charge us a fee to send phones back to them - added to the bill and then credited back if the claim is under warrenty

floydbloke

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#1222998 27-Jan-2015 09:24

nzkiwiman: Vodafone at work charge us a fee to send phones back to them - added to the bill and then credited back if the claim is under warrenty

The Warehouse do the same, and I would expect all cellphone retailers at least to do so as well. (I suspect it's probably the repair agent that insists on it.)
Makes perfect sense to me, it consumes time and effort to do fault/damage assessment. The amount of accidental damage (dropped, liquid spillage) repairs where people try to claim warranty must be huge.

Sometimes I use big words I don't always fully understand in an effort to make myself sound more photosynthesis.

MikeB4

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#1223002 27-Jan-2015 09:29

I can understand these upfront fees for portable items and will pay them, I wont pay them for non portable items

Here is a crazy notion, lets give peace a chance.

Amosnz

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#1223007 27-Jan-2015 09:42

Aredwood: They do that probably because of people like one of the guys at my old work. His car amp stopped working. Spent ages trying to figure out what was wrong with it. Took it back to the shop, They tested it in front of him and it worked. He then got me to have a look at it. The problem was the fuse in the main power cable to the amp was blown. Car amps are easy to test anyway. So tell me what the symptoms are and what tests you have already done. (No worse than the more common "My internet is slow" threads that are usually on GZ)

I blew a car amp years ago by inadvertently touching the + line where it shouldn't have gone. It wasn't under warranty so I opened the unit up and worked out the diode across the input had blown. De-soldered it and brought a new one, all good again and only a couple of dollars to fix. If you aren't going to get them to look at it, it might be worth attempting to fix yourself.

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shrub

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#1223024 27-Jan-2015 10:18

The amp has no external fuse and just flashes red then nothing. Ive put a spare i had back in and its working fine so its not a wiring issue. I was pushing the limits of it and due its cheapness its failed.... Ill pull it apart tonight to see whats gone wrong.

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#1223051 27-Jan-2015 10:52

This was common practise when I worked for a Apple Service provider, it wasn't always charged but when iPods became popular it was a requirement due to most customer not even trying a restore before sending it in. We charged the fee afterwards and not before though.

The fee was fixed at $50 +gst