Anyone gone to the Disputes Tribunal? - Likely need to take a 2Degrees retail store to court.

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#2421218 14-Feb-2020 20:06

tehgerbil:

From Googling yes it appears to be relatively common problem as mentioned on Amazon reviews with issues with the left earpiece.

*Sigh.* I'm going to leave it over the weekend and log a claim with the Disputes Tribunal next week. I've over this, I just miss my headphones!!!

Thanks for your help everyone, I have a much better idea what to expect and as my communications have been via Email I have my work cut out for me documenting everything.

IMO and from my experience CGA doesn't seem to provide as much protection as we think, if retailers and manufacturers decide to just decline. This is because the consumer then has to take it further, and usually pay to go to the Disputes tribunal and waste all that time to do so. I had this problem for something worth $200, where the lenses on my polarised sunglasses started to go opaque in patches between the layers, and they claimed it failed due to misuse, when they couldn't provide any evidence of this nor did they do any testing. I also couldn't find any other examples of people who had had this problem, to reinforce my case. It wasn't worth it for me to take it to the TD due to the price, and they were a couple of years old, and it could a have gone either way, and I also no longer have my invoice for them which the retailer said I needed.

I am wondering why they consider 18 months is a reasonable life for headphones worth $500, if they have been well treated etc, and what they are basing that on?

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Handle9

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#2421220 14-Feb-2020 20:34

Linux:
tehgerbil:
Thanks for your help everyone, I have just heard from 2Degrees head office that it's unreasonable of me to expect $500 headphones to last more than 18 months.

To court I go. Wow. That's pathetic quite frankly...

That is not good and really surprised at that response!

Why are you surprised? 2degrees are no longer a scrappy little organisation that has excellent and personal customer service.

They are a mass market telco with similar challenges to the likes of Vodafone and Spark. There are a fair few threads on here recently that indicate this.

Poorly trained managers is just another sign of this.

BlinkyBill

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#2421223 14-Feb-2020 20:41

Interesting that this is a part of a bundle. To me that reduces the value of the phones.

I wonder if there is going to be an argument presented by 2D that because this is a bundled item, that means the item is secondary to the primary purchase, is supplied by the manufacturer as a supplementary product, and therefore not the primary responsibility of 2D. Meaning that the action would fail. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

Handle9

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#2421229 14-Feb-2020 21:08

BlinkyBill:
Interesting that this is a part of a bundle. To me that reduces the value of the phones.

I wonder if there is going to be an argument presented by 2D that because this is a bundled item, that means the item is secondary to the primary purchase, is supplied by the manufacturer as a supplementary product, and therefore not the primary responsibility of 2D. Meaning that the action would fail. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

How would that be relevant under the CGA? Regardless there would be an obligation to be reasonably durable.

floydbloke

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#2421230 14-Feb-2020 21:09

BlinkyBill:

Interesting that this is a part of a bundle. To me that reduces the value of the phones.

I wonder if there is going to be an argument presented by 2D that because this is a bundled item, that means the item is secondary to the primary purchase, is supplied by the manufacturer as a supplementary product, and therefore not the primary responsibility of 2D. Meaning that the action would fail. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

The flipside of that argument is that these things are typically marketed as a free <item> worth $xxxx even if the streetprice may be less than that.

I didn't see the actual 2D promo but the OP mentions $500 headphones. If 2D did indeed advertise them as free pair of headphones worth $500 then that should be the amount on the table at the DT claim.

I'm also keen to find out what happens.

Roses are red, that much is true, but violets are purple, not ****ing blue!

mattwnz

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#2421231 14-Feb-2020 21:09

BlinkyBill:

Interesting that this is a part of a bundle. To me that reduces the value of the phones.

I wonder if that has something to do with it. Because the price paid could possibly be seen as a lot less than the RRP, if they are considered as a 'freebie' with the phone. But I understand the CGA also covers things you win in a competition, which are effectively $0.

Handle9

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#2421233 14-Feb-2020 21:12

mattwnz:
BlinkyBill:

Interesting that this is a part of a bundle. To me that reduces the value of the phones.

I wonder if that has something to do with it. Because the price paid could possibly be seen as a lot less than the RRP, if they are considered as a 'freebie' with the phone. But I understand the CGA also covers things you win in a competition, which are effectively $0.

It's lack of competence. @dejadeadnz would probably be looking for the popcorn if this got to a hearing.

networkn

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#2421241 14-Feb-2020 22:12

It's irrelevant it was "free" as part of a bundle. I can't be bothered to look it up, but I am about 99% sure there are actually even clauses that say so. Gifts are also covered etc. It's about the product and what is a reasonable timeframe for it to last.

Bung

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#2421268 15-Feb-2020 07:48

I have a cheaper pair of JBL headphones (still working) so had a look at "JBL headphone problems". It seems that quite a few models suffer from wiring faults possibly because the wires were originally too short at assembly eg wires to ANC microphone. Some commenters that JBL recognised problem and fixed it. The cynic in me wonders if existing stock of the high end model were flogged off to a phone manufacturer as a bundle item.

surfisup1000

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#2421281 15-Feb-2020 08:45

BlinkyBill:

Interesting that this is a part of a bundle. To me that reduces the value of the phones.

I wonder if there is going to be an argument presented by 2D that because this is a bundled item, that means the item is secondary to the primary purchase, is supplied by the manufacturer as a supplementary product, and therefore not the primary responsibility of 2D. Meaning that the action would fail. Looking forward to seeing how this plays out.

Sure adds another factor -- but, I don't think it matters. Kind of like 2 for the price of one deals -- you don't expect one to be faulty just because it was a deal.

mattwnz

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#2421410 15-Feb-2020 13:55

Bung: I have a cheaper pair of JBL headphones (still working) so had a look at "JBL headphone problems". It seems that quite a few models suffer from wiring faults possibly because the wires were originally too short at assembly eg wires to ANC microphone. Some commenters that JBL recognised problem and fixed it. The cynic in me wonders if existing stock of the high end model were flogged off to a phone manufacturer as a bundle item.

This is the problem I often find with cheaper headphones, is that the wiring fails over time around the connections. Whether it is fatique when bending, or they are pulling at the connections. I guess it is an advantage of bluetooth one.

gradwefran

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#2421435 15-Feb-2020 15:49

It proceeds on a pragmatic and not strictly legal principle kind of way - and is efficient for someone like you, and tricky for a large corporate with a reputation to uphold, because no lawyers allowed and they won't want to leave it unanswered because of the reputation all issue.

So more likely to be of assistance to you than to some of the other posters, whose claims may have been against defendants with nothing to lose or no money.

Some of the other posts highlight an important aspect - the hearing establishes liability - enforcement is a whole additional step - by sealing the order in the District Court and then by attempting to enforce it - by bankruptcy proceedings of use of debt collectors. Which gets you nowhere if the debtor has no money.

In your case it's a good forum especially as the defendant has money - and might settle before you get to the hearing simp,y to avoid the inconvenience.

But of course your argument needs to be sound.

gradwefran

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#2421438 15-Feb-2020 16:03

And this issue of how long should a pair of headphones last will have come up before.

I would have thought with moderate use 18 months to two years.

The referee might split it down the middle.

Bung

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#2421456 15-Feb-2020 17:17

mattwnz:
Bung: I have a cheaper pair of JBL headphones (still working) so had a look at "JBL headphone problems". It seems that quite a few models suffer from wiring faults possibly because the wires were originally too short at assembly eg wires to ANC microphone. Some commenters that JBL recognised problem and fixed it. The cynic in me wonders if existing stock of the high end model were flogged off to a phone manufacturer as a bundle item.

This is the problem I often find with cheaper headphones, is that the wiring fails over time around the connections. Whether it is fatique when bending, or they are pulling at the connections. I guess it is an advantage of bluetooth one.

These were bluetooth, the wiring was internal. Where the connection fault affected the noise cancelling microphone you could isolate it by switching ANC off. Some have a connecting cable so they can be used without the bluetooth working. For bluetooth only the life would probably be dependant on battery life like a phone.

loceff13

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#2421468 15-Feb-2020 17:51

gradwefran: And this issue of how long should a pair of headphones last will have come up before.

I would have thought with moderate use 18 months to two years.

The referee might split it down the middle.

for $500? This is in the ultra premium range compared to what else is in the market lol.

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