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- media@commsroom.co
As part of this sweep, business’ return policies and website terms and conditions were reviewed, some of which raised concerns as being potentially misleading for the consumer.
“Our sweep has found numerous examples of practices that could potentially mislead or deceive consumers regarding their rights to exchange, refund or return a product,” ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe said.
“Under the Australian Consumer Law consumers have basic rights when buying products and services, known as consumer guarantees. These rights are separate from any warranties offered by a business and cannot be taken away by anything a business says or does.”
The sweep identified several potentially misleading statements in the terms and conditions of a number of the websites reviewed, including:
Problematic statements found during the sweep included:
As a result of the sweep’s findings, the ACCC sent warning letters to several businesses whose returns policies or terms and conditions raised concerns under the ACL.
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“Our action led to the majority of businesses changing or removing concerning statements from their websites and improving consumer guarantee messages to consumers,” Ms Lowe said.
“While we did identify some concerning practices during this sweep, we were pleased to find that many websites had information that advised consumers of their consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law.”
Under the ACL, businesses should not be making statements, written or verbally, to the following effect about faulty products:
“The ACCC is committed to improving business compliance with consumer guarantees and will continue to actively monitor this area, and where appropriate, take enforcement action,” Ms Lowe said.
“We encourage all businesses to review their return policies and terms and conditions to ensure they comply with the law.”
There are nine consumer guarantees that apply to products. They include guarantees that a product sold must be of acceptable quality, fit for any stated purpose, and match its description.
The three consumer guarantees that apply to services are that businesses must provide them using reasonable care and skill, they must be fit for any stated purpose, and they must be supplied within a reasonable time where the time is not otherwise agreed between the consumer and the business.
Businesses may offer other warranties, but these are extra promises that a business can choose to make in addition to the consumer guarantees. A warranty cannot replace, change or take away a consumer’s basic legal rights.
Depending on the nature of the problem, remedies can include a refund, a repair or replacement and/or compensation for reasonably foreseeable loss or damage caused by the failure to meet the consumer guarantee.
Consumer guarantees do not apply if the buyer simply changed their mind, found the product cheaper somewhere else, or decided they no longer liked it or had no use for it. Consumer guarantees also do not apply if a buyer misused the product in a way that caused the problem.
The ACCC has been advocating for law reform to the consumer guarantees provisions, and welcomes the Federal Government’s commitment to work with state and territory consumer affairs ministers to design proposed civil prohibitions and penalties for breaches of the consumer guarantee and supplier indemnification provisions of the ACL. This would introduce penalties for:
These amendments would significantly change business incentives to comply with their consumer guarantee obligations under the ACL, as well as more effectively supporting buyers in securing their statutory consumer guarantee rights.
Adrianne Saplagio is a Content Producer at Comms Room, where she combines her passion for storytelling with her expertise in multimedia content creation. With a keen eye for detail and a knack for engaging audiences, Adrianne has been instrumental in crafting compelling narratives that resonate across various digital platforms.
