[spudulike]

:mad: :mad: :mad:

Well I'm going to let off some steam now I'm afraid.

We bought a fridge freezer in April at a cost of $1400, almost immediately we noticed it making a noise which got so loud over the following weeks we couldn't hear the TV over it. We called the shop and they sent somebody round to fix it. He replaced the fan in the freezer, told me he hadn't figured out what was wrong and it would only be a temporary solution whilst he called the manufacturer to find what the problem was.

3 months later he still hadn't been in touch and fridge was making the same noise - only louder. They sent the same incompetent fool round - he took the make and model number and left again saying he'd be in touch. 4 weeks later we called again asking what was going on and they reluctantly came and collected the fridge and took it to the workshop. We had to call again today after 3 weeks of no word only to be told they could hear the noise but don't know what is causing it and therefore can't fix it. They informed us their job was done and they would be returning the fridge to us when they have time!! My husband questioned this as we have a new fridge which is still noisy with no intention of anyone fixing it. They told him it is not their problem, it is up to us to take it up with the manufaturer :mad:

I am so angry as I can't believe they are able to do this. I need to try and find out if I have any rights as a consumer so will head of to citizens advice tomorrow.

Louise

[jubjub]

They have to repair or replace it, simple.

Have a look here http://tvnz.co.nz/view/tvone_minisite_story_skin/429200?format=html lots of useful links the Consumer Affairs I think is your first call.

[spudulike]

Thanks jubjub, I'll give them a call first thing in the morning. Then psyche myself up for a fight with the shop!

Thanks for your help,

Louise :)

[Nienke]

The nerve of those people! :mad:

How dit it go Louise?

[StevieD]

oooh fisticuffs!! :laugh. Shops cannot walk all over you like that. The way you have been treated, I'd expect some form of compensation as well....

[colindp]

I'd threaten to go to 'Fair Go' and see if that gets them moving.....

[spudulike]

Well, here's the update..... :mad:

I called consumer affairs this morning and they explained how the law works in NZ. When you buy an item such as furniture or an electrical appliance here you are not legally covered by any fixed guarantee period, I know you get a 12 month period in the UK but don't know what other countries do. The item is however expected to last for a 'reasonable amount of time' this is a bit woolly as nowhere does it explain what this length of time would be according to whatever item is purchased. However, it is largely dependant on price and with a $1400 fridge you would expect it to last more than a few weeks so I have reason to expect a satisfactory outcome. The man I spoke to said the shop were responsible for sorting out any repair etc and would have a duty to repair, replace or refund. If a suitable outcome is not resolved you then take it to the small claims court - apparently a common occurance here.

I called the shop who immediately said it wasn't their problem and that they had no obligation to do anything. When I explained clearly that I knew what my rights were they then admitted responsibility. They called the repair people who said it was no longer making a noise and that they didn't know what caused it and it will be dropped off again. Apparently, at this point there is no action I can take but to accept the fridge and wait for it to start making a noise again at which point they will take it away again (they have had it for 4 weeks this time!) and attempt to find the problem. Because they are apparently making an effort to repair it I cannot proceed to the small claims court at this point. I have been advised to record everything so if it does eventually go to small claims we have some evidence.

Obviously I am not happy but there is nothing I can do.

Just as a word of warning to others about general shopping here - most shops will not allow you to exchange an item which is not faulty. I know I used to occasionally take clothes back to the shop in th UK when I got home and realised I had nothing to go with it, and although they are not obliged to exchange it they normally did! Here, most places won't so be very sure before you buy! Also, my husband bought a pair of football boots which he realised had a fault before wearing them and the shopkeeper tried to get out of exchanging them - she actually said that they had lost out through the manufacturer giving them faulty items and why should she be landed with something she couldn't sell! We'd only been here a week but I knew that must be illegal and had a huge row with her - she eventually relented!

Anyway, I'll update when it makes a noise next and let people know what to do if they find themselves in a similar situation!

Louise :)

[sarahw]

Wow that is stink!! I hope you get it resolved.

Just to back up what you've said about faulty goods I have a story too - we bought a HDD DVD player at a similar price to your fridge from Harvey Norman. It was all singing all dancing, but... it froze in random places & switched itself off whenever you tried to watch a movie. It didn't play DVD's!! We took it back & they sent it to 2 repair places and neither could find a fault. I told them that if they put a test DVD on it wasn't going to fail - they'd have to sit through a whole movie DVD & they would see that it would fail (we had tried 4 different films all of them crashed it!). They obviously couldn't be bothered to do this & told us that we needed to take it home & could bring it back if we had the same problem. I flatly refused & said that it was a bloomin' expensive DVD player that didn't actually play DVD's (unlike the old cheapy we had that worked perfectly!) so was not fit for purpose & I wasn't going to give it shelf space in my home. They could either give me a refund & lose my custom forever, or they could replace it with a new one & make a happy customer. They chose to replace it with a new one after a couple of discussions!! Overall their service was pretty good but they still tried to palm us off with a damaged product.

Buyer beware - make sure you ask before you purchase something what the conditions are if you find a fault...

[Sam'n'Kelv]

The item is however expected to last for a 'reasonable amount of time' this is a bit woolly as nowhere does it explain what this length of time would be according to whatever item is purchased.

Clearly a 'reasonable amount of time' is the amount of time that the shop thinks is reasonable, i.e. the amount of time it takes to move the product from the shop to the back seat of the car! It's outrageous.

:eek:

[spudulike]

Well, the fridge/freezer has still not been returned after 5 weeks of being away at the repair shop! Last spoke to the manager on 28th November who said they couldn't find the problem so would not be fixing it and we would have to wait and see if the noise came again before any action will be taken. At this point I was told the fridge would be returned........ :( - see earlier post!

I called citizens advice who were so helpful. They asked if I would allow them to act on my behalf and attempt to get a refund as I no longer want to deal with the shop, especially as we are returning to the UK in 4 months so really don't have the time to wait for it to make a noise again then for them to (maybe) repair it one day.....!!! I jumped at the opportunity to have help, the man was so lovely and almost made me feel as though I was doing him a favour by letting him take it on! :)

So today, I gave the very helpful man at CAB all the info and he's taking it from here. Will keep you posted :yes

L :)

[tamrib]

I have to say that overall I have found that customer service in New Zealand is appalling. I find the lack of caring about customer satisfaction annoying and infuriating and that most "customer service" people are downright rude.

They are all too happy to make the sale but no follow up. And I really get annoyed with the lack of return policy here. I now simply wait until I travel back home to shop as its not the worth the hassle here.

[spudulike]

Thought I would do a quick update on this to hopefully help others.

The extremely kind man at CAB wrote a very friendly letter to the shop outlining my complaint and reminding them of my rights as a consumer (which were pretty limited....) and requested a full refund. The shop responded to CAB saying I was foolish and that I frequently refused delivery of the fridge - which was an outright lie as they hadn't been in touch!! The man at CAB responded with a second letter which was more formal in it's tone and stated clearly if they were not willing to refund I would have no option but to take them to a disputes tribunal. They rang in early Feb saying they had replaced the door (although nobody could tell me why as it wasn't faulty in the first place) and asked to deliver it. I stuck to my guns and said no and that I wanted a full refund.

At this point they ceased contact completely so I filled the form in to send to the disputes tribunal (although apparently the shop still don't actually have to pay even if ordered to!! I assume most do though). Then last week out of the blue the repair shop called and asked to collect the replacement fridge and drop of our FULL REFUND :raebanana :raebanana Only 3 months but success in the end!

The laws need tightening up here to protect the consumer and until then you've really got to be willing to fight. Hope this helps somebody who finds themselves in a similar position.

L :)

[nippa&pippa]

:raebanana :raebanana :raebanana

Congratulations and thanks for warning for all of us.

[Ana&Steve]

Glad your perseverance paid off, sorry it happened like that in the first place!
Ana