Script for How Can We Help

Script for How can we help?

Hi. My name is Lyn and I’m going to be talking to you about consumer rights and how the Office of Fair Trading can help you.

I’ll be explaining • what is the Office of Fair Trading • What are my consumer rights? • Your Refund rights • What are warranties? • What are a traders’ obligations? • What do I do if I think I have a problem? and how can Fair Trading help you.

The Office of Fair Trading is a state government organisation that, amongst other things, assists consumers and traders to resolve disputes.

We do this by educating consumers and traders about their rights and responsibilities and, where necessary, by getting involved in disputes and talking and negotiating with the parties to try and reach an agreement.

Consumers are entitled to get what they paid for. That means that the goods or services should work properly, match any description about the goods and be the same as any sample you were shown.

For example, if you went to a shoe store, bought a new pair of shoes, and the heel fell off as you walked home, that means the shoes weren’t “fit for the purpose” and the customer would be entitled to request a replacement pair of shoes or a refund. When consumers and traders do business and exchange money for goods and services, a contract has generally been formed, even though it may not be in writing.

When you buy a newspaper or a bus ticket you have formed a contract. Contracts give rights and obligations to both parties. A consumer has the right to receive the goods or services, and the trader has the right to receive the money but the obligation to provide the goods or services at an appropriate standard.

If the goods you buy don’t work, through no fault of your own, this would be a “breach” of contract and against the law. In this case, you MAY be entitled to replacement, repair or refund, depending on the circumstances. For example, if you bought a television and it didn’t work when you took it home, a replacement television or refund would be appropriate. However, if it stopped working after a year, repairs may be more appropriate. If someone changes their mind about something they have purchased, for example they decide they don’t need it or don’t like the colour, they are not legally entitled to a refund.

Some big stores offer this service as part of their customer service, but there is no legal obligation for them to do this. It is best for consumers to always check on a store’s refund policy if they are not sure about a purchase. Store policies are usually set out on “refund signs” and not all store policies are legal. Signs that say “no refund” or limit a consumer’s rights have no real effect. If goods are faulty, a consumer is within their rights to take them back, regardless of any signs on display. Here are two examples of refund policy signs.

The sign on the left illegally limits customers rights.

The sign on the right correctly states that customers are not entitled to refunds just because they change their mind.

State and federal consumer laws ensure there are guarantees of quality when consumers buy goods or services from traders. These are called statutory warranties. They try to ensure that consumers get what they bargained for. An express warranty is generally a written guarantee of what the trader will do if anything goes wrong for a specific time.

For example, “30 day money-back guarantee” or “12 month warranty on repairs”. These are generally binding on the trader who offered the express warranty but do not limit consumers rights under the statutory warranty. For example, a watch costing $2,000 may come with a 12 month express warranty but this would not necessarily stop a consumer from taking action if it broke after 13 months through no fault of their own.

Traders must do what a contract says they will do. If the contract is for 5 metres of fabric, then the fabric should be at least 5 metres long.

Goods should be capable of doing the job they were sold to do. If a customer buys a shovel and it breaks the first time they use it, the customer is entitled to take the shovel back.

A trader does not have to refund or exchange goods when the goods are damaged by the consumer or the consumer changes their mind. If someone comes to your door or rings you up to sell you goods or services, you generally have some protection under the law. If you agree to buy goods or services costing more than $100 from someone who visits or rings you uninvited, they should give you information in writing that states you have five business days to cancel the contract.

You can cancel the contract by telling the trader in writing that you are cancelling the contract and you want your money back. Also, telemarketers who are selling goods or services can only ring between 9am and 8pm. If you tell a telemarketer to stop, they can’t ring again you for another 30 days.

If you are unsure of whether a situation is covered by this law, contact Fair Trading. There are lots of places where you can get help with consumer issues.

You can contact a Migrant Resource Centre or you can contact Fair Trading on 133220 or via the interpreter service on 131450. We also have information available in a number of other languages such as Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Italian, Macedonian, Spanish and Vietnamese on the website.

What we will try to do is give you the information you need to sort out the problem yourself. This will help you avoid a similar situation in the future. Once you have the information you need, you should talk to the trader. Stop using the goods so you don’t damage them further. Ask to speak to the owner or manager of the business Always stay calm and reasonable. Getting angry and aggressive won’t help solve your problem. Look for solutions to the problem.

If you leave the goods with the trader, ask for a receipt to prove you left the goods. If the trader won’t agree to fix the problem, you can lodge a complaint with Fair Trading.

You can get complaint forms from any Fair Trading Centre or from the website. In fact you can even send a complaint to us via the website. This is a free service. If you need help filling in a complaint form, your local Migrant Resource Centre or community organisation may be able to help you.

Once we have your complaint form, it will be given to a Fair Trading officer who will contact the trader, explain your complaint to them and get their side of the story. We will then discuss with the trader what they are willing to do to fix the problem and then tell the customer what the trader said.

If the customer is unhappy with the trader’s response, they can go to the Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal.

The Consumer, Trader and Tenancy Tribunal is an informal and inexpensive way to legally resolve disputes between traders and consumers.

No legal representation is allowed and each party gets their chance to say what has happened. If the consumer and trader can’t reach agreement, the tribunal member hearing the case can actually make a legally binding order, for example, that the trader must refund the money.

If you want more information on the tribunal, you can ring on 1300 135 399 or you can find information on the website www.cttt.nsw.gov.au.

There are Fair Trading Centres in 23 locations around the state. You can also access our services through Government Access Centres, or via the website www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au .

You can also ring us on 13 32 20 or you can ring our interpreter service on 13 14 50.

I hope you found this information useful and please contact us if you want more information.

You may freely copy, distribute, display or download this information with some important restrictions. See the Office of Fair Trading’s copyright policy at www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au/copyright.html or email [email protected]

This fact sheet/document must not be relied on as legal advice. For more information about this topic, refer to the appropriate legislation.