Your shopping rights

Refunds for goods

If a product you bought does not meet any of the four key consumer guarantees and you couldn’t have known about the defect at the time of purchase, you’re entitled to compensation. If the product is faulty or defective, you can get a refund.

You may be offered a replacement product, repair or credit note instead, but if a refund is what you want, don’t settle for anything less!

If you can’t transport it, call the retailer to arrange for them to collect it — they’ll have to pay any freight costs. It’s the retailer — not the manufacturer — who owes you compensation, so don’t let them convince you otherwise.

Some points to remember

• You need proof of purchase (for example, a receipt) to claim a refund.
• If the fault develops sometime after the purchase, you may only be entitled to a partial refund.
• Retailers sometimes display warnings to consumers that ‘no refunds or exchanges are given’. 'No refund' signs are illegal; signs cannot take away your legal rights.
• If you paid in cash, the refund is in cash. If you paid by credit card, your account should be credited.
• Retailers are not required to make refunds if you simply change your mind after the sale, although some may.
• Some retailers give ‘no questions asked’ cash refunds if you change your mind, while others may provide refunds, exchanges or credit notes within a certain time period. The best thing to do is check the store’s refund policy before you buy the goods.
• You don’t have refund rights if you buy goods through an auction or private sale (unless goods have been misrepresented). So caveat emptor – let the buyer beware.
• Your contract is with the trader or retailer who sold you the goods, not with the manufacturer or supplier. However, there may be occasions where you prefer to take a defective product straight to the manufacturer, such as if you’ve lost your receipt or if it was a gift and you don’t know where it was purchased.

Refunds for services

• The service of a tradesperson, professional or other service provider must be of a standard and quality you would expect from a competent person in that trade or industry. If services provided are not up to this reasonable standard, you are entitled to a refund or repair.
• You may also be able to claim compensation for the extra costs, like loss or damage, associated with the poor job. Signs like ‘no responsibility for loss or damage’ are misleading as consumers must be compensated if these tradespersons’ and other professionals’ services are not performed with due care and skill.

Statutory warranties

All goods for sale in Australia come with a statutory or ‘implied’ warranty. This means that goods should function properly for a reasonable period, bearing in mind their price and the way they were described. These statutory, or implied, warranty rights are part of the Trade Practices Act and apply Australia-wide, regardless of the store’s return policy.

• This is different to any additional warranties retailers and manufacturers may provide.
• If goods develop a major fault within this period, and you weren’t responsible for the fault, you are entitled to compensation.
• Whether you can claim a full or partial refund or repair depends on the circumstances – like how much you paid, how the product was described, how long you have it and how much you’ve used it.

Your right to compensation is not limited to the period of the manufacturer’s written (express or extended) warranty. So if, for example, a refrigerator develops a major fault after just 18 months, it is still reasonable to expect a refund or replacement — even if the manufacturer’s warranty had expired after one year.

We recommend you think carefully and weigh up the cost of extended warranty — you already have rights under the implied warranty which often last longer than the written warranty.

Manufacturer / Express warranties

If your problem product is still under express warranty, it should be returned to either the place of purchase or the manufacturer for repairs, which should be done at no charge to you.

If the product is out of express warranty, you still have the right to have it repaired correctly and may even be able to argue it should be free of charge.

The service people should be licensed, and you should receive a written, itemised quote. The final cost of the repairs should be within 20% of the price you were quoted. Repairs must be guaranteed, and the goods must have suffered no additional damage.

If you're still unhappy with the final results of any repairs, whether done under warranty or not, you can follow our guide Letters that get results or talk to to the department of Consumer Affairs or Fair Trading in your state or territory.

Extended warranties

An additional warranty retailers try to sell you which may or may not extend the manufacturer’s warranty. Some extended warranties may only replace the product or refund customers based on annual depreciation of the product. This means the product you get as a replacement may be inferior to the one you originally bought or you may be refunded less money than what you paid.

There's more information in our Extended warranties report.

Lay-by allows you to pay for an item over a certain period of time while the retailer stores it. It’s a way for shoppers to avoid using a credit card or other form of credit facility, thereby avoiding interest and other associated charges. But charges can apply with lay-by too.

Lay-by terms and conditions

Before you commit, ask for the terms and conditions of this binding contract in writing, including:

• Lay-by number and description of the goods.
• Deposit amount, setting-up charge and total price.
• Length of the lay-by, including the date it finishes.
• How often you need to make payments.
• The minimum amount required with each payment.
• The cancellation fee — if one applies. You can cancel a lay-by, but the retailer does not have to refund all your money — there may be a cancellation fee, which you should know about before starting the agreement. If the fee seems unreasonable and the retailer can’t justify it, you could take this case to your state or territory Consumer Affairs or Fair Trading department. 

Online shopping

Shopping from home certainly has its benefits — you can browse with a cup of tea and the TV on, there are no checkout queues and there’s probably more to choose from then you’ll find in your local shop. But although the wonders of the internet may make shopping appear limitless, your consumer rights don’t offer you the same protection.

• While sellers have to abide by the same laws that apply to traditional retail transactions, enforcing your rights may be more difficult if the company is not based in Australia.
• Your best bet to avoid being fleeced is probably to make sure you’re dealing with a reputable dealer before you make your purchase. Have a good look at the retailer’s website. You’re looking for full contact details, a privacy policy which states that the retailer won’t share your details with anyone else, terms and conditions and a secure payment process.
• The item you’re buying should be well described and the price, availability, charges, and payment and refund policies clearly displayed.
• If you’re buying a gift or need the product within a certain timeframe, you might also want to check upfront when you can expect delivery of the goods and what to do if the product is delayed.

You still have certain rights when you buy from travelling salepeople, even in your own home. Beware of ‘free gift’ offers and hard-sell pressure tactics used by well-trained door-to-door salesman and carefully targeted infomercials — you may end up buying something you don’t really need, or want.

• Door-to-door sales are covered by state laws and are subject to a cooling-off period, in which you can rethink the purchase and withdraw from it without penalty.
• Some conditions usually apply to the cooling-off period. It's generally 10 days (five clear business days in NSW) and tends to exclude financial products, charitable donations and business transactions. It applies only if the door-to-door seller arrives unannounced and to purchases over $100 in NSW, $75 in Queensland and $50 elsewhere.
• Check with your local Consumer Affairs / Fair Trading authority, to get more details about cooling-off protection in your state.

If a problem arises, try to resolve it with the store first. Talk calmly and assertively (to the manager, if necessary), suggest a resolution and take notes of your conversation, including the name and position of the person you’re talking to.

Give them a short but specific time to respond if they ask for it and if you don’t hear back by the due date or aren’t satisfied with the response, put your complaint in writing to the store’s manager. For help, see our report Letters that get results.

If the matter remains unresolved, contact the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission or your state or territory's department of Consumer Affairs or Fair Trading for advice. They may assess the matter and act as an informal negotiator. However, they can’t order a party to resolve the complaint — only a court or tribunal can do that. They can only advise on what’s involved in taking the matter further, and that may be to court — if you think it’s worth the effort.