Hi, we bought a recliner set 1.5 yrs ago. One of the recliner mechanisms got crooked for no reason. The warranty states "3 year on motors and mechanisms (mechanisms covered to 120kg weight load only)".
It also says:
"3. Refund policy
i. Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the AustralianConsumer Law (ACL). You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failureand for compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You arealso entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be ofacceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.
...
iii. Our supplier warranties do not cover, and we are not liable for, any fading or other change in colouration (“exposure”), any damage caused by general day to day wear and tear (“general usage”) or if the goods are used in a manner outside of their prescribed or ordinary use. All other warranties and liability of Focus On Furniture for any loss or damage, direct or consequential, is expressly excluded.
iv. The rights given by our supplier warranties are in addition to any rights and remedies you may have under the ACL and other laws. To claim under our supplier warranty you should call our head office on 03 9238 6900 or write to “Warranties Officer: Focus On Furniture Pty Ltd, 11 Siddons Way, Hallam VIC 3803”. Subject to your rights under the ACL, you are responsible for all costs associated with the claim including all freightage and transport costs. You must be the original purchaser and provide sufficient evidence of your proof of purchase to apply."
I believe faulty recliner mechanism is part of their warranty, so we submitted a warranty claim. They had a technician inspect the couch and take photos. Technician verbally confirmed to me that the item is faulty. However, the furniture shop came back to me saying "The technician report indicates that the mechanism of the recliner shows signs of being damaged by misapplication of weight or force to the extended footrest. Unfortunately damage due to misuse is not something that would be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty as it is not a fault; so we would be unable to proceed with a warranty claim for these damages.". I had a very long discussion via emails with them explaining that we used the lounge correctly and that we did not damage it. None of the other recliner sets we had in the past had issues with mechanisms. In my opinion, this recliner set is of poor quality and not durable. However, the seller refused to approve the warranty claim. Apparently, "service technician had confirmed within his report after assessing your piece in person that the twisting in the mechanism would have to be caused by damage in the home, as this twisting is not consistent with a product failure or any other kind of manufacturing fault."
As a gesture of "goodwill", they offered to repair the mechanism for free, but they insist that we pay for the physical part. I do not accept this offer, as I don't agree we should incur any costs to repair their faulty poor-quality item.
I asked them to share technician's report to see how he explained his assessment. This is what they shared:
My goal is to get this part repaired or replaced. In my opinion, if a part gets bent after a short period of ordinary use, I am entitled to a replacement, repair or refund under their warranty, or under the ACL consumer guarantee, or both. Even though they did offer to pay for repair, I do not agree to pay for the replacement part. This lounge is of poor quality, and I am pretty sure other recliner mechanisms may also get the same problem in the next year or so, which is still within the warranty period and should be covered under warranty. For this reason I want to go to the QLD Office of Fair Trading, and if this doesn't work out, to the QCAT to resolve this issue.
Based on the information I provided, do you think I have a chance to win at court? It seems that the company is using this technician to create evidence supporting their refusal of the warranty claims. I am worried how much value is given to this technician's "report" by the judge. In my opinion, technician's assessment is biased and incorrect. He's only been there for 5 minutes and told that "it's definitely faulty" to me. He refused to inspect other recliner mechanisms to compare them to the faulty one too.
I have already lost one court case with the furniture company in the past. In that situation, the seller used the fact that we moved house and took the item with us. Even though it was not damaged on the day of move, the seller wrote in their internal notes "physical damage" and presented these notes to the court, who then ruled out in seller's favour. I am beyond annoyed and frustrated by the cheekiness of these furniture shops. Furniture takes so much time and effort to choose, they advertise their warranty very prominently on their websites, and then when their items break within the warranty period due to poor quality, they refuse the warranty claims saying customers damaged the items themselves."
So, do I have chances to win this case in court, and if yes, what can I do to maximise my chance of winning it?
Thanks in advance.
It also says:
"3. Refund policy
i. Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the AustralianConsumer Law (ACL). You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failureand for compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You arealso entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be ofacceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.
...
iii. Our supplier warranties do not cover, and we are not liable for, any fading or other change in colouration (“exposure”), any damage caused by general day to day wear and tear (“general usage”) or if the goods are used in a manner outside of their prescribed or ordinary use. All other warranties and liability of Focus On Furniture for any loss or damage, direct or consequential, is expressly excluded.
iv. The rights given by our supplier warranties are in addition to any rights and remedies you may have under the ACL and other laws. To claim under our supplier warranty you should call our head office on 03 9238 6900 or write to “Warranties Officer: Focus On Furniture Pty Ltd, 11 Siddons Way, Hallam VIC 3803”. Subject to your rights under the ACL, you are responsible for all costs associated with the claim including all freightage and transport costs. You must be the original purchaser and provide sufficient evidence of your proof of purchase to apply."
I believe faulty recliner mechanism is part of their warranty, so we submitted a warranty claim. They had a technician inspect the couch and take photos. Technician verbally confirmed to me that the item is faulty. However, the furniture shop came back to me saying "The technician report indicates that the mechanism of the recliner shows signs of being damaged by misapplication of weight or force to the extended footrest. Unfortunately damage due to misuse is not something that would be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty as it is not a fault; so we would be unable to proceed with a warranty claim for these damages.". I had a very long discussion via emails with them explaining that we used the lounge correctly and that we did not damage it. None of the other recliner sets we had in the past had issues with mechanisms. In my opinion, this recliner set is of poor quality and not durable. However, the seller refused to approve the warranty claim. Apparently, "service technician had confirmed within his report after assessing your piece in person that the twisting in the mechanism would have to be caused by damage in the home, as this twisting is not consistent with a product failure or any other kind of manufacturing fault."
As a gesture of "goodwill", they offered to repair the mechanism for free, but they insist that we pay for the physical part. I do not accept this offer, as I don't agree we should incur any costs to repair their faulty poor-quality item.
I asked them to share technician's report to see how he explained his assessment. This is what they shared:
My goal is to get this part repaired or replaced. In my opinion, if a part gets bent after a short period of ordinary use, I am entitled to a replacement, repair or refund under their warranty, or under the ACL consumer guarantee, or both. Even though they did offer to pay for repair, I do not agree to pay for the replacement part. This lounge is of poor quality, and I am pretty sure other recliner mechanisms may also get the same problem in the next year or so, which is still within the warranty period and should be covered under warranty. For this reason I want to go to the QLD Office of Fair Trading, and if this doesn't work out, to the QCAT to resolve this issue.
Based on the information I provided, do you think I have a chance to win at court? It seems that the company is using this technician to create evidence supporting their refusal of the warranty claims. I am worried how much value is given to this technician's "report" by the judge. In my opinion, technician's assessment is biased and incorrect. He's only been there for 5 minutes and told that "it's definitely faulty" to me. He refused to inspect other recliner mechanisms to compare them to the faulty one too.
I have already lost one court case with the furniture company in the past. In that situation, the seller used the fact that we moved house and took the item with us. Even though it was not damaged on the day of move, the seller wrote in their internal notes "physical damage" and presented these notes to the court, who then ruled out in seller's favour. I am beyond annoyed and frustrated by the cheekiness of these furniture shops. Furniture takes so much time and effort to choose, they advertise their warranty very prominently on their websites, and then when their items break within the warranty period due to poor quality, they refuse the warranty claims saying customers damaged the items themselves."
So, do I have chances to win this case in court, and if yes, what can I do to maximise my chance of winning it?
Thanks in advance.
