The ACCC has found that Target may have breached Australian Consumer Law after some customers were told that faults that occurred 30 days after purchase were Sony's responsibility.
If you were told by Target that you had to take a broken Playstation back to Sony to get fixed in 2017, you might qualify for a remedy after the retailer admitted it may have breached Australian consumer law.
In an undertaking accepted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), Target Australia Pty Ltd (Target) admits it may have breached the Australian Consumer Law by redirecting customers to Sony to resolve issues with faulty PlayStations.
“Target has admitted that it may have misled consumers about rights they had to a refund, replacement or repair under the Consumer Guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law,” said ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court.
Between at least January 2017 and August 2017 the ACCC believes Target’s customer service staff told some customers that Target would not provide refunds or replacements for faulty PlayStations if the fault occurred more than 30 days after purchase.
Customers were told instead to seek a resolution directly through Sony the manufacturer of the PlayStation.
Court said that retailers cannot modify or exclude consumer guarantee rights and can’t set their own time limits on their obligations under such guarantees.
“A retailer cannot simply send a consumer to the manufacturer and wash their hands of any responsibility,” she said
Target will review the circumstances of customers it is contacted by and has undertaken to review and improve its Australian Consumer Law compliance program.
Any consumer who believes a product they have purchased is faulty or un-fit for purpose is encouraged by the ACCC to contact the retailer and exercise their consumer guarantees in seeking a resolution.
