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Great write up. Australia has pretty good consumer protection laws.. I feel like the warranty period offered by the manufacturer could/should be superseded by t

Great write up. Australia has pretty good consumer protection laws.. I feel like the warranty period offered by the manufacturer could/should be superseded by the Consumers Guarantee Act – it seems reasonable to expect an AC unit to operate and work for more than a few years. There is no specific time when the consumer guarantees no longer apply to products. They may apply even after the manufacturer's warranty period has past. https://business.gov.au/legal/fair-trading/australian-consumer-law https://business.gov.au/legal/fair-trading/australian-consum...

chid 2y ago
I just had look and seems most have a warranty of five years, it doesn't seem there are many outliers to that. Funnily though it seems the AC unit is most likely going to operate many times longer, as the OP points out just the controller isn't working properly, and how long would a consumer be willing to fight this in the summer in Perth.
- jackvalentine 2y ago
  I’ve used the Australian Consumer Law several times at this point and most times you say to the customer service rep “The Australian Consumer Law gives guarantees of acceptable durability that I do not think this product has met. How are you planning on remedying the situation?” They’ll then generally go to speak to a supervisor. The’ll then come back and say they’ve been instructed to help you escalate to ‘senior management’. A day later they’ll contact you with how to get your product fixed for free. I’ve not had a significant delay, but you’d be spewing if it was a heat wave in summer.
ajdlinux 2y ago
That was my first thought - the Australian Consumer Law statutory guarantees would almost certainly come into play here, and this would be worth requesting assistance from the relevant state/territory Fair Trading.
Hawxy 2y ago
Came to the thread to mention this. I imagine the control system attached to an A/C system expected to last 10+ years should also last as long under the ACCC.

chid 2y ago

I just had look and seems most have a warranty of five years, it doesn't seem there are many outliers to that. Funnily though it seems the AC unit is most likely going to operate many times longer, as the OP points out just the controller isn't working properly, and how long would a consumer be willing to fight this in the summer in Perth.

jackvalentine 2y ago
I’ve used the Australian Consumer Law several times at this point and most times you say to the customer service rep “The Australian Consumer Law gives guarantees of acceptable durability that I do not think this product has met. How are you planning on remedying the situation?” They’ll then generally go to speak to a supervisor. The’ll then come back and say they’ve been instructed to help you escalate to ‘senior management’. A day later they’ll contact you with how to get your product fixed for free. I’ve not had a significant delay, but you’d be spewing if it was a heat wave in summer.

ajdlinux 2y ago

That was my first thought - the Australian Consumer Law statutory guarantees would almost certainly come into play here, and this would be worth requesting assistance from the relevant state/territory Fair Trading.

Hawxy 2y ago

Came to the thread to mention this. I imagine the control system attached to an A/C system expected to last 10+ years should also last as long under the ACCC.