hi all
i'm relatively new to Scubaboard and have read with a lot of interest the various debates about service at LDS and at online dealers. A lot of ppl hv expressed dissatisfaction with the service they recieve when the gear they purchase doesnt perform as its meant to or proves to be faulty (i'm sure this applies outside the SCUBA industry as well)
conversely a lot of ppl express a lot of gratitude when stores comes through with a level of service that really should be standard ANYWAY
So i'm curious to know what the consumer protections laws are like where you live?
I'm from Western Australia and we have some fairly stringent laws. Essentially the law here states that when a consumer makes a purchase from a store (be it an online business or a physical store) they are entering into a contract of sale with that entity/organisation/institution. Once a sale has been entered into and finalised, the obligation to refund/repair/credit faulty equipment is on that business. It is NOT an obligation of hte manufacturer, or state distributor or any other party.
I have been in many situations where i've bought something (again, not necessarily SCUBA related), taken it back to store because of a fault, only to be told that i need to arrange for it to be sent back to manufacturer or the repair facility etc. When this happens, i usually advise the sales staff that infact they are obligated to arrange this at their own time and expense and that the only entity i need to deal with is the business whom i bought the product from.
once they store is made aware of their obligations (and in many cases, some owners/managers simply arent aware of what their obligations are), i've not had any further problems.
Having, to bring a long story to a close - what are the laws pertaining to consumer purchases in your neck of the woods???? Has anyone had to revert to this when dealing with difficult store for warranty etc??
cheers
i'm relatively new to Scubaboard and have read with a lot of interest the various debates about service at LDS and at online dealers. A lot of ppl hv expressed dissatisfaction with the service they recieve when the gear they purchase doesnt perform as its meant to or proves to be faulty (i'm sure this applies outside the SCUBA industry as well)
conversely a lot of ppl express a lot of gratitude when stores comes through with a level of service that really should be standard ANYWAY
So i'm curious to know what the consumer protections laws are like where you live?
I'm from Western Australia and we have some fairly stringent laws. Essentially the law here states that when a consumer makes a purchase from a store (be it an online business or a physical store) they are entering into a contract of sale with that entity/organisation/institution. Once a sale has been entered into and finalised, the obligation to refund/repair/credit faulty equipment is on that business. It is NOT an obligation of hte manufacturer, or state distributor or any other party.
I have been in many situations where i've bought something (again, not necessarily SCUBA related), taken it back to store because of a fault, only to be told that i need to arrange for it to be sent back to manufacturer or the repair facility etc. When this happens, i usually advise the sales staff that infact they are obligated to arrange this at their own time and expense and that the only entity i need to deal with is the business whom i bought the product from.
once they store is made aware of their obligations (and in many cases, some owners/managers simply arent aware of what their obligations are), i've not had any further problems.
Having, to bring a long story to a close - what are the laws pertaining to consumer purchases in your neck of the woods???? Has anyone had to revert to this when dealing with difficult store for warranty etc??
cheers
