Silent Night

IT’S gift giving time, so what better time to be reminded of your consumer rights?

Meet Dean.

Dean decides to buy his sixteen-year-old son, Tom, speakers and an amplifier for Christmas.

After Christmas, Tom has his mates over for a party. Disastrously, the speakers blow and the party is a “silent night”.

The next day Dean takes the speakers back to the Speaker Shop, seeking a refund or replacement speakers.

Charlotte, the Speaker Shop salesperson, questions Dean and Tom regarding the speaker use. Tom says, “We were having an awesome party. They worked fine for a while on max volume and then they just blew.”

Charlotte says the speakers were misused, as the product manual specifies the speakers should not be played at maximum and that the Shop will not be refunding or replacing the speakers.

This is where the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) comes in.

Under the ACL, goods must be of acceptable quality (i.e. fit for the purpose they were sold for) and they must match the description given by the seller to you.

If the goods do not meet these requirements, you may be entitled to a remedy, such as a repair, replacement, or refund.

Dean, a student of consumer law, said that after looking at technical specifications, the speakers were not capable of supporting such a powerful amplifier.

Dean also says that he relied on the salesperson to match the correct speakers to the amplifier, and therefore the speakers were not fit for the purpose.

Under consumer law the Speaker Shop must either refund the cost of the speakers or provide a replacement set that is compatible with the powerful amplifier.

The good news is, Dean got a replacement set of speakers that fit the purpose.

The bad news is, for Dean at least, that Tom now has his music pumping at even higher decibels to his heart’s content!

Thank you to Anthony Fogarty for his assistance with this column.

Email Manny Wood, principal solicitor at TB Law at manny@tblaw.net.au or call him on (02) 66 487 487.

By Manny WOOD