Refunds and Returning Goods: Consumer Laws for Teenagers
Basic Information
Introduction
As a consumer in Australia, you have rights when purchasing goods that are detailed in the Australian Consumer Law (ACL). On this site there will be details about the consumer laws based around refunds. These laws only apply to Australian businesses, which does mean that you can't ask for a refund at your neighbours lemonade stand or a nearby yard sale however if you purchase goods from a business you have the ACL to protect you.
What do these laws apply to
The Australian Consumer Laws around refunds apply to both goods and services and as you are a consumer (a person that purchases items so that they can use them ) you can use these laws to your advantage.
A 'good' is an item that you can physically touch and a 'service' is an activity provided by people that you have to pay for (for example a doctor or a hairdresser), however we will mainly be focusing on refunds for goods.
'No Refund' Signs
I'm sure that you constantly walk into shops and see signs saying 'SORRY, NO REFUNDS', however, very few people know that it's actually illegal to use these signs. As a consumer, you are always allowed to ask for a refund for items if there is a problem with them.
These problems can include if the item you purchased doesn't match the packaging, if the item doesn't work properly or even if the item is of low quality. If any of these problems occur, you are allowed to ask for a refund.
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Reasons for Refunds
Product doesn't match packaging
Product doesn't work as designed or marketed
Product is not of acceptable quality
It's been explained that if a product you purchase fits one of these criteria then you can always ask for a refund, but what do these criteria actually mean?
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When we say that 'the product doesn't match the packaging', it means that the item that you purchase is different to how it is shown on the item's packaging. However, this also applies if your item is different to how it was described by the salesperson who gave it to you.
In short, if the item you purchase looks different to how it was marketed to you, then you have the right to return the product
When we say that 'the product doesn't work as designed or marketed', it means that if you purchase an item and it turns out that the item doesn't work in the way it is intended (for example if you buy a phone but when you open the packaging it turns out that the phone doesn’t turn on) then you have the right to return that product to where you bought it and ask for either a full refund or for a replacement.
This also applies if you are told by a salesperson that your product can do something that it later turns out it can’t do (for example if before you buy a phone, the salesperson that is selling it to you says that it never breaks and it later turns out that this isn't true). This is because anything told to you by a salesperson while they are trying to sell you something becomes a guarantee.
When we say that ‘the product is not of acceptable quality’, it means that the product you purchase should look correct, it should be same from defects and it should be durable (although how durable it should be depends on the product, for example if you buy a phone then it should last for around 2 years but if you buy a fridge then it should last for more like 10 years).
This does mean that this section is mainly open to interpretation as it is officially decided whether something is of good quality or not by thinking about ‘What a reasonable consumer, aware of the goods’ original condition would find acceptable’ which means that it’s harder to understand but as long as you believe that your product isn’t acceptable then you can ask for a refund for it.
You changed your mind and just want a refund
Unfortunately you can’t just return something because you’ve decided you don’t want it anymore unless the shop has a policy that allows refunds and exchanges of products however at that point the shop has all the power. This doesn’t mean that it’s not worth asking anyway though because you might get lucky and get a refund anyway
What you need to return
an item
Although most people don’t know this, you don’t need the original packaging of an item or even the receipt if you want to return a product. All you need is the item that you want to refund and proof of when you purchased it. This proof can be a receipt but it can also be things like a photo of you and the item on social media or security camera footage. As long as you have these and one of the reasons explained to the left, you can get a refund for any product you’ve purchased
Limitations
Although there are lots of ways to get a refund, there are some limitations to these laws.
You can't ask for a refund if an unreasonable amount of time has passed (which is usually the same amount of time as the product is supposed to last before the people who sell it to you can no longer guarantee it will work properly).
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You also can't ask for a refund if you were the one who damaged the product you were trying to return although some businesses will give you a replacement if you'd only bought their product recently so it's always worth asking, even if there is no guarantee.
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Finally, you can't ask for a refund if you ask for unreasonable compensation (for example, if your laptop breaks and you ask for 3 newer laptops to replace your old one) because businesses have no obligation to give you more than they absolutely must
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Why this is important
It is incredibly important for teenagers like you to understand how consumer laws work, especially about the important laws based around refunds and returning products as they make it much easier for you as you grow older.
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Because most if not all of you reading this are either currently earning money and paying for your own things (like food and clothing) or will be soon, it's important for you to properly understand the laws that make being a consumer much easier for you.
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With the information on this site, you should be ready to explore the world of purchasing and refunding products, but if you have any more questions just click the 'MORE QUESTIONS' tab above
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Good Luck