BULKY items, buyers beware

[fcosenti]

Hi folks,

be aware that (too) many sellers have illegal terms & conditions, yet they are adamant about those.

I am in the middle of bathroom renovations, and I purchased a freestanding SPA from a seller in Adelaide. He had positive feedback of over 900, ABN, the works. I paid with Paypal, including a hefty $260 for delivery.

Trouble started when I received the item. This is a MASSIVE 95 Kg box, wrapped in wood packaging. The courier arrives - driver only (a classic nowadays). I had to unload it and move it to the house with the help of 2 friends, a real ordeal.

A couple of weeks later the plumbers open the box and find that 2 panels are broken. Seller starts his "T&C" charade (You should not have signed for the courier - YEAH like the courier would wait for 1 hour for us opening a box with hammer and cutters, removing all internal SPA panels, and finding the cracks). Some discussions, and I agree to pay $55 for delivery of 2 replacement side panels.

Few more weeks pass and the plumbers install the SPA and test it (amongst other things, it needed 20 amps power NOT MENTIONED IN AD so I had to arrange for new electrical circuit). They find that the Pop&waste AND flexible tubing leaks water.

I contact seller who sends the replacement part, BUT strongly refuses to pay for part installation by my plumber (charging $100 + gst per hour!!!). I call back the plumber, he comes to install the part, and finds that the replacement part IS CRACKED. Seller offers yet another part replacement but again, no labour refund.

I am now waiting for this replacement part and I am collecting all repair-only bills from plumber. I opened a case with ACCC since their website states clearly "if the item is large, heavy or bulky or needed to be delivered, the seller should arrange for this to be returned." and that's why many companies selling whitegoods and similar have conventions with repair centres to offer on site service (much cheaper than take the item back to service centre, repair it and then deliver it back including installation).

In summary - a buyer should NEVER end up out of pocket for *any* manufacturer or transportation defects/damages to the goods that he/she purchased. It is ALWAYS, UNCONDITIONALLY 100% seller responsibility. IT IS THE LAW.

If any seller of bulky items is reading this, now you know what you can do with your Terms & Conditions :-))

[phorum_junkie*]

Your main problem here is not rejecting the goods and demanding a refund or replacement when you found the first fault. As they have an ABN as long as it was a BIN and not an auction you would have been able to go after them with a good chance of success.

If it was an auction then your rights are considerably reduced but you could still have opened a Paypal dispute and at worst that would have meant you had to pay to send it back which would probably have cost less in the long run than you have spent already.

[foxette-in-sox]

I'm at a complete loss as to why you left them positive feedback.

[fcosenti]

It was a BIN. It was a mistake leaving positive feedback but I cannot withdraw it now? I left it "assuming" that the story ended with panels replacement. The issue is that renovations take AGES - it took 2 months to test the SPA.

Regardless, the seller hasn't offered to take it back, and anyway it would have costed me an arm and a leg in plumbers to buy another one somewhere else.

The main point is - if you are a seller, you have legal obligations. BIG legal obligations. STOP PINNING ON YOUR CUSTOMERS YOUR ISSUES.

[daylie*performance]

what an ordeal!

firstly, as a seller of bulky goods myself, your seller should have firstly notified you or at least had it clearly noted in his items description that assistance with unload would be required so you are prepared. But by the sounds of the size of this item, it should have been palleted and delivered via tailgate and lifter.

Secondly, all transport co's offer added transit insurance which is the account holders option to take up & would be mad not to. he should have lodged a transit damage claim on the delivery co immediately as soon as you reported the damage found to the panels, and NOT charge you a fee for the delivery of the replacements, how rude!

Lastly, When you buy something, you expect to get what you paid for as advertised, any findings of manufacturer fault or defect as you have experienced, should have been replaced or repaired by the manufacturer at no cost to you including the postage, this is the national ACCC Law. To much time may have lapsed now to lodge an "item not as described" dispute, but I would pursue the matter with ACCC Including the additional labour costs you have incurred to remove faulty parts components.

I do hope you achieve a positive outcome to this, luckily, not all sellers would approach this in the same manner as you have experienced.

[nkj412]

my dear,ACCC or any such so called regulator do nothing on individual comlaints and my experience is their staff is discourteous,incompetent and will flash some silly excuse and the end result is a free market for crook sellers to heaps of money.Your suggested safeguards may be good but still you may not get what you purchased.Internet trading is all built for sellers advantage or for that matter anywhere if you have to pay in advance and wait for the otherside to do its part ,you are at their disposal.

[austeam]

I imagine the spa was delivered in the original packaging that it was imported in, so unless there was obvious damage to the outside packaging no amount of insurance would cover it. 

Anyway, I stopped insuring with TNT when I found out that unless I took out absolute top cover it only really covered for damage if the truck rolled. 

Also, it could have been damaged in transit from country of manufacture or during storage. 

However, as the OP has stated the seller terms etc are pointless because the buyer is covered by the Consumer Act.  The issue then is having the act enforced. 

[nkj412]

And who will enforce the consumer Act for you?ACCC or any government regulator?Forget if you are thinking of them.Haven't you seen how year after year billions of dollars are gulped down by all traders out of the sale proceeds of gift cards in the name of expiry date and all watching?These cards are traded for hard money and money paid has to be refunded unless it has been traded for goods.And now another breed has emeged in the name of Groop deals (Groupies) who collect and pocket/split money with so called sellers with no trace and accountability.

Unless Ebay is held accountable to buyers,as it takes a cut from the money paid by buyers,buyers plight is not going to end.And so is the gift cards sales proceeds and Groopies collections.

[2106greencat]

Wow nkj412, reading your feedback left for others, purchasing on eBay is clearly not the place for you. You are very angry it seems, as you have every right to be given your experiences, but, and I am asking in the nicest possible way, why on earth do you keep buying from eBay if you feel you have been wronged so very often ? 🙂

[austeam]

Haven't you seen how year after year billions of dollars are gulped down by all traders out of the sale proceeds of gift cards in the name of expiry date and all watching?

Is that really any different though to purchasing a packet of biscuits with 3 month use by date and then expecting the  supermarket to exchange it for a fresh packet because you haven't opened it yet?

When the card is purchased its expiry date is normally clearly stated.  In the case of Group Deals.... I went to a Restaurant recently on a deal and it had a fixed 7 course seafood menu which included lobster.  The price of lobster and many other ingredients will fluctuate, plus the Chefs like to change their menu to maintain interest.  It would have been unreasonable of us to expect the Restaurant to supply the same deal in 3 months time. 

However, I do know someone who got a refund because the Restuarant she had a voucher for had a fire and needed renovations.  I also know people who couldn't get a booking during the time frame and managed to book for the following month.