Why are sellers who are using Virginia Surety Company Inc as a protection for Australian Purchasers

[augelectcentre]

Why are sellers, who are using Virginia Surety Company Inc as a protection for Australian Purchasers, now trying to circumvent the 

Australian warranty rulings for the purchase and failure of their product , sold to these buyers.

These sellers no longer wish to answer messages regarding their faulty products. 

[digital*ghost · Accepted solution]

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@augelectcentre wrote:
I know and accept what you have written. BUT what if I had not bought and paid for insurance . Then the seller would be responsible for the Australia Warranty Conditions , which would be to refund or repair. This seller does not even acknowledge your requests for his warranty provisions.

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Warranties on products are offered above and beyond basic consumer rights / protections, and they are voluntary (to offer, I mean). That is, there is nothing obliging any Australian seller to offer a warranty on anything they sell. They do need to honour any warranties that they offer, and retailers can not deny or defer claims by redirecting consumers to the manufacturer for warranty claims, either, as long as the warranty that is offered is valid (for many items sold on eBay, the warranty offered by the manufacturer is not valid, as many sellers are not authorised retailers). 

Consumer protections provide buyers with the right to the seller's choice of refund, repair or replacement for minor problems, or the buyer's choice of refund, repair or replacement for major problems but there is no clearly defined period for these as it very much depends on the item itself, and how reasonable the expectation that it will be free from faults of defects within certain periods of time (for example, it's not reasonable to expect a $5 pair of headphones will be as good quality or last as long as a $500 pair of headphones, therefore the timeframe that the basic consumer protections available for these two products will be very different). 

Obviously I don't know the item in question, what the seller's listing stated, whether they did offer a warranty and all that, so I am speaking generally here, but it's important to understand the distinction between warranties and Consumer Rights (in fact, consumer rights can still apply after a warranty has expired). 

Re: the Virginia Surety insurance - sellers don't even get a choice over whether that is offered on their listings - if it's an electronic item and is listed as brand new, it just gets added by eBay.

[augelectcentre]

He has a registered Aust address and is a current ebay user and boasts a reputation as a certified seller. What else can I do to ensure compliance with Aust Warranty Conditions. ???

[enigmabear]

None of that indicates he is an actual authorized reseller of that brand/product 

[padi*0409]

Can you post the item number of the item in question ? As bear has said, a "certified seller" means nothing.

[augelectcentre]

His pre-delivery standard repetitive email that tries to convince you not to start a case against him for any problems that arise, before he can fix it , also contains a general spiel about him. I thank all of you for your input ,
and now wish to cease this request for your thoughts. Thanks.

[padi*0409]

The item number would be illuminating for all of us responders.

[enigmabear]

Fair enough, obviously you do not want an honest answer as per how buying such things on eBay works so I will not waste any more of my time , but given you have posted on a public forum where any member is allowed to comment on any thread posted at any time, you will need to self report and ask the moderator to remove your thread

[padi*0409]

To be honest bear, I'm surprised that Virginia Surety would honour a warranty from a seller that isn't an authorised seller or an authorised reseller of the product.

Insurance companies nearly always have a "get out of jail free" clause in their contracts.

Spoiler

..........can't be bothered going through their fine print in their policies...............

[purplemon18]

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@padi*0409 wrote:

The item number would be illuminating for all of us responders.

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Almost certainly it is a car part. He bought one around the time that he bought insurance (according to feedback), and his description of the sellers policies etc seem to match. I'm just guessing though.

[barney_rubbles]

i am looking at buying a used laptop pc off ebay, i was wondering about if the Virginia thingo breakdon insurance would be any good. Also i don't know for sure that they do not have one, most of the sellers i've looked at who are regularly selling &.or selling large volumes of laptops do not display an ABN on their listings.

I would assume a warranty either from the seller, or an external company like Virginia would be impossible to enforce unless the seller has an ABN? Otherwise they could just say they're a private seller who is not under any obligation to sell with a warranty, guarantee or even fitness for purpose as far as i know?