More than two thousand Australian retail websites were examined by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), resulting in a handful of businesses ordered to fix up their return policies.
As part of this sweep, business’ return policies and website terms and conditions were reviewed, some of which raised concerns as being potentially misleading for consumers and/or contravened Australian Consumer Law (ACL).
“Our sweep has found numerous examples of practices that could potentially mislead or deceive consumers regarding their rights to exchange, refund or return a product,” ACCC deputy chair Catriona Lowe said.
“Under the Australian Consumer Law, consumers have basic rights when buying products and services, known as consumer guarantees. These rights are separate from any warranties offered by a business and cannot be taken away by anything a business says or does.”
The sweep identified several potentially misleading statements in the terms and conditions of a number of the websites reviewed. This included imposing time-limits for returning a faulty product; imposing blanket ‘no refund’ conditions on sales or specialised items; and referring to manufacturer warranties as the only avenue for consumers to claim remedies for faulty goods.
Some websites also placed restrictions on consumers’ right to a remedy, including stating that delivery fees paid for faulty items were non-refundable and charging restocking fees if customers returned faulty items.
According to the ACCC, some of the problematic statements found during the sweep included:
“Items that have been opened and used cannot be exchanged or refunded”; “Made to order products cannot be returned”;
“Sale items cannot be returned, exchanged or refunded” and;
“In the unlikely event that your item arrives damaged or faulty, please notify the store within 30 days of delivery to receive a replacement”.
As a result of the sweep’s findings, the ACCC sent warning letters to several businesses whose returns policies or terms and conditions raised concerns under the ACL.
“Our action led to the majority of businesses changing or removing concerning statements from their websites and improving consumer guarantee messages to consumers,” Lowe said.
“While we did identify some concerning practices during this sweep, we were pleased to find that many websites had information that advised consumers of their consumer guarantee rights under the Australian Consumer Law.”
The ACCC reported that under the ACL, businesses should not be telling customers that there are “no refunds under any circumstances”. This also includes declaring no refunds for sale or specialised items or open or used items, or claiming that refunds can only be given under a limited timeframe.
The consumer watchdog also said it is against the ACL for businesses to request customers pay for delivery of returned items or that delivery fees are non-refundable, or even that returns will be subject to a processing, restocking or repair fee.
“The ACCC is committed to improving business compliance with consumer guarantees and will continue to actively monitor this area, and where appropriate, take enforcement action,” Lowe said.
“We encourage all businesses to review their return policies and terms and conditions to ensure they comply with the law.”
Consumers are asked to report any potentially misleading or deceiving statements to the ACCC.