Yahoo Finance Lying to just two customers cost LG $160,000
The Federal Court has ordered electronics giant LG to pay $160,000 for making misleading representations to two customers about their consumer guarantee rights.
The Full Federal Court has found LG misled two customers who believed they bought faulty TVs by implying over phone calls that they had no rights other than those under LG’s manufacturer warranties.
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However, Australian consumers who have bought faulty products are protected under consumer guarantees in the Australian Consumer Law, which states that they have rights to repairs, replacements or refunds. These rights cannot be excluded by a company’s warranty or general statements.
“Consumer guarantee rights are separate to warranties offered by manufacturers and will always be available to consumers who find they have been sold a faulty product,” said ACCC commissioner Sarah Court.
“The Court’s decision is a reminder that making misleading statements about consumer guarantee rights, even to only one or two consumers, can result in penalties being imposed.”
Case was dismissed at first
The case was brought to the Court by the consumer watchdog ACCC in 2015, alleging that LG had misrepresented to the customer that the remedies available were only those limited to LG’s manufacturer’s warranty.
ACCC also maintained that LG had misled consumers by saying they were only entitled to a remedy if the customer was paid for costs of assessing the failure; that LG had no further obligations; that the customer was entitled only to repairs and not a refund or replacement; and that the consumer was liable for costs of the repair.
The ACCC case was initially dismissed by the Federal Court in September 2017.
However, the Court partially upheld an appeal made by the ACCC in mid-2018, accepting that LG had misled the consumers to believe they had no rights other than that of LG’s warranty.
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