ACCC goes after HP over warranties
- 16 October, 2012 14:18
- Comments
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is taking Hewlett-Packard to court, alleging that HP made misrepresentations to consumers about their warranty rights.
The ACCC has alleged that HP misled consumers about their statutory warranty rights.
It claims that HP violated Australian Consumer Law, including by telling customers that an HP product would have to be repaired multiple times before they were eligible for a replacement, that customers would have to pay for repairs to faulty products if they were made following the expiry of an express warranty period, and that products purchased from HP couldn't be returned or exchanged without authorisation from the vendor.
The ACCC also alleges that HP misled retailers in relation to warranties.
The consumer watchdog is seeking civil pecuniary penalties and adverse publicity orders, as well as the implementation of a compliance program and redress for consumers affected by HP's alleged conduct.
A statement issued by HP said that “HP takes seriously the matters raised by the ACCC and will fully investigate and respond appropriately.”
Last year MSY was slapped with a $200,000 fine for breaching the Trade Practices Act after the ACCC took the Australian electronics retailer to court.
In the ruling in that case, Justice Perram of the Federal Court stated that “it is appropriate that it should be made plain to retailers in the position of companies, such as the respondents that misrepresenting to consumers what their warranty rights are is an unacceptable form of commercial conduct and illegal."
“It is appropriate, therefore, to encourage retailers not to give consumers the impression either that their statutory rights are curtailed or non-existent, or that warranties can only be obtained through payment,” Justice Perram stated.
A scheduling conference for the ACCC case against HP, which will be heard in the Federal Court in Sydney, will be held on 7 December.
Recommended
Join the CIO Australia group on LinkedIn. The group is open to CIOs, IT Directors, COOs, CTOs and senior IT managers.
- Bookmark this page
- Share this article
- Got more on this story? Email CIO
- Follow CIO on twitter
-
Australia suspected to have PRISM data: Ludlam
-
Australia Post’s mail business to lose $200 million this year
-
Australia Post’s mail business to lose $200 million this year
-
Microsoft's ambivalence about Office on the Web gives Apple shot with iWork on iCloud
-
3 Lessons Learned From a Failed Customer Feedback Test
-
A Holistic Approach to your BYOD Challenge
More and more enterprises are seeing significant benefits from allowing employees to choose the device they use to get their jobs done, and are adopting bring your own device (BYOD) initiatives. While the BYOD trend increases flexibility and productivity, it introduces a host of new challenges for your IT administrators. Click for more! -
Best Practice in BYOD
The key trend affecting enterprise mobility today can be summarized in four letters: BYOD – Bring Your Own Device. As the number of end-users bringing devices into your organization grows, so does the need for an effective Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) solution. Learn how to manage devices across multiple platforms all from a single, centralised and unified management console. Download for more! -
Endpoint Protection Overview
With the exponential growth and sophistication of malware today, the security industry can no longer afford to ‘bury its head in the sand’. The bottom line is that traditional endpoint security protection is now ineffective due to the sheer volume, quality, and complexity of malware. This paper looks at this problem and how Webroot, by going back to the drawing board on countering malware threats, is revolutionising endpoint protection and solving the issues that hinder existing endpoint security solutions. Download now.
Get exclusive access to Invitation only events CIO, reports & analysis. 
