Appliance Died After 3 Months? Forget the Warranty. Use the ACL.

You bought a $1,200 fridge in May. In August it stopped cooling. The retailer says “you’ll need to contact the manufacturer”. The manufacturer says “the 90-day warranty has expired, but we can book a paid repair for $380”. You feel like you’re being bounced around a pinball machine.

Stop. The “warranty” is a distraction. You have something better.

The ACL guarantee has no expiry date

A manufacturer’s warranty is a promise the company chooses to make. The Australian Consumer Law guarantee is a promise the law makes for them, and it lasts as long as a reasonable person would expect the product to last.

• Section 54 – goods must be of acceptable quality, which includes being durable. A fridge is expected to last many years, not one winter.
• Section 55 – goods must be fit for their purpose. A fridge that does not keep things cold is not a fridge.
• Sections 259 and 263 – for a major failure, you choose: refund, replacement, or compensation. For a minor one, they must repair it free within a reasonable time, or you can get it fixed elsewhere and bill them.

A fridge that stops cooling at 3 months is a major failure. A reasonable person would not have bought it had they known. You get to choose the remedy.

The retailer cannot send you to the manufacturer

Your contract is with the shop that took your money. The ACL says the supplier is responsible for the guarantees. They can chase the manufacturer themselves afterwards. Telling you to “contact the manufacturer” is a breach in itself, and the ACCC has fined big retailers for exactly this.

What to do

• Photograph the fault (a thermometer reading in the fridge is great evidence).
• Email the retailer: “This is a major failure under s 54 of the ACL. I elect a [refund/replacement]. Please arrange within 7 days.”
• Don’t pay for a “diagnosis” or a “call-out fee”. The ACL says the cost of assessing a faulty product is on them.
• When they push back, send a Letter of Demand.

Why the letter works on retailers

Retail staff are trained to say “manufacturer” and hope you go away. A formal Letter of Demand does not go to the shop floor. It goes to the store manager or head office, where someone knows what s 54 means and what an ACCC complaint costs. A written demand gives them a clear deadline and a record if you need to go further.

And if they don’t, you have a $50 tribunal filing fee, a receipt, and a warm fridge. That is a very short hearing.

You spent $1,200 on something that was supposed to last a decade. Ninety days is not a decade.

Claim Done drafts your Letter of Demand for $49. Done in about 5 minutes. You approve it before it is sent.