E-Bike or E-Scooter Battery Died, Swelled or Caught Fire? Here’s How to Get a Refund

You paid $2,400 for an e-bike that was “good for 80km”. Eight months later it does 15km, the battery won’t hold charge, and the casing has a bulge you’re now afraid to leave in the house. The retailer says the battery is “a consumable” and “only covered for 6 months”, and to take it up with the manufacturer, whose email bounces. Meanwhile there are fire-safety warnings in the news every week about exactly this kind of battery.

The retailer’s answer is wrong in law. And the safety angle gives you extra leverage they’d rather you didn’t know about.

Your rights

• Acceptable quality (s 54 ACL). Goods must be safe, durable, free from defects and fit for their ordinary purpose for a period a reasonable consumer would expect given the price. A $2,400 e-bike battery that fails inside a year is not durable and a swollen cell is not safe. A retailer’s “6-month battery warranty” doesn’t shorten the ACL guarantee; it sits alongside it (s 64).
• Fit for purpose and matching description (ss 55, 56 ACL). If the range or charge cycles were advertised and aren’t delivered, it’s a breach.
• The retailer is responsible, not the manufacturer (s 259 ACL). You have a direct right against the seller. They cannot send you to the manufacturer. They can chase the manufacturer themselves afterwards (s 274).
• Major failure means you choose the remedy (s 260). A safety defect is a major failure by definition. So is a defect that a reasonable consumer wouldn’t have bought the product knowing about. For a major failure, you choose: refund, replacement, or keep it and get compensation for the drop in value. Not the retailer.
• Product safety rules. From February 2025, New South Wales has mandatory safety standards for lithium-ion batteries in e-bikes, e-scooters and similar devices, including testing and labelling requirements, enforced by NSW Fair Trading. The ACCC runs the national recall system and has issued safety warnings on e-mobility batteries. A product that doesn’t meet the standard can’t lawfully be sold.

What to do right now

1. If the battery is swollen, hot, hissing or smells, stop using it and get it out of the house. Store it outside on a non-flammable surface away from anything that can burn. Don’t charge it. Photograph it. Safety first, evidence second.
2. Gather the documents. Receipt, the listing or brochure with the range claim, the battery specs, any charging log or app data, and photos of the defect.
3. Write to the retailer today. “Under s 54 and s 259 of the Australian Consumer Law, the product has a major failure [unsafe / not durable]. I elect a full refund of $[amount]. I require confirmation within 7 days. I will not be contacting the manufacturer; that is your responsibility under s 274.” Keep it short.
4. Check for a recall. Search the ACCC’s Product Safety Australia recalls site for the brand and model. A recall gives you the remedy the recall offers, and your ACL rights still apply.
5. Send a Letter of Demand. A formal letter citing ss 54, 259, 260 and 274, the safety issue, the refund amount, and a deadline before fair trading, the ACCC product safety unit and the tribunal. Retailers of e-mobility products are currently under heavy regulatory scrutiny; a formal letter that mentions product safety is one they can’t afford to ignore.
6. Escalate. Fair trading, ACCC product safety report, tribunal.

“The battery is a consumable” and other lines

• “Batteries are consumables and aren’t covered.” A consumable wears out through normal use over its expected life. An e-bike battery is expected to last hundreds of charge cycles over several years. Failure in months is a defect.
• “You must have charged it wrong.” They have to prove that. If you used the supplied charger as instructed, the product failed.
• “We’ll send it for assessment (6–8 weeks).” A reasonable assessment period is fine, but you’re entitled to reject the delay for a major failure and take the refund.
• “Store credit only.” For a major failure you’re entitled to money.
• “Buy a replacement battery from us at a discount.” That’s you paying to fix their defect. No.

Bought online or from overseas?

If you bought from an Australian online retailer, everything above applies; the ACL doesn’t care whether the shop has a door. If you bought from an overseas seller through a marketplace (AliExpress, Temu, eBay international), the ACL still technically applies to a business selling into Australia, but enforcement is impractical. Use the marketplace’s buyer protection and a chargeback instead, and report the product to the ACCC so it can be added to the safety monitoring list. If you bought from an Australian marketplace seller (an Australian business selling on eBay or Amazon), the seller is bound by the ACL and the marketplace’s process runs alongside your rights. One more point: if the e-bike came with a “warranty card” directing you to register with the manufacturer and claim there, that’s a manufacturer’s warranty on top of the ACL, not instead of it. Registering is fine. Being sent there by the retailer is not.

Who to complain to

Your state fair trading body (NSW Fair Trading is actively enforcing e-mobility battery standards). The ACCC Product Safety unit for unsafe products and recalls. Your state civil tribunal for the refund. If a fire occurred, also your insurer and the fire service, whose report supports the claim.

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