Paid for Furniture That Never Arrived? How to Get Your Money Back in Australia

You paid in full, or a hefty deposit, on the promise of delivery in “6 to 8 weeks”. That was in March. Every call gets a new excuse: shipping delays, the factory, the container, “next week for sure”. Now they’ve stopped answering, or they’ve told you a refund is “against policy” because it’s a “custom order”. Meanwhile you’re eating dinner on the floor.

A promised delivery date is not a suggestion. When a business takes your money and doesn’t deliver in the time they said, or a reasonable time if they didn’t say, the law gives you the right to cancel and get your money back.

Your rights

• Delivery within a reasonable time (s 62 ACL). Where a delivery date was agreed, the supplier must meet it. Where no date was fixed, delivery must be within a reasonable time. Missing the date by months is a failure to comply with a consumer guarantee.
• Major failure = your right to cancel and refund (ss 259, 267 ACL). If the delay is significant enough that you wouldn’t have bought had you known, it’s a major failure. You can reject the contract and get a full refund, plus compensation for reasonably foreseeable loss (e.g. the cost of hiring or buying interim furniture).
• Accepting payment without intending or being able to supply (s 36 ACL). A business must not accept payment for goods if it knows it won’t be able to supply them within the stated or a reasonable time. This is a strict provision the ACCC enforces, with penalties.
• Misleading delivery claims (ss 18, 29 ACL). Advertising “in stock” or “delivered in 2 weeks” when neither is true is misleading conduct.
• Deposits and “custom order” excuses. A deposit is refundable if the supplier fails to perform. “Custom order” doesn’t override the ACL; it only matters if you change your mind, and even then only for the supplier’s actual reasonable costs.
• Unfair contract terms (ss 23–28 ACL). “Delivery times are estimates only and no refund will be given for delay” is a classic candidate for an unfair term.

What to do right now

1. Gather the order paperwork. Invoice, receipt, the delivery estimate (screenshot the website or the sales email), and every message about the delay.
2. Set a final delivery date in writing. Email the store: “You promised delivery by [date]. It is now [X] weeks late. Deliver by [date 7–14 days out] or I will treat this as a major failure under the Australian Consumer Law and require a full refund.” This makes time of the essence and closes off the “estimates only” argument.
3. If they miss it, cancel and demand the refund. In writing, citing ss 62 and 267 ACL. Request the refund to your original payment method within 7 days.
4. Chargeback. If you paid by card, “goods not received” is a straightforward chargeback. The window generally runs 120 days from the expected delivery date, so you may still be in time even for an older order. Call your bank.
5. Send a Letter of Demand. For larger amounts, or where the store is stalling, a formal letter citing ss 36, 62, 259 and 267 ACL, the timeline, and a 14-day deadline before fair trading and tribunal action gets a response from the owner rather than the sales floor.
6. Check the company’s status. Search ASIC’s register. If the company is in administration or liquidation, lodge a proof of debt immediately and prioritise the chargeback; it comes from the bank, not the failed company.

Partial delivery, damaged delivery, and the “it’s on the ship” excuse

• “It’s on a ship / in a container / at the port.” Not your problem. Your contract is with the retailer, not their supply chain. The retailer bears the risk of their supplier’s delays. If they can’t give a firm date, that’s a major failure.
• Partial delivery. If half the order arrived, you can accept the half and demand a refund for the rest, or reject the lot if the items only make sense together (a dining table without chairs, a modular lounge missing a section).
• Delivered damaged. Photograph before the delivery crew leaves if you can, note it on the delivery docket, and email the store the same day. You’re entitled to replacement or refund under s 54 ACL. Don’t let them talk you into a “touch-up” for a new item.
• Substitute item offered. You don’t have to accept a different colour, model, or “similar” product. If you do accept, get any price difference refunded in writing.
• Delivery fees on a failed order. Refundable along with the price.
• “Store credit only” policies. Void for a supplier’s failure. Cash to your original payment method.

Layby and instalments. Layby agreements are specifically regulated under ss 96–99 ACL: the supplier must give you written terms, and if the supplier terminates or can’t supply, you get a full refund with no termination charge.

Signs the business is in trouble. Delivery dates slipping across many customers (check Google and ProductReview), staff unable to say when stock is coming, showroom stock thinning, phones unanswered. If you see this, act fast: chargeback first, then everything else. Once a company enters administration, unsecured consumers are at the back of the queue and usually get nothing.

Interim furniture costs. If you had to buy or hire a bed or table to get by, keep receipts. That’s reasonably foreseeable loss from a months-late delivery and is claimable.

Who to complain to

State fair trading / consumer affairs (NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Queensland OFT, Consumer Protection WA, CBS SA). ACCC, especially for s 36 breaches and patterns of non-delivery. Your bank for a chargeback, and AFCA if the bank refuses. For a money claim, your state’s civil tribunal (in WA, SA and Tasmania, the Magistrates Court). If the store is a member of the Australian Furniture Association, they have a complaints process too.

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