Hi everyone, a $300 microwave I bought from Noel Leeming died after a month. (It just doesn't turn on.)
NL time said they have to send it back to the manufacturer (I don't want to get started on talking courier delays in the current context) and then their techincian will need to assess it which will take even more time. In the mean time I have no microwave to use which is a huge inconvenience. What can I do to hurry them? Thanks.
Hi TN25-J, thanks so much for your advice, especially for signing up to write this comment :).
I wish I had known this earlier.
It happened on the weekend, we took it to a store, having checked that the store has the product "in stock" so they can easily issue a replacement. However, they said it had to be assessed before they could do anything. They assured that they would do it on Monday when the manufacturer's office was open. They told us that it looked like a straight replacement, but they needed authorisation from the manufacturer first. On Monday they said the manufacturer wanted it back to assess first, they couldn't do anything else. Then the phone calls saga. The CC person said the matter was being handled by the store, so they couldn't help. The store's line is impossible to get through, and every time I managed to talk to a store rep I got a different person who seemed completely new to my case.
Outrageously, the CC person said to me they were doing nothing wrong here, they asserted their website stated every time a product was brought back for warranty claims it would take 2-3 weeks to assess. I asked them where on the website, they said "it's on the main website". I asked them to pinpoint it to me, but they couldn't!!
As some users above suggested contacting the manufacturer directly. I did that, and the manufacturer said they no longer dealt with repairs, the store would sort it out with a (local) authorised repairer!!
I have found NL's CC email and 0800 options useless, not sure if I want to try again.
But I'll probably make a complaint to ComCom. Sometimes I feel I have to do things like that to prevent similar things happening to other customers and myself in the future. I wish that NZ had something similar to Consumers' protection line/online complaint in Australia — so much easier to use, they pass the complaint to the retailer straight away and the retailer would act straight away.
For my current case, it's now easier for me to buy a second-hand or a Kmart microwave to use in the mean time. I might try to ask for a refund from NL so I can keep using the "new" cheap one instead.
Thanks again for your advice.
HI i understand your frustration we all had to wait for things to be repaired sometimes and we often fell poweless but I think CGA is fair to both consumers and manufacturer, you can make a compliant to ComCom they would probably say there's nothing wrong here and 2-3 weeks isn't unreasonable. The best thing to do is forget it for a few days ask around see if anyone has a spare or maybe buy a used from trade me and once your microwave is sorted you can put it on trademe.
Hi, "In the event a product cannot be repaired", i don't think this applies yes as Panasonic will get the chance to repair the faulty product under CGA, and you have to allow them a reasonable time, which starts counting from when the fautly product arrives at their repair agent from Noels, and only at the point and if they cannot repair or if after repaired the product fails with the same issue for the 2nd or 3rd time then the customer will have the right to a full refund or an replacement of same value.
You would hope that the timer starts from when you return it to the retailer.
Otherwise, if it started from when it arrived at their repair agent, they could hang on to it indefinitely :-)
I agree, it shouldn't take noels more than 2 days to send it away and the repair agent should be able to look at it and come up with a repair/replacement plan within a few days, but they are all blaming delays on covid at the moment.
@kyogui: At Noels most suppliers for a product under $150-200 (cost) typically tell you to cut cord and bin. The fact that panasonic dont even repair the product in NZ tells ya they just confirm and replace.
Noels has a 4 week policy suppliers sign up to. ie they have 4 weeks to fix or replace.
However this case is not a minor fault, its a major fault. Replacement is what their policy says to do, especially being less than a month old they can send it as a D.O.A anyhow.
A minor fault is a button falling off or sticking. not the whole unit dieing.
@TN25-J: I've been wondering why they've handled this way too. It costs a bit for a repairer to assess the fault, order parts and fix it; then the costs of parts and courier; the loss of sales due to affected customer's frustration, bad word of mouth, and staff's time (dealing with this instead of hovering around customers in store); and potential legal costs and fines if the customer is motivated enough to lodge a complaint to ComCom…
The conversation we had on the weekend sounded like we'd get a replacement on Monday, they just needed a formal nod from the manufacturer. It turned out they just said that to get us off their back. It seems they knew from the start it would take weeks. If they had been straight up about that and offered us a loan I would have accepted it.
If you are in Christchurch I have a spare I could loan to you
Thanks, it's very kind of you but I'm in Wellington.
I don't think you can do much about it, this isn't a problem with noel leeming, this is due to the manufacturer. I have found noel leeming to be quite helpful in these situations.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I wish I could say about the store I've dealt with. Getting them pick up a phone is already a mission!
You can ask for a loan? Similar thing happened to me with a washing machine. They took the old one for repair & then gave me a loaner in the meantime.
They say they don't do loans due to covid!!
Consumer Guarantees Act is ambiguous on this matter, it really depends on how you apply it to your situation. Repairs should take a reasonable amount of time, which is affected by how important the item is in your day to day.
A primary source of heating in the middle of winter should take 1-2 days at most to fix if it is under warranty, an essential kitchen appliance should take 1-2 weeks (you could reasonably argue for a shorter timeframe if it is the only method you have of cooking food.) If they aren't able to keep to this timeframe they should make a loaner available to you or get a new one off the shelf.
I went through this with a Sharp Microwave bought from Heathcote's this year. Bought in Jan, Dead in Feb - I mentioned this repair expectation to them and got my microwave back in 10 days including shipping.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I batch cook on the weekend, freeze everything, and heat up each meal during the week, and currently WFH so 3 meals a day at home for the whole household, the microwave just didn't choose a good time to die!
What brand microwave is this? Maybe it's the manufacturer.
I bought a Kmart microwave that stopped working 11 months later, they just took it back and issued a full refund (also gave me the option to have a new one as replacement, but I opted for a full refund).
Panasonic. Your experience with Kmart is what I would expect should happen with all warranty claims. I just can't believe NL is so terrible. This is the first time I have a warranty claim with them.
It’s a tough one - Kmart will just throw the old one away which is terrible for the environment…. At least with the name brands their service agent will attempt to fix so save something going into landfill.
Noel Leeming isn’t really in the wrong here - it’s always better to try and fix something if you can do so quickly and cost effectiveness enough
Very true it's better to try fix something instead of binning it, but for customer satisfaction they should just give a brand new one for the OP so they can try to salvage the broken one in their own time without making him wait.
If they successfully fix it they can sell that unit as a refurb for a reduced cost. I don't know if the manufacturer will reimburse NL for that, or if NL have to take the hit, either way it's the cost of doing business so they and other NZ retailers really should step up their game.
Try dealing with Harvey Norman, just as bad if not worse for warranty problems
Speaking of Harvey, fisher and paykel warranty is handled directly by fisher and paykel.
Service agent contacted me within a day and was out the following to check.
Was a replacement claim no issues, bypassed harvey Norman which probably helped things
Oh dear! I dread to think how long they will take to examine a fridge! I buy all households appliances from major retailers because I thought it would be easier in case of warranty claims. I expected them to give me a replacement and sell the repaired one as refurbished or use for loans or donate to charities etc. The potential sale that they've lost from mishandling a warranty claim is arguably higher than the savings from waiting to repair the item.
Kmart has a completely different approach compared to most brands, they have nowhere to send the item, not worth repairing or even keeping spare parts. The entire lot gets dumped in the trash. I returned a blender for a leaking part today and they could have just given me a new part but they throw everything. Makes more sense to open up a new box to use for parts.
When Ive had recent faults with equipment Ive gone straight to the manufacturer. My experience has so far been that they are far more fast and efficient when it comes to repair/replacement.
When you consider the steps of returning to Noels - Noels validate fault - raise ticket with sharp service agent - wait for courier to collect - inspection by service agent etc etc, there is a bunch of pure admin and courier time in there that contributes.
I wonder if you may also benefit from raising a ticket with Sharp customer care directly, stating the serial number and incident reference etc "unhappy with delays and service for recent product purchase etc etc" - perhaps theyll just issue you a replacement from the nearest store?
Thanks for your suggestions. Panasonic said they don't do repairs themselves, all handled by the store.
Which branch if you don't mind me asking lol.
I work at Noels lmao only part-time doe
You poor kindred spirit. -another Noel's worker
ahahhahahahha xDDD
Yeah that's unfortunately standard at the moment. You can't really do too much. If it does go on just give them a call, ask for their service person instore (some have different structures but just asking for whoever handles repairs is easiest) just politely mention you're worried about it no longer being a 'reasonable time'.
But that ship -> assess/repair -> ship is normal for 90% of brands through Noel's or similar retailers.
Thanks for your information. The last few days have been like this: Tried to call the store, nobody picked up the phone, so transferred to Customers Care. Talked to CC, who decided I needed to talk to the store. Asked to be transferred to store. Store too busy to pick up call. Back to CC person, who said they couldn't do anything. Tried a different time. Same thing happened, but I disconnected when transferred to CC. Tried more times, eventually got through. Store rep took details and promised to get back the next day. Never happened. I called to follow up. Same saga, eventually got a store rep after countless number of attempts. Took details again, this time I said get back to me in a few mins, not the next day. They did call back, said repairer was waiting for parts, source unknown, ETA unknown, loans not available due to covid.
Sorry about the drama but this is actually only a summary. It definitely has a scarring effect on me. I'll think twice before buying from NL again.
The flow meter on my Miele dishwasher stopped working last year and it took Miele 2 weeks to send a tech to my home due to covid, hand washing all dishes for two weeks was tough.
How did you cope?
It must have been like being back in the 1970s!
Eh even as staff at a competitor we cant bypass vendors requiring us to send it back. Waited a month for a monitor repair so they doing all they can.
Heya Sunshinenz
Hope this helps and gets to you in time, Been in retail 20 plus years and by the sounds of it they are messing with ya because they don't know their own rules… not surprised.
First off…. Its a Major Fault, It doesn't turn on! <- https://help.noelleeming.co.nz/Help/s/article/Consumers-Guar…
They should confirm it doesn't turn on and swap a new one for you, its in their policy to do so. ie, you should of walked in, confirmed it doesn't turn on (fault verified) and got a new one straight away.
They might argue if they are dumb that a microwave not turning on is a minor fault… lol, if they do, get the name of the person on the phone, politely say good bye.
Now if you are at this point they are being super stupid… don't deal with store. email [email protected] or call 0800 44 44 88 again but say you want to make a complaint and you do not want to be put through to the store.
This will trigger the job to be escalated to the regional manager. They should have their head screwed on and tell the store to deal with it.
After all this if you have the will and time, complain to commerce commission. you will be just adding to the fines they pay almost each year for their tactics
https://comcom.govt.nz/news-and-media/media-releases/2018/no….
PM me if ya need further help.