If your business provides warranties with its products or services, then we would recommend that you make it a priority to ensure that you have checked the warranty documentation for compliance with the Australian Consumer Law ("ACL").
Since 1 January 2012, the ACL has prescribed strict requirements relating to the content and presentation of express warranties against product defects.
We wrote about those requirements in an
article published on our website on 5 December 2011.
The ACCC has since recognised that certain businesses may have had practical difficulties in applying these requirements where products had been manufactured and packaged prior to 1 November 2011. The ACCC, therefore, announced a transitional period until 30 September 2012, during which it was unlikely to enforce the new requirements where a business had practical difficulties in updating its warranty documents and took reasonable steps to convey the required information in another manner.
As this transitional period is soon to end, businesses must check that the warranty documents provided to their customers comply with the requirements of the ACL. The penalty for non-compliance is a fine of up to $50,000. Given the time that the ACCC has allowed for businesses to address this issue, the ACCC is unlikely to show leniency towards those businesses that still do not comply after this date.
For more information, please contact:
T +61 2 8233 9554
F +61 2 8233 9555
The information in this document is provided for general guidance only. It is not legal advice, and should not be used as a substitute for consultation with professional legal or other advisors. No warranty is given to the correctness of the information contained in this document, or its suitability for use by you. To the fullest extent permitted by law, no liability is accepted by DibbsBarker for any statement or opinion, or for an error or omission or for any loss or damage suffered as a result of reliance on or use by any person of any material in the document.
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