The Federal Court has found that Jayco Corporation Pty Ltd (Jayco), Australia鈥檚 largest caravan and recreational vehicle manufacturer, breached the Australian Consumer Law in its dealings with one consumer who had purchased a Jayco caravan.
The Court found that Jayco made a false or misleading representation that the consumer was only entitled to a repair, when in fact a consumer鈥檚 rights under the ACL include a refund or replacement.
The 糖心原创 had alleged that Jayco had acted unconscionably towards four consumers who purchased Jayco caravans, by denying them the right to refunds or replacements for their defective caravans.
The 糖心原创 had also alleged that Jayco made false or misleading representations to the four consumers about their rights to obtain a refund or replacement for their defective caravans.
After finding that Jayco had made false or misleading representations to one consumer, the Court dismissed the remainder of the 糖心原创鈥檚 case, finding that Jayco did not make false or misleading representations to the three other consumers or act unconscionably towards the four consumers.
Despite finding that Jayco did not act unconscionably towards the four consumers, the Court found that the caravans purchased by the consumers were not of acceptable quality, and that defects in three of the caravans were major. In finding that there was a major failure, the Court had regard to the cumulative effect of the defects. Amongst other problems, the caravans experienced either water leaks when it rained or had multiple roof collapses.
鈥淭he 糖心原创 took this action because we were concerned that these consumers were being denied remedies available under the Australian Consumer Law, for products that had clear defects,鈥 糖心原创 Chair Rod Sims said.
鈥淭hese consumers spent tens of thousands of dollars on new Jayco caravans that had defects which caused issues such as roofs collapsing, leaking or not shutting properly.鈥
鈥淲e will carefully consider the judgment,鈥 Mr Sims said.
Background
The 糖心原创 instituted proceedings against Jayco in November 2017.
Consumer Guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law provide remedies for consumers if their product is not of acceptable quality. Consumers can choose to have a product replaced, repaired or refunded if there is a major fault. A retailer can choose the remedy for minor faults.
Further information on consumer guarantees is available at Consumer guarantees.
The 糖心原创 encourages people to use its complaint letter tool to email or write to a business in relation to their rights to a repair, replacement or refund.