‘They feel like they’ve been tricked’: Harvey Norman hit with class action over alleged useless warranties
Law firm Echo Law has initiated a class action in the Federal Court on behalf of Harvey Norman customers who they claim were sold unnecessary and ineffective extended warranties.
Per 9News, the class action encompasses tens of thousands of customers from Harvey Norman, Domayne, and Joyce Mayne who purchased these warranties between September 2018 and this year.
The lawsuit focuses on Harvey Norman’s Product Care warranty, marketed as offering extra protection for electronics and white goods.
However, Echo Law argues that the warranty, which costs an additional 10-40% of the product’s price, provides no genuine value beyond what is already guaranteed by Australian Consumer Law.
Echo Law senior associate Dr Lauren Meath said there is nothing substantially “additional” or “beneficial” about the product.
“We have heard from hundreds of Harvey Norman customers who are furious that they’ve paid thousands of dollars for Product Care over the years and for little or no benefit,” Meath said.
“They feel like they’ve been tricked. Harvey Norman has been making its customers pay extra for rights that they already have for free. It’s a practice that is hugely profitable for the retailer.”
In a statement shared on the ASX on Wednesday afternoon, Harvey Norman said it intends to “defend the proceedings vigorously”, claiming it had complied with all relevant laws.
Although Harvey Norman has not disclosed the revenue generated from the sale of Product Care, Echo Law estimates that customers have spent hundreds of millions of dollars.
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