Fresh off a sweet victory against Apple over the “4G” iPad, the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is suing HP over allegedly misleading customers with deceptive conduct relating to warranties and consumer rights.
The ACCC today said it’s dragging HP to the Federal Court to answer for charges relating to:
• making false or misleading representations to consumers in relation to
consumers’ statutory warranty and consumer guarantee rights; and
• making false or misleading representations to retailers that HP was not liable
to indemnify them if they provided consumers with a refund or replacement
without HP’s prior authorisation.
In a nutshell, the ACCC alleges that HP Australia infringed upon Australian Consumer Law by telling customers that they had to have a product repaired multiple times before they were entitled to a replacement unit, the warranties were only valid for a limited “express warranty period” and when that express period expired, customers would be allegedly forced to pay for their own repairs.
HP Australia is also being accused of not honouring products purchased from the HP Online Store.
The ACCC wants a bunch of things from HP to remedy the alleged offences, including fines, declarations, disclosure orders, redress for consumers and legal costs.
The ACCC and HP will appear in court on 7 December.
We’re chasing comment from HP Australia.
Update: Aaaaaaand here it is. All 16 words of it.
HP takes seriously the matters raised by the ACCC and will fully investigate and respond appropriately.
Shorter HP:
Fuuuuuuuuuuuuu………….
Well, I imagine.
Image: walknboston