It may not rise to the level of Qantas selling tickets on ghost flights, but allegations that Harvey Norman customers have handed the retailer hundreds of millions of dollars for worthless warranties do have the same “taking advantage of the schmuck consumer” feel.
“In reality, Harvey Norman is packaging up the obligations it already has to repair, replace or refund faulty products sold in its stores and is selling this to its customers at a premium,” said Echo’s senior associate Lauren Meath.Harvey Norman dismissed the claims in a statement to the ASX on Wednesday afternoon, saying it “complied with all relevant laws at all times” and intends “to defend the proceedings vigorously”.
Only this week, the New Zealand Commerce Commission filed a legal action against Jetstar for misleading customers over flight credits. Echo Law, meanwhile, says that tens of thousands of Harvey Norman, Domayne, and Joyce Mayne customers who were sold extended warranties from September 2018 to now will be covered by its class action. Hundreds of millions of dollars are estimated to have been paid by those unwitting customers for warranties they didn’t need.