Australia, like any other country, protects its consumers invariably and have proper laws for this. All the consumers including international students enjoy certain rights that come along with duties. Being aware of these can save you from a lot of problems that one might face in various situations. There are no doubt scams that have come to light. Hence caveat emptor obviously applies. One needs to protect his or her interest from start and not just resort to the laws.
For starters, if you are an international student in Australia, be aware of your rights. There is a list of various scams that have happened in the past which you can take a look at from this link: www.scamwatch.gov.au. This way you will be better known about what can come. Moving on, you must know that as a shopper you have the full right to know about the product fully. The seller should tell you about its features to any hazard it may cause. While buying any product or availing a service, you have the right to receive a receipt of the purchase you made. This must be kept very safely by you. The law makes sure you have a guarantee against anything that goes wrong and the Australian Consumer Law (ACL) makes sure any defects are seen by the seller.
There are cases when consumers are made fool of by the seller when wanting to return something. Here you must follow the guidelines below. If below-given things apply you are fully eligible for a refund. Take a look:
- The product or service is unsafe in any manner or faulty
- The purpose for which it was purchased doesn’t fulfill it.
- The product or service is different from what was shown as sample/described to you.
The seller requires a proof of purchase. For this, a receipt, credit card and debit card statement and invoice work. Hence always keep them carefully. These genuine cases make for a refund. But there are some instances where you cannot get a refund. These are as follows:
- When your liking towards the product changes. For e.g., you don’t like the color or shape of the product anymore.
- You have caused any damage to the product by not following the instructions
- When you already knew about the fault in the product before purchasing
- In case you do not have the proof of purchase (see above for list).
If you want to know more about your rights regarding refunds, do visit this link: Refunds (Fair Trading Website)
