AUSTRALIAN CONSUMER LAW PROBLEMS

Felicity
Felicity keeps four horses on her small property at Wandandian. She generally buys
hay from her local supplier, but in Hoofbeats Magazine she sees an advertisement
offering lucerne hay at a much cheaper price with free delivery anywhere in SW.
Felicity asks the advertiser, !udget Stock Feeds, to send her a sample of the hay,
which they do. "hey sample looks fine to Felicity, and on that basis she orders #
tonnes of hay, which is delivered to her farm.
When her neighbour sees the hay he tells Felicity that it is not pure lucerne hay, but
in fact a mi$ture of #%& oaten and #%& lucerne hay. ' mi$ed hay such as this is
legitimate, but would normally sell at a considerable discount to lucerne hay(Felicity
could have bought it from her local supplier for much less than she has paid to
!udget Stock Feeds.
Discuss any remedies Felicity mi!t !a"e aainst Budet St#c$ Feeds%
&e''ers#n
Felicity)s partner *efferson is responsible for mowing the paddocks of the farm to
keep the grass in top condition +horses like to graze on short, well,mown grass-..
When his old ride,on mower breaks down, *efferson consults /awn0ower 0ty /td
about replacing it. He e$plains that he regularly needs to mow the paddocks on a 1%
acre property, and while the pasture is smooth, it is surrounded by trees and
inevitably the mower has to cut up small sticks and deal with other minor obstacles
and ob2ects.
/awn0ower recommends a new mower, the 3rass !laster 45. *efferson accepts
their advice and takes the mower home. However, after three months the mower
breaks down, and the blades have to be replaced for e$cessive wear. "his is fi$ed
under warranty, but four months later it again breaks down and /awn0ower tells
*efferson that the motor has seized. 6issatisfied *efferson consults another ride,on
mower business. "hey advise him that the 3rass !laster 45 was specifically
developed by an 'merican manufacturer for mowing golfing greens in Florida, and is
totally unsuitable for 'ustralian conditions. 7t is 8uite incapable of dealing with small
sticks in the paddock.
Discuss any remedies &e''ers#n mi!t !a"e aainst La(nP#(er%
Eli)a*et!
9lizabeth is a devoted reader of interior design magazines. She decides to have her
kitchen renovated while she is overseas. She buys elegant new stainless steel
kitchen appliances from Hardly ormal 0ty /td, and enters into a contract with
:itchen World to totally replace the kitchen cupboards and benches, to repaint the
walls, and to fit the new appliances.
;n her return she is horrified to discover that the walls have been painted in a colour
which is different to the colour which she chose and there are gaps between the
stove and the benchtop. 7n addition the new refrigerator from Hardly ormal does
not maintain a constant temperature, and the ice maker does not work.
9lizabeth complains, and :itchen World apologises but e$plains there is nothing they
can do because the high salaries being paid in Western 'ustralia by the mining
industry mean that they have been unable to retain skilled staff. Hardly ormal says
that the problems with the refrigerator are a manufacturing problem, and nothing to
do with them.
Discuss any remedies Elisa*et! mi!t !a"e aainst +ardly N#rmal and
,itc!en W#rld%
&a$e
*ake is looking for a new car, and when driving along the 0rinces Highway he sees
an attractive <av4 among a group of cars being offered for sale by the side of the
road. *ake stops, and it turns out that the location is a place where private owners
regularly park cars they are seeking to sell. "he <av4 is owned by 3erald, who tells
*ake that he has had the car for two years, having bought it second hand from his
elderly mother= that the car has been well,maintained= and that it is mechanically
e$cellent.
*ake agrees to buy the car and hands over >#%%% to 3erald. However, while he is
driving home the car breaks down twice. ?oncerned, *ake takes the car to his
garage, who advise him that the motor is completely worn out and re8uires a total
rebuild at a cost of >##%%.
*ake takes the car home to save the money, but two weeks later the police drop by
and advise they have identified the car as stolen. "hey take it away to return it to its
legitimate owner.
Discuss any remedies &a$e mi!t !a"e aainst -erald .assumin !e can 'ind
!im/0