For our fourth anniversary Nick bought me a pounamu necklace.
Pounamu is a beautiful type of nephrite found in New Zealand's south island. It belongs to Ngai Tahu and is sold under iwi approval. It comes in varying shades of green and is usually carved into some meaningful form.
Mine was in a double twist known as a pikorua. It was a gorgeous deep forest green.
Within 24 hours of receiving the necklace it lay on the floor of my room in two pieces. My son had picked it up from the nightstand and dropped it onto the carpet from a height of about two feet.
I was upset and Nick was livid.
He said he had paid $450 for something that was supposed to last a lifetime and instead had broken in a day.
Two days later he took the piece back to the jewelry store and was informed by the manager that the breakage was our fault and that it wasn't the store's policy to do refunds. He was then told that if he wanted to buy another piece they'd be happy to give him a 15% discount.
Nick told the manager he could fuck right off and that they hadn't heard the last of us because his girlfriend was a law student.
When I heard the news first I stewed and then I turned to the law.
The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 was my weapon of choice. It lays out the responsibilities of vendors and manufacturers in relation to their products. Section 7 had two helpful parts (a) an object must be fit for its intended purpose and (e) durable. Legal remedies consisted of a refund or replacement of the object with another of equal value. If the company refused to follow the law they could be taken to the Disputes Tribunal. Letters could also be written to the Commerce Commissioner. Notices could also be given to the local press and the consumer friendly program "Fair Go" could be contacted.
I called the artist who carved the pieces to let him know what had happened and how the company selling his work had reacted. He said the pounamu had fibers and grains just like wood and while it wasn't common to have them snap, it wasn't unheard of. A few of his pieces had even done so while he was working on them. He said he would call the company and speak with them and I thanked him.
This is the second time I've had to deal with a faulty product and dodge by the company that sold it to me.
Harvey Norman tried to say it was "user error" when the laptop I bought for my daughter had a screen separate from its frame. They wasted no time in saying our actions had gone beyond reasonable wear and tear and that the warranty was voided.
When I insisted that a brand new computer sitting in an open position on a desk for six months couldn't possibly be called "wear and tear" they pouted and said they would contact the manufacturer.
They came back to us a few days later and said the manufacturer was blaming us but that they would "escalate the situation up the chain" to get a solution.
How magnanimous of them.
In the end they replaced the faulty laptop with a new one.
It boils my blood that there are laws in place to protect buyers but most don't know where to look for them.
The default position for the retailer seems to be "it's your fault and we won't fix it but feel free to spend more money with us."
As a dear friend pointed out, this is a really shitty business strategy.
The other thing that gets my goat (to use the old phrase) is that these companies deal in hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars worth of goods from the manufacturers.
The manufacturer can't afford to piss off the retailer.
What ultimately happens in most of these scenarios is that the faulty product is sent back and a credit is issued.
Neither the retailer nor the manufacturer goes hungry or becomes homeless from the process.
*****
I returned to the jewelry store two days after Nick's visit, armed with copies of the relevant law and moral outrage.
I was fully prepared to become "loud and indignant" if the situation called for it.
I met with the manager who quickly realized he had been foretold of my coming and lo! I was upon him.
He looked at the broken pieces I placed in front of him and the air between us became pregnant with an impending dodge.
"Here," I said, "Let me show you section 7 of the Consumer Guarantees Act."
I went on to explain that he had sold me a piece of jewelry with a weakness in it that would have caused it to break sooner or later. The piece was sold as a necklace which are meant to be worn regularly and the flaw meant that it was never fit for such a purpose (section a). It also certainly didn't meet the definition of "durable" (section e).
The urge to blame the user and deny responsibility played out in his facial expression.
A battle raged within him. He could continue to play the shyster but it was risky. First my partner had cursed him out and then I came at him with legalities.
I proceeded to show him the section of the Act about the remedies of either a refund or replacement. I said I preferred a replacement.
Finally he gave in.
"We don't normally do this sort of thing but since its Christmas..."
"Whatever you need to do to tell yourself to get on the same page as me," I thought.
He took me to the window display of carved pounamu and brought out more selections for my perusal.
We found common ground in our praise for greenstone and those who carved it.
I had won but there was no need to rub it in.
I picked out a beautiful manaia and finally went home a happy customer.
Pounamu is a beautiful type of nephrite found in New Zealand's south island. It belongs to Ngai Tahu and is sold under iwi approval. It comes in varying shades of green and is usually carved into some meaningful form.
Mine was in a double twist known as a pikorua. It was a gorgeous deep forest green.
Within 24 hours of receiving the necklace it lay on the floor of my room in two pieces. My son had picked it up from the nightstand and dropped it onto the carpet from a height of about two feet.
I was upset and Nick was livid.
He said he had paid $450 for something that was supposed to last a lifetime and instead had broken in a day.
Two days later he took the piece back to the jewelry store and was informed by the manager that the breakage was our fault and that it wasn't the store's policy to do refunds. He was then told that if he wanted to buy another piece they'd be happy to give him a 15% discount.
Nick told the manager he could fuck right off and that they hadn't heard the last of us because his girlfriend was a law student.
When I heard the news first I stewed and then I turned to the law.
The Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 was my weapon of choice. It lays out the responsibilities of vendors and manufacturers in relation to their products. Section 7 had two helpful parts (a) an object must be fit for its intended purpose and (e) durable. Legal remedies consisted of a refund or replacement of the object with another of equal value. If the company refused to follow the law they could be taken to the Disputes Tribunal. Letters could also be written to the Commerce Commissioner. Notices could also be given to the local press and the consumer friendly program "Fair Go" could be contacted.
I called the artist who carved the pieces to let him know what had happened and how the company selling his work had reacted. He said the pounamu had fibers and grains just like wood and while it wasn't common to have them snap, it wasn't unheard of. A few of his pieces had even done so while he was working on them. He said he would call the company and speak with them and I thanked him.
This is the second time I've had to deal with a faulty product and dodge by the company that sold it to me.
Harvey Norman tried to say it was "user error" when the laptop I bought for my daughter had a screen separate from its frame. They wasted no time in saying our actions had gone beyond reasonable wear and tear and that the warranty was voided.
When I insisted that a brand new computer sitting in an open position on a desk for six months couldn't possibly be called "wear and tear" they pouted and said they would contact the manufacturer.
They came back to us a few days later and said the manufacturer was blaming us but that they would "escalate the situation up the chain" to get a solution.
How magnanimous of them.
In the end they replaced the faulty laptop with a new one.
It boils my blood that there are laws in place to protect buyers but most don't know where to look for them.
The default position for the retailer seems to be "it's your fault and we won't fix it but feel free to spend more money with us."
As a dear friend pointed out, this is a really shitty business strategy.
The other thing that gets my goat (to use the old phrase) is that these companies deal in hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars worth of goods from the manufacturers.
The manufacturer can't afford to piss off the retailer.
What ultimately happens in most of these scenarios is that the faulty product is sent back and a credit is issued.
Neither the retailer nor the manufacturer goes hungry or becomes homeless from the process.
*****
I returned to the jewelry store two days after Nick's visit, armed with copies of the relevant law and moral outrage.
I was fully prepared to become "loud and indignant" if the situation called for it.
I met with the manager who quickly realized he had been foretold of my coming and lo! I was upon him.
He looked at the broken pieces I placed in front of him and the air between us became pregnant with an impending dodge.
"Here," I said, "Let me show you section 7 of the Consumer Guarantees Act."
I went on to explain that he had sold me a piece of jewelry with a weakness in it that would have caused it to break sooner or later. The piece was sold as a necklace which are meant to be worn regularly and the flaw meant that it was never fit for such a purpose (section a). It also certainly didn't meet the definition of "durable" (section e).
The urge to blame the user and deny responsibility played out in his facial expression.
A battle raged within him. He could continue to play the shyster but it was risky. First my partner had cursed him out and then I came at him with legalities.
I proceeded to show him the section of the Act about the remedies of either a refund or replacement. I said I preferred a replacement.
Finally he gave in.
"We don't normally do this sort of thing but since its Christmas..."
"Whatever you need to do to tell yourself to get on the same page as me," I thought.
He took me to the window display of carved pounamu and brought out more selections for my perusal.
We found common ground in our praise for greenstone and those who carved it.
I had won but there was no need to rub it in.
I picked out a beautiful manaia and finally went home a happy customer.
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