Warranty woes: The tricky question of paying for extended warranties

Charles from Victoria contacted PC Authority's Investigator this week because the sound has stopped working on his laptop, and he doesn't know what to do about it.

Charles told us, "I've emailed the company and they said it is out of warranty and I could pay $330 to extend the warranty. I thought the parts were to last longer than two years. I am just wondering if these things are still covered or should I get it repaired elsewhere?"

Charles' question is a tricky one to answer, but he's not alone with this problem. Investigator hears from readers who find that their computer or device stops working or develops a fault within the useful life of the product but outside of the one-year time period, and they're faced with expensive solutions to get it working again.

Many consumers may not know that the law concerning warranty rights actually provides for 'remedies' such as repairs beyond one year. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, in its Warranties and Refunds Guide, actually states that statutory rights are not limited to a set time period. It advises that they apply for the amount of time that is reasonable to expect a product to function properly, given the cost and quality of the item.

For individual consumers, the best advice is to write a letter or email to the company outlining the problem with the product, and argue that the fault should be repaired based on the cost and quality, before spending a lot of money on a repair or an extended warranty.

If you get no response, then the final avenue may be lodging a complaint with the Fair Trading departing in your state or territory.

Read about other consumer issues PC Authority's Investigator has tackled:
The most common complaint we hear about online retailers
The nasty surprise affecting some owners of old GPS units