Belkin agrees to honour lifetime warranties

Consumer electronics manufacturer Belkin has lodged a court-enforceable undertaking to the ACCC to honour claims under its lifetime warranty policies for the lifetime of the purchaser.

Belkin has made the undertaking after the ACCC found that between 2016 and 2017 the company advertised offering certain products with a lifetime warranty or a limited lifetime warranty.

But buried in Belkin’s website — not on the initial packaging — was a disclaimer that the “lifetime” warranty was only valid within five years of the date of purchase.

The company acknowledged that it may have breached Australian law with the offers, and has also admitted that some warranties were likely to have been non-compliant because they did not include the wording required for use in any warranty against defects.

“Australian Consumer Law ... prohibits misleading or deceptive conduct and false or misleading representations about the effect of a warranty or guarantee,” ACCC Commissioner Sarah Court said.

“Manufacturers must ensure consumers are not misled by warranty representations. If a business makes a lifetime warranty claim, they must be very clear about what this means with their customers.”

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/fergregory

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