Australian Competitions Club

Won a Roberts Revival Digital Radio - package arrived today and was a top surprise because i didnt know it was coming. Opened it up
to find a beautiful gold and cream Radio inside. Trouble was it doesnt work. Notified Roberts Company and as its brand new with a full warranty only to be informed that because it was a prize the warranty doesnt matter and if i want it repaired then go to a small electrical appliances agent to see if it can be fixed. Talk about go from flushed to crushed in one foul swoop.
And to top it off there was no cover letter so i cant even let the competition runner in on the problem  :shock:
Looks like i'm the proud owner of a pretty cream and gold door stop  :( :( :( :(

Thats a bit sick of them, does Australia have some sort of fair trading or Govt body that can sort these prunes out?
Perhaps you can speak to someone higher up the food chain at "Roberts" who may have a different attitude.
I always thought the idea about comps was to promote a product or service not to alienate people!
Unbelievable  :(

You have my deepest sympathies Spog777!

The same thing happened to me a couple of years ago when I won an iPod in a competition run by Coke. I actually passed on the prize to a relative as a Christmas present. I was then told on the Boxing Day that the iPod was not working - and did I have the purchase receipt so that it could be repaired or replaced???  :(
To save face I lied that I had lost the purchase receipt but told my relative to post the player back to the manufacturer as it would still be under warranty. My relative did that but imagine my embarrassment when a couple of weeks later I was told that they had received a letter from the manufacturers saying that the player could not be replaced or repaired under warranty as it had been offered as a prize. Apparently the serial number gave me away.  :?

My recommendation:

Contact your applicable gaming authority. I believe that the product needs to be capable of performing as to its purpose. Regarding warranty, I believe that it needs to be operational when obtained if new.

From, http://www.consumerlaw.gov.au/content/Content.aspx?doc=fact_sheets/your_home.htm, accessed online 20th September, 2011:

"Quality goods and services
 
All products must be safe, durable, free from defects, fit for purpose, acceptable in appearance, match its description and match any sample or demonstration model.
 
Services performed in your home must be delivered with care and skill.
 
Businesses must honour all guarantees, including express and extended warranties."

Did the promoter advise that the item was defective prior to your entry?

damn that really sucks lazy of them to not do a quick winning letter to go with the prize.

It does suck but it does happen, a lesser example was when I was sent a double pass that had expired before it arrived (or had been posted) with no cover letter

I dont believe that to be correct I won a psp and playstaiion three and sony laptop a few years ago from pepsi they supplied a correct lettering of the prize won and information that was needed for warranty. I think you should follow this up because you are entitled to a prize that works.

I won a washing machine from IGA earlier this year and was trying to sell it. The people interested in it wanted to know if it would have a warranty because it was a prize, and the fact that I had no receipt.

After contacting IGA, the promoter and Whirlpool, they eventually all agreed that the delivery docket that the store got was "proof of purchase" and acceptable for a warranty, so I was able to sell to the people and assure them that if anything went wrong, theyd be able to claim.

Do they have a facebook page? Post on there about how excited you were to win, but how disappointed you are to have a product that doesn't work.

Finally tracked down the competition runners. mcm-take40-harvey norman to find out tit was actually a first place winning prize. Had heaps of help from my son as he heard me talking to his Mum about it and he let us know it was a comp he had entered for father's day-that explains why i dont remember entering it lol. After a few phone calls and emails got onto someone at MCM who has agreed to send out another radio-not the same one though but thats to be expected as models etc get superceded regularly. Also Harvey Norman and Roberts agreed to help if the outcome was unsatisfactory. So a big thx to all the sponsors and a grateful apology from me as i was rather scathing in my initial comments

Fantastic result, now you can relax and enjoy digital radio, maybe hear of some good comps :lol:

Glad it worked out in the end, but for future reference, they are wrong.
It does not matter whether it was a prize or not, it has a statutory warranty (I have personally confirmed this with Consumer Affairs).
So if you ever get the run around from a manufacturer tell them they are breaking the law by not fulfilling their warranty obligations!

You entered to win a Roberts Revival Digital Radio not a broken Roberts Revival Digital Radio! At least it worked out in the end! Congrats on the win!