I live in Australia and reported an issue 13 months after purchase with the FW 16 GPU fans.
Australia has a 2 year minimum statutory period for repairs/replacements. Even though I bought it from Australia and the Framework warranty page includes ACL (Australian Consumer Law) text, the support staff say I’m limited to 12 months.
I can’t handle getting in a legal argument with Tech Support staff. Can someone (staff) from the forum please follow up with the support staff and let them know this “should” be covered.
Another thing it might be is where it initially got delivered to. If you ordered it in say the USA and it was delivered to you there, but now you moved to Oz. You would still only have the one year.
If it was delivered to Oz, I would just send a short email to support.
Insert the order number, as seen on there web site, the order date from the Web site, and then the delivery date from the emails they sent you when it was delivered.
Add that you are in Oz that has 2 year warranty. Then ask them clearly to state which paragraph of the terms and conditions are they using for the bases of denying that the warranty is available.
The short answer is no,we do not provide support via community forums. This platform is not an alternative to the official support system, nor is it a way to escalate cases quickly.
That said, we do not have a ‘tech-only’ support team, as our agents, specialists and managers handle a variety of topics, including warranty requests. If you have a specific issue, please raise it through your support ticket.
Another alternative I am reminded of from time to time is from my credit card company that automatically extends 1 year warranties to a 2nd year if the entire purchase was made with my card.
Just wanted to mention another avenue that does not involve trying to appeal warranty coverage.
As was mentioned though, the forum is just users; anything needing Framework’s attention should be done through the support tickets as that is the best means to communicate with someone from Framework.
If it is just the fans, fortunately they are replaceable and relatively inexpensive.
Hey @Gwen thinking of getting a framework device but need them to honour standard AU consumer rights without drama. e.g. I’d be expecting hardware with a lifetime of three years minimum.
How did it work out for you in the end? Did you get your device fixed? And have tech support staff improved their knowledge of consumer rights in Australia?
If your expectation of AU warranty is getting ghosted, having to jump through hoops like taking pictures of the same thing several times and than getting a new part with new issues instead of a functional part in the mail, go ahead.
If that’s not what you expect from a warranty, maybe shop somewhere else.
The Australian version of the warranty page does mention Australian consumer law but in a (to me) contradictory way: https://frame.work/au/en/warranty
On one hand it says:
For Customers in Australia: Our goods come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law. You are entitled to a replacement or refund for a major failure and compensation for any other reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. You are also entitled to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality and the failure does not amount to a major failure.
But then the very next paragraph says:
Framework warrants that Framework branded products, parts, and modules (“Product”) when used in accordance with Framework documentation and guidance, are free from defects in materials and workmanship for a period of one (1) year from the date of delivery of the Product (the “Warranty Period”), unless a different period is specified in the order confirmation or invoice of the Product.
This is why I was interested to hear from OP how their support claim went.
The OP mentioned “Australia has a 2 year minimum statutory period for repairs/replacements.”
I cannot find the paragraph in Australian consumer law that states that. Can anyone point us to that exact document and paragraph it is in. Something like supplying a URL to the document, and then saying which page the answer is on.
For example, in the UK it is stated here:
The UK implemented this via the “Consumer Rights Act 2015”, effectively giving a 2-year period during which sellers must resolve defects without shifting the burden of proof onto you”.
Just my outside opinion on reading up a little from the ACCC:
Consumers have rights under Australian Consumer Law (ACL) which is where the text about guarantees cannot be excluded, etc. (This is apparently mandated to anyone selling products in AU) This is separate from……
The Manufacturer warranty does not have a set time limit (or minimum) according to the ACCC. Hence, their standard one (1) year warranty is valid as they clearly disclose their warranty terms and conditions.
There is language about consumer rights under the ACL, that is without limitation to manufacturers/sellers warranties. Though there are subjective elements to this determination and some of the examples are based on what a consumer feels the expected lifetime a product should last. It does state that you MAY still be able to claim a remedy under the ACL if a product develops a fault after the manufacturers warranty has lapsed.
If a three (3) year warranty is critical to the purchase of a Framework Laptop; buy an extended warranty or just accept there will be a fight about coverage outside their clearly stated one (1) year warranty period.
Again, this is just my armchair opinion after reading a little on the topic…
Looks like anything over 12 months will require “advocacy” by the consumer but seems that they cave pretty quickly. A bit disappointing but not unusual for foreign companies selling into Australia in my experience.