Thread: Scope under warranty repair

A distinction should be made about two similar but different concepts:

1. All products sold in NZ must have acceptable quality, must be fit for its purpose. This is mandated under CGA. Defects that are to be remedied under the CGA should not require the consumer to pay for the retailer-to-manufacturer shipping costs.

2. As part of their marketing, certain products pitch additional guarantee as a feature. Such as a number of scope manufacturers offering lifetime guarantee. I do not believe these guarantees are covered by CGA. As such, once a product has outlived what a reasonable person may consider to be the period within which the product should maintain acceptable quality and fit for its purpose, then from that point onward, arguably the supplier is no longer bound by CGA, but only by contract (for the contractual term of lifetime guarantee). This is, I think, the point of s 17 of the CGA. There is no clear authority (as far as I know) that would require the retailer to pay for the shipping cost for something that is no longer protected by CGA, say for example, a 10 years old scope. If the manufacturer's policy is that they pay for return shipping, and someone else pays for incoming shipping, then the presumption is likely that the consumer is to pay for the incoming shipping.