Karimi & Associates Law Firm presents according to Reuters:
The local unit of Japanese automakers, Mazda Motor Corp that misled customers over their rights, has been found by an Australian federal court.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission in October 2019 filed a lawsuit involving 10 customers against Mazda Australia, which was accepted by an Australian federal court.
According to Australian Consumer Law, if a vehicle cannot be repaired within a reasonable time, or at all, the consumers have the right to be fully refunded or replacement. Despite passing a long time and several attempts at repairing the cars, Mazda told the customers that they only entitled of a partial refund. The ACCC stated that Mazda told the consumers, the only available remedy was another repair and ignored or rejected their claims.
ACCC Chair, Rod Sims, mentioned in a statement that “Mazda’s conduct towards these consumers was a serious breach of the law, not just appalling customer service as noted by the judge”.
“The message to the new car industry is clear, consumers rights are not negotiable and must not be misrepresented to customers,” Sims said.
The court, however, dismissed the regulator’s allegations that Mazda engaged in “unconscionable conduct” in its dealings with these customers. It will decide on penalties and other orders sought by the ACCC at a later date.