Fitbit sued in Australia for deceptive customers on defective units

Australia’s competitors regulator has begun court docket proceedings towards Fitbit LLC for allegedly making false or deceptive claims to customers about their assure rights on defective units, it mentioned on Monday.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) mentioned between May 2020 and February 2022, Fitbit claimed customers won’t be entitled to a refund except they returned a defective product inside 45 days of buy or cargo, which is in not in accordance with Australian Consumer Law.

“All consumers have… automatic consumer guarantee rights that cannot be excluded, restricted or modified. The consumer guarantee rights exist in addition to any warranties offered by manufacturers,” mentioned ACCC Chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb.

The regulator mentioned Australian Consumer Law doesn’t impose a 45-day refund interval, nor do shopper rights in respect of defective substitute items rely upon when the unique product was bought.

Additionally, Fitbit advised customers that when they obtained a substitute machine for an initially defective product, they weren’t entitled to a second substitute if Fitbit’s two-year ‘limited warranty period’ for the unique machine had expired, ACCC alleged.

The Google-owned firm didn’t instantly reply to a Reuters request for remark.

The ACCC, which is searching for penalties and injunctions, mentioned their case contains 58 examples of customers who have been allegedly misled by Fitbit after they complained about defective units.