A Cromwell motelier is warning people to check the fine print after his lifetime jewellery warranty did cover a life time. Just not his.
Craig Barnes purchased a "lifetime" warranty from Michael Hill Jeweller when he surprised his wife Gaylene with a bracelet seven years ago. He paid $1299 in a half price sale for the bracelet and another $279 for the lifetime warranty and care plan.
However when the bracelet starting falling apart, Michael Hill Jeweller told the couple the bracelet had reached the end of its lifetime and they wouldn't be fixing it further. They had fixed it once previously when a link failed.
"It’s pretty soul destroying that a big company like that isn’t interested in helping small people like us," Gaylene told Fair Go from her motel office.
The fine print in the plan states "lifetime" means ... "The owner's lifetime or the product's lifetime. Whichever is shorter."
Michael Hill Jeweller decided the product's lifetime had ended, much to Gaylene's disgust.
"I haven’t reached the end of my lifetime so it should still be going," she told Fair Go
"I thought the bracelet would outlast me and it was something I had put in my will to go to my granddaughter."
Auckland University Law Professor Rohan Havelock confirmed to Fair Go that "lifetime" does not mean the lifetime of the owner.
"A lifetime warranty usually means the lifetime of the product, not the lifetime of the purchaser.
"You can’t expect a product to last a lifetime which may be 80, 90,100 years, simply not realistic to expect things to last that long in general."
Havelock says the life expectancy of a product depends on what it is, when you bought it and how it's used. He recommends reading the fine print on any warranty before buying and if you have an ongoing dispute with a retailer, take them to the Disputes Tribunal.
After being contacted by Fair Go, Michael Hill Jeweller re-examined the Barnes' case and gave him the option of a new bracelet, his money back or a further repair.
Havelock thinks the term "lifetime" needs to die.
“I agree the term lifetime is ambiguous and it is going to confuse people so yes another name would be appropriate, I think”.
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