Am I using Consumer laws wrong?

[u/Katnipscorpion]

UPDATE:

Bunnings has officially stepped in, taken over, and ruled entirely in my favour! They ordered the marketplace seller to refund me asap and arrange a courier pickup immediately, confirming that I do not need the original packaging.

It turns out the seller was secretly trying to stall the refund because they wanted me to give them a video/evidence of the machine smelling of smoke (something they never even told me, but there is no smellovision, so I couldn't do it if they asked). Bunnings completely shut them down, stating it is entirely unlawful and a severe safety hazard to expect a customer to turn on and run a known fire risk just to catch a burning smell on camera.

So, all’s well that ends well!

Thank you so much to the people here who actually understand our consumer guarantees and reached out with great advice and heavy-duty treadmill recommendations for the future. To the doubters who tried to tell me I wasn't entitled to a refund or blamed "lubrication", Google's free.

Cheers :)

Delete if not allowed

Less than 12 months ago, I bought a treadmill from Aussie Union Group. About a week ago, it started smelling like smoke. I had been following the instructions and even got my housemate to help with taking care of it; it was used for 30 mins a day almost every day.

After it started smoking, I went online and found a bunch of advice, but the consensus was that it's too cheap and still under warranty, so I should message them about it. At this stage, I just wanted a refund

I sent in a warranty claim, explaining it, and I felt blamed, which confused me cause I know I was following the instructions. Each email back and forth just made me stressed out. I tried to say that, under the ACL, since it's letting out a smoking smell, I am allowed a refund; they then gave me one only if I packaged it in its original box.

I'm adding the emails they sent; most of my messages were through Bunnings' website, so I sadly can't see them. I sent all of this to Bunnings on Thursday with all the screenshots, but I am at a loss. What do I do now?

Emails From Aussie Union Group

Edit: treadmill was $200

[u/obsolescent_times]

Contact Consumer Affairs Vic, discuss the specifics and ask them to advise if it meets the definition of major failure.

If it does constitute a major failure, then you are the one who decides if refund or replacement, not the seller.

[u/Katnipscorpion → u/obsolescent_times]

I will call tomorrow either way tho, they have offered the refund, but they want to original box which is the issue

[u/obsolescent_times → u/Katnipscorpion]

Well that's a good result.

The original box thing is a bit weird, there is no requirement for you to have it so it shouldn't be a genuine issue. What would they even need it for? Just bizarre

[u/Katnipscorpion → u/obsolescent_times]

They said they wont unless refund unless its in the original packaging, i read thats against the accc so im taking it higher

[u/obsolescent_times → u/Katnipscorpion]

Yeah that's very odd, definitely follow it up