StanCash.com.au

I purchased a Heller double bed electric blanket from the online store of Stan Cash, Brooklyn, Victoria, Australia, and had used it for only about a month when I woke to find one half of my bed ice cold. L could also smell a burning smell coming from the hand control when I got up and examined the blanket and the small light on the control to indicate it was on/off, flashed and then went out.

I immediately contacted Stan Cash and advised them of the issue, informing them also that I intended to advise Consumer Affairs or other appropriate complaint Body about the obvious danger of this blanket. I was fortunate the blanket did not catch fire.

To my surprise Stan Cash responded and advised that I was responsible for any costs of return for the blanket, saying this was a condition they have. However, I had not seen any statement to advise of this 'condition of sale' on the Ebay site of sale, and the first I was informed of it was actually in this message from them - the first I'd received from them since I advised of my complaint about the blanket. However, as I then later found, there is a comment printed on their company's own website page stating this condition (but not on EBay's site pages).

I first believed I would therefore have to pay for the return postage and I was unable to do this straightaway as I am an age pensioner and the pension certainly doesn't leave any cents over for any 'extras'. This was upsetting also as I needed the refund in order to be able to buy a new electric blanket, and the colder weather had already begun where I live.

I was also surprised to read in this email Stan Cash's claim that if they received the blanket and did not find the fault to be as described by me, they would simply return the damaged blanket back to my address and I would again be held responsible for the cost of that re-return!' I could hardly believe this. I'd worked as a legal secretary a lot of my life and I knew that ALL conditions of sale of any item has to be advised to the purchaser AT POINT OF SALE - that is, BEFORE any price is paid for the item involved, and I certainly was never informed of anything SC were now telling me!

This also meant that it seemed I would have no option but to get two of my friends to agree to test the blanket as witnesses in their own home, and ask them if they would be prepared to testify on a Statutory Declaration or at VCAT that what I had described was exactly as the blanket was, prior to my returning it. Fortunately they were totally ready to do so.

I wrote a reply letter to go with the about-to-be-returned blanket, and then found on the Ebay site the statement confirming I am not responsible for the return costs of a faulty item anyway! Ebay confirmed this when I queried it. I therefore wrote and requested immediate refund from Stan Cash and advised them of all of the above.

After I advised Stan Cash of what Ebay advised, they eventually posted me a reply-paid return label to put on the parcel to return it, but they did not move one inch to make a refund to me for the cost of this blanket. I believe they were by this delay trying to prolong the issue until the time Ebay allocates to obtain refunds (I think only 30 days) had expired, and it did expire.

However, I fortunately also paid for the item thru Paypal and they have a much longer time period in which to investigate illegal dealings/customer complaints - so eventually, after about another MONTH had gone by (and Winter had totally set in!), SC were finally forced to refund me the cost in full AND pay for the return! However, of course NO purchaser should have to go through this when an item they have paid for is simply faulty to begin with!

Stan Cash were once Billy Guyatt and they were then okay. Company obviously has changed management, and definitely lost its quality of service as I recall it years ago.

ADVICE? STAY AWAY FROM THEM. Customer service: They couldn't care less. Their focus is on THEM keeping the money. Ethical, honest? Definitely NOT.