Telstra now offer 2 year phone warranties

Telstra has to day allowed two-year warranties for all mobile phones on a 24 month contract, except Apple's iPhone after lengthly discussions with the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.



ACCC chairman, Graeme Samuel said in a statement today "Telstra has decided to do what's right and fair for consumers, and has been negotiating with manufacturers to bring in warranty periods that last for the length of a consumer's contract," he also added "It is important for consumers and suppliers to realise that the Trade Practices Act implies certain statutory rights into consumer contracts. Just because the manufacturer's warranty period is up, it does not mean that consumers can be hung out to dry if they are left with a faulty product and ongoing service contract."

Telstra has had success with 24 month warranties with some manufacturers, those being HTC, Blackberry and ZTE.

The obligation of the 2 year phone warranty resided with Telstra, not the phone manufacturers according to the ACCC.

The extensions to Telstra's warranty policies was sparked after an ACCC investigation last year, which had Vodafone provide 24 month warranty to phones on a 24 month contract. The ACCC is still in discussions with Optus regarding it's warranties.

The ACCC also added that although most manufacturers did honour warranties - it still had "concerns" around warranty issues with Apple's iPhone.