Victorian tribunal denies $480 refund for rocking desk after free adjustment offer

The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal has denied Nadia Bell’s claim for a $480 refund from Harbour Finch Furniture Pty Ltd for a flat-pack desk. Bell had offered to return the desk if she received her money back.

The tribunal accepted that the desk rocked during ordinary use, but found the evidence insufficient to justify a full refund after Bell declined the seller’s offer of a free leg adjustment. It ordered no payment and did not require her to return the desk.

The tribunal found, on balance, that the desk rocked during ordinary use. Bell’s attributed account was specific and consistent, and Harbour Finch offered no inspection or contrary observation. Her account had not been given as direct testimony or independently corroborated, however, and the finding did not establish a serious or irreparable defect.

Both sides described the free adjustment offer and agreed that Bell declined it. But the email itself, its date and full wording were not in the hearing record. The tribunal could not determine whether Harbour Finch had a fair practical opportunity to carry out a repair.

Equally, no adjustment had been tried and shown to fail. The tribunal said the record did not establish the cause, severity or persistence of the rocking, or whether an adjustment would resolve it. Those gaps mattered because Bell had to show that a full refund was justified and proportionate.

The receipt established the $480 purchase price, not the desk’s condition or an entitlement to a refund. The tribunal found no evidentiary basis for an alternative amount or other remedy.

Bell’s side said the desk rocked on its original surface and on kitchen tiles, making an uneven first floor a less persuasive explanation. It acknowledged that the desk had not been inspected and that the record did not show an adjustment would fail.

Harbour Finch opposed an immediate refund and relied on its offer to adjust the legs for free. It also pointed to the absence of dates for the wobble report, adjustment offer and refund request.

Bell reported that the desk wobbled, and Harbour Finch offered a free visit to adjust its legs. Bell then sought a refund. The record does not establish the dates of those exchanges.

The decision resolves the refund claim without finding that the desk was problem-free or that the proposed adjustment would necessarily have worked. The cause and seriousness of the rocking remain unresolved on the evidence before the tribunal.