Answer All Four Questions
Scenario:
Tina wants to start a mobile coffee business using a van that she will have modified. Critical to the venture is a good coffee making machine. At a recent coffee convention, she had picked up a brochure from Joe's Coffee Machines Pty Ltd. The brochure states that Joe's Deluxe Auto Coffee Makerâ„¢:
• Will make up to 100 cups of coffee per hour;
• Is self-cleaning; and
• Comes with 1000 disposable coffee cups and stirrers.
On the brochure, there is a statement in fine print at the bottom that:
"Joe's Coffee Machines will replace any defective parts or repair any malfunctioning; however it is not liable for any other losses."
Tina phones Joe's Coffee Machines and purchases the Deluxe Auto Coffee Maker over the phone for $10,000 using her credit card. Joe's Coffee Machines emails her an invoice and receipt. The invoice also states at the bottom that:
"Joe's Coffee Machines will replace any defective parts or repair any malfunctioning; however, it is not liable for any other losses."
The coffee maker is delivered to Tina and she sets it up in her van. She notes that only 995 disposable coffee cups and stirrers are provided.
On her first day of trading, Tina immediately notices some issues with the coffee maker. It only makes around 90 cups of coffee per hour. It also seems to get dirty and clogged up with coffee grinds very easily and is clearly not self-cleaning. Near the middle of the day, the machine overheats and ceases working altogether.
Tina phones Joe's machines who tell her that they can send her the part to fix the issue and it will take a week to get to her. When Tina tells them that the machine only makes 90 cups per hour and does not clean itself, Joe's Coffee Machines states that 90 cups is close enough and that 'self-cleaning' means that she has to clean the machine herself!
After speaking to Joe's, Tina is unhappy and she emails them stating that she wants them to take back the machine and refund her money because Joe's Coffee Machines had misled her about the machine, it was defective and they had not provided what was agreed i.e., the 100 cups per hour and the 1000 disposable cups and stirrers.
Tina includes in her email that she seeks:
• A refund of her money;
• Lost profits she could have made until they refund the money so that she can buy a new machine;
• Compensation for a special event later that week for which she had been booked to provide coffee for $1,000.00 fixed fee; and
• Compensation for disappointment and stress.
Joe's Coffee Machines states that they will send the replacement part and that is all. They also refer to their exclusion clause protecting them against other losses.
