My furniture or appliance delivery keeps getting delayed. What now?
What the law and the big retailers' terms say about delayed or rescheduled deliveries, when you can cancel and what to send to get a firm date.
If the store can't deliver, you are usually entitled to a refund or replacement. Under the Australian Consumer Law a business that takes your payment must supply the goods by the date it gave or, if it gave none, within a reasonable time. If the store won't act, your state consumer agency can step in and a tribunal such as NCAT decides claims up to $100,000.
Rather not chase this yourself?
Ajust writes to the business, tracks the deadline and escalates if they don't fix it.
Can you cancel or get a refund when delivery keeps being pushed back?
Usually, yes. A business that takes your money must supply the goods within the time it told you or, if it gave no time, within a reasonable time, and the NSW Government says businesses "must provide a solution" when they can't supply what you paid for.
The rule sits in section 36 of the Australian Consumer Law (ACL), which bans accepting payment without supplying the goods in time. The ACCC has used it in court against online sellers that took payment and did not deliver.
| Your situation | What you can ask for | Who says so |
|---|---|---|
| The store gave a delivery date and missed it | A refund or replacement | NSW Fair Trading |
| No date was given and it is taking too long | A refund or replacement once a reasonable time has passed, judged on the product and what you were told | NSW Fair Trading |
| The delay is outside the store's control | No consumer guarantee refund, though the store may offer a partial refund or credit note | NSW Government |
| It arrived faulty or damaged | A refund or replacement for a major failure, a repair for a minor one | ACCC |
Harvey Norman's online terms let you cancel without charge if it can't deliver within 10 business days because of a stock shortage. That rule does not cover furniture or regional and remote addresses.
Several retailers' own terms also set out when you can cancel. Amart's terms let you cancel if it can't deliver within a reasonable time of the website's estimate, and IKEA refunds the price and delivery charges if you cancel before dispatch.
Ajust has handled over 50 cases about furniture and appliance deliveries that kept getting delayed.
- In these cases, the typical amount at stake is about $460.
- When Ajust secured a confirmed result in one of these cases, it typically took about 8 days.
- In Ajust's cases, the goods often arrived 1–5 days after a formal written demand, and The Good Guys cut the price of a dishwasher over a delivery delay.
If the seller arranged delivery, it's responsible for your order until it reaches you, so a lost order is the seller's to fix.
What should you do first?
Find what you were told about delivery, then give the store a firm date in writing. A written deadline turns a vague delay into a date you can cancel against.
Step 1: Find the promised date and your order terms
Look at the order confirmation, the website estimate and any texts or emails moving the date. Note what you paid, including the delivery fee, and whether the item was custom or made to order, since those have different cancellation rules.
Step 2: Set a firm date in writing
Use a channel that gives you a written record. Ajust's recommended channels:
- The Good Guys: the contact form at thegoodguys.com.au/contact-us or customercare@thegoodguys.com.au.
- Harvey Norman: the Compliments & Complaints form, naming the franchise store you bought from. The CustomerFirst email only sent an auto-reply in Ajust's cases.
- Temple & Webster: email to service@templeandwebster.com.au.
- Amart Furniture: email to Customer.Care@amartfurniture.com.au.
- Samsung: live chat at samsung.com/au/support/contact or 1300 362 603.
Subject: Delayed delivery – order [order number]
Hello,
On [date] I ordered a [item] from you for $[price], including a delivery fee of $[fee], and paid [in full / a deposit of $[amount]]. I was told it would be delivered on [date or estimate].
Delivery has since been moved [number] times, most recently to [date]. [I took time off work for the [date] delivery window and no one arrived.]
Under section 36 of the Australian Consumer Law, a business that accepts payment must supply the goods within the time it specified or, if none was specified, within a reasonable time.
Please deliver the [item] by [date, 7 days from today] and confirm the delivery date and window in writing. If it cannot be delivered by then, I will cancel the order and ask for a full refund of $[total], including the delivery fee, to my original payment method. [I also ask you to reimburse $[amount] for [the cost of the missed delivery windows].]
Please reply in writing within 3 business days. If I do not hear back, I will lodge a complaint with [NSW Fair Trading / Consumer Affairs Victoria / your state agency] and raise a dispute with my [card issuer / payment provider].
Regards,
[Your name]
[Phone]
Step 3: Cancel in writing if the date passes
If the new date passes, cancel in writing and ask for the refund to your original payment method. Keep the order, the promised dates and every message about the delay.
What if they refuse?
Go outside the store. Your state consumer agency can take up the complaint for free, your card issuer or buy now pay later provider can reverse the payment for goods not received, and a tribunal can order a refund.
| Where | What it does | Time limit |
|---|---|---|
| State consumer agency (NSW Fair Trading on 13 32 20, Consumer Affairs Victoria, Queensland Office of Fair Trading) | Contacts the store and mediates; cannot order a refund | None stated |
| Card chargeback for goods not received | Your bank reverses the payment | Visa's rules allow 120 days from the expected delivery date |
| Afterpay dispute | Afterpay reviews and can refund | Within 120 days of purchase, once the store has not responded for 7 days |
| Tribunal (NCAT in NSW, VCAT in Victoria, QCAT in Queensland) | Hears the claim and can order a refund | NCAT: 3 years. NCAT hears claims up to $100,000, QCAT up to $25,000 |
A card chargeback for goods that never arrived generally has to be raised within 120 days of the expected delivery date. Ask your bank which date it counts from before you wait any longer.
If the store doesn't resolve it, it can be escalated to your state's consumer agency, a free service. Ajust handles the escalation for you, including the chargeback dispute with your bank.
Tell Ajust what happened and we do the heavy lifting for you. Emails, calls, escalations until it's resolved. While you get on with your life.
Get help from Ajust
What doesn't work
- Accepting new dates by phone. A date agreed on a call is hard to hold the store to. Ask for every new date in writing.
- Waiting without a deadline. "Reasonable time" has no fixed number, so set your own date in writing and hold the store to it.
- Letting the chargeback window run out. Visa's goods-not-received window is 120 days from the expected delivery date, and Afterpay's is 120 days from purchase.
- Assuming a custom order can be cancelled like a stock item. Amart keeps a 30% deposit on custom orders and Temple & Webster does not allow made-to-order items to be cancelled.
- Relying on Harvey Norman's 10-day rule for furniture. Its stock-shortage cancellation right does not cover furniture or regional addresses.
Common questions
They took full payment and now say it's back-ordered for weeks. Is that allowed?
A store can take payment, but it must then supply the goods by the date it gave or within a reasonable time. Section 36 of the ACL bans accepting payment without doing so. If the new date is much later than you were told, you can ask for a refund instead of waiting.
Can I claim the delivery fee or the day I took off work?
Harvey Norman's and IKEA's terms refund delivery charges when an order is cancelled for a failed delivery or before dispatch. Other costs, such as a day off work, are not covered by those terms. Ask in writing with evidence of the cost; if the store refuses, a tribunal can decide.
My item was made to order. Can I still cancel?
It depends on the retailer's terms. Amart keeps a 30% deposit on custom orders, Temple & Webster does not allow made-to-order items to be cancelled, and IKEA stops cancellations of custom benchtops once fabrication starts. A missed delivery date can still give you grounds to ask for a refund.
I paid with Afterpay. What can I do?
Afterpay lets you raise a dispute for goods that haven't arrived once the store has not responded for more than 7 days, within 120 days of purchase. You can raise one dispute per order, so send the store a written deadline first and keep its replies.
I've chased the store for weeks and keep getting new dates. What now?
Stop accepting new dates by phone. Set one firm date in writing, then cancel and go to your bank or your state consumer agency if it passes. This is the point where most people hand it over: Ajust sends the written demand and runs the escalation for you.
Still stuck? Let Ajust take it from here
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