Farms & Farm Machinery #383

INDUSTRY NEWS
Left: Some warranties can prevent farmers
from seeking out a non-authorised repairer.
Image courtesy Alamy.
warranty worries
Ag warranty issues are
on ACCC agenda
Concerns about competition and fair trading rules have led
the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission
(ACCC) to open up an online survey for farmers to share their
experiences.
Because much agricultural equipment is not used for “domestic
or personal” purposes, and costs more than $40,000, it is often
not covered by Australian consumer laws, the ACCC says.
Instead, a purchaser must rely on the manufacturer’s warranty
or paying for the repairs themselves through third parties – but
these can be limited or even place restrictions on purchasers’
access to independent repairers.
“Manufacturers have significant disc etion as to what warranty
protections are offered and how they apply, and we’re concerned
that farmers may not be aware of these limitations,” ACCC
deputy chair Mick Keogh says.
“A number of barriers, including warranty clauses, may be
preventing farmers from using an independent business to
repair or service their equipment. We hear that this can result in
delays at critical times.”
On top of this, manufacturer policies on data ownership and
management could raise privacy and competition issues as
more agricultural machinery items come equipped with data
collection capabilities.
“Production data becomes more valuable to a farmer the more
they accumulate it, so the lack of any clear rights to this data
may create a barrier to switching between brands of machinery,”
Keogh says.
“We are concerned by a number of issues surrounding the
sale and servicing of agricultural machinery and want to better
understand the extent of these.”
To do this, the ACCC is opening up a survey to anyone who
has bought a new piece of agricultural machinery in the past
10 years.
The survey, which may take up to 30 minutes to complete,
looks at whether warranties limit access to servicing, any
competition concerns regarding data collection and assesses
the available options for faulty machinery – including access
to parts, diagnostic tools or software. The survey can be found
at: https://consultation.accc.gov.au/agriculture/purchasers-ofagricultural-machinery-survey.
Submissions for both the survey and the discussion paper will
close on April 5.
dealer of
the year
O’Connors wins big at
Case IH awards
Above left: O’Connors took Dealer of the
Year award (three branches or more) at
Case IH’s annual dealer conference in Hobart
Above right: TTMI won three awards
For the fourth year in a row, O’Connors has taken out the
Dealer of the Year award (three branches or more) at Case
IH’s annual dealer conference in Hobart.
Fellow Case IH dealer TTMI also made the winners’ list, taking
home the award for one or two branches (Trafalgar in Victoria
and Longford in Tasmania), its first Dealer of the Year award,
along with Dealer of the Year – Parts and Dealer of the Year –
Most Improved.
Case IH ANZ general manager Pete McCann praised the two
winners’ level of commitment and results.
“To win this title four years in a row says a great deal about
this business and the team they’ve assembled across all their
dealership locations,” McCann says.
“To win this award a dealership has to prove its excellence
across a whole range of criteria, and consistently and rigorously
maintain those standards, and that’s something O’Connors has
not only done but done very well.
“To TTMI, congratulations on the first Dealer of the Year Award
for one or two branches, and I’m sure it won’t be the last time
we see them with the winners’ trophy.
“They have undergone significant changes in the past few
years, all of them positive steps forward for the business, its
staff and customers, so it’s great to see all of that now paying
off,” he adds.
The Dealer of the Year results are based on a number of
different criteria, including finance and business management
performance in sales and marketing, and parts and servicing,
Advanced Farming Systems (AFS) Certification and total
market share.
Accepting the award, O’Connors’ CEO Gareth Webb credited
their award to everyone within the business.
“Last year was a massive year for us, taking on an additional
four outlets and to make it happen we needed so much from
our executive team and they delivered and we can’t thank
them enough.
“Our dealership staff really stepped up and taking home this
award again proves all that work, commitment and long hours
was worth it and we couldn’t be more thrilled,” Webb says.
In a tough year for tractor sales across the country, Webb also
thanked customers for their support.
22 TradeFarmMachinery.com.au THE TRACTOR YOU WANT IS NOW EASIER TO FIND