Refund Policy

 Australian Consumer Law

This Policy and any related return and refund rights we offer you apply in addition to other rights and remedies you may have under law including under the Australian Consumer Law.

How Refunds Are Issued

Most refunds are issued based on the payment method used at the time of purchase.

Refund Timelines:

It may take 1-5 business days after we receive the item(s) to process your refund. Once we have, we'll email you to let you know that we have processed your refund. If we haven't let you know, we haven't received or processed your return yet. Chasing does not speed up this process.

After we've received and processed your return, you can expect to receive your refund in the following timelines:

Visa/Mastercard - up to 10 working days

Paypal - up to 8 working days

EFT - up to 5 working days.

Your refund is strictly processed using the same method you used to pay for your order.

Fees and Charges

Both Paypal and our credit card gateway for VISA and Mastercard, as well as Google Pay and Apple Pay does NOT refund the credit fees charged. Depending on the payment method used, fees are usually around 1.5%-2.5%. EFT payments incur no fees for either sales or refunds.

Why Fees Are Charged

Fees are charged if you change your mind about an order and ask for a refund. Our business will not absorb the cost that is incurred if you change your mind about a purchase. This is strictly your cost, not ours. You are free to change your mind, and we will refund the amount paid less credit card or Paypal fees. See below for further information related to special order items which are drop-shipped ex-Taiwan and ex-USA.

Orders may take four or more weeks for rare items and items made to order. Many OS Giken and Cat Cams items will be in the 4 week range. Some hard-to-source BMW Motorsport items may take longer.

Cat Cams: Generally take 2 weeks to produce and 1 week to ship.
OS Giken: Many items are in stock, some are 4-8 weeks to produce. Many OS Giken items MUST be pre-ordered. Only some OS Giken items are stocked, and many are frequently 2-4 weeks back-ordered ex Japan.
MFactory: Almost all items in stock. Delivery is usually 3-5 days.
Wavetrac: Most items in stock, some are 4-6 weeks to produce. Delivery is usually 3-5 days.
BMW Motorsport: Most items in stock, some can take 8-16 weeks to produce.
Diff Lab produced items: 1-2 weeks.

When ordering expensive, ultra high-performance performance components for your vehicle, it is  reasonable to expect that not every single part for every vehicle is on the shelf, in-stock, at all times. No Australian retailer could achieve this volume of inventory. Diff Lab is no exception. If you have to wait 2-4 weeks for an aftermarket part for your vehicle, this is normal, and is not grounds for a refund. Check for stock and ETA before you order if you are in the habit of ordering at the last minute. Fees will be charged if you cancel an order and Diff Lab incurs a credit card processing fee, Paypal fee, Google Pay fee or Apple Pay fee. These fees are NOT refunded to us if you change your mind. We will be charged, so you will be charged. There are no exceptions.

When Fees Are Not Charged

Fees are not charged if your high performance parts are not available within a reasonable time, and we either offer a refund, or you request a refund. A reasonable time is any time which is longer than the delivery times listed above in the "Why Fees Are Charged" section. If Diff Lab cannot provide the product(s) ordered within a reasonable time, Diff Lab will cover the cost of the transaction fees, and a refund will be made in full.

When Refunds Are Not Given

Refunds are not given during times of national emergency, statewide emergency, war, plague, famine, earthquake, pandemic, epidemic, flood, invasion, or zombie apocalypse. All transactions will be placed on hold during these periods. Transactions including refunds will be processed within a reasonable time after the conclusion of the event, and internet/phone services are available, and banking services are available, and facilities are available. No orders will be processed during these events, if these events affect business continuity.

Refunds For Drop-Shipped Items

Almost all MFactory items are drop-shipped from Taiwan save for BMW and Mercedes units. If you experience a problem with an MFactory product, the product will be serviced or replaced in Australia, and does not need to be returned to the manufacturer. Diff Lab is the only authorised repairer in Australia for these. The cost to the customer will only be the cost of returning the item to Diff Lab. We will cover the cost of sending the replacement or repaired item back to the customer. These items are not refunded. They are repaired. The lifetime warranty (MFactory and Wavetrac) does guarantee you a lifetime refund.

If you change your mind about a product you have ordered which was drop-shipped from a manufacturer overseas, you are liable for the cost of returning the item to the manufacturer. Many MFactory and Wavetrac items are drop-shipped (almost all items save for BMW and Mercedes). Diff Lab does not have to return items where a customer changes their mind or orders the wrong part for their vehicle. Australian retailers have no obligation to return and refund items which are not defective. Diff Lab will accommodate these requests where possible, only if the customer is exchanging the item for the correct unit. If you choose to return an item because you ordered the wrong item or changed your mind, Diff Lab will not absorb the expenses involved in processing the transaction (credit card fees, paypal fees, etc) and the logistical costs of moving the goods (freight to you, freight back to Diff Lab or the sender).

Refunds For Misinformed Purchases

At Diff Lab, we believe that the person who is working on the vehicle is ultimately responsible for ordering the correct parts for the vehicle. Diff Lab does not work on vehicles, or oversee any work performed on vehicles, nor chooses the correct parts for a vehicle. The person who is working on the vehicle is responsible for this, and if this person is also the owner, then the owner is responsible. At Diff Lab, we rely on the person in charge of the work on the vehicle to request the correct parts for the vehicle, and we will supply exactly those parts. If a customer receives advice from any person, workshop, friend, partner workshop, supplier, or a staff member at Diff Lab, and any aspect of the product/s purchased are incorrect for the vehicle, Diff Lab will supply the correct product/s to suit the vehicle where that is possible, and the product/s is an equivalent price. Diff Lab will cover the cost of the freight for the replacement product only, and only once. Diff Lab does not have to do this. We offer this is a courtesy, and remind the person working on the vehicle to fully understand what they are ordering, and order the correct parts for the vehicle. This will save us all time and money. For clarity, the person working on the vehicle is fully responsible for ordering the correct parts. We do not know anything about your vehicle, its configuration, work performed, non-original parts installed, factory options, etc, and we are under no obligation to absorb the costs of errors in ordering.

For example: A customer orders a Wavetrac unit for an M86 differential. The vehicle does not have an M86 differential. Diff Lab will exchange the unit for the correct unit if one is available (price adjustment as necessary), and Diff Lab will pay the freight for sending out the replacement unit, once the customer returns the incorrect unit. If no correct unit is available, Diff Lab can refund the purchase. The customer will absorb all costs related to processing the transaction, delivering the goods and returning the goods, and the refund will the the total amount paid, less these costs. Diff Lab will not absorb the cost of this customer's mistake because Diff Lab is not responsible for ordering the correct parts for your vehicle. If this unit was $2000, two freight costs total $300, and credit card fees total $50, the amount the customer will be refunded is $1650 less 15% re-stocking fee. In this instance there is no consumer law in place to force Diff Lab to go broke absorbing the costs involved with errors in ordering.

In summary, here are the options for correct an error in an order:

  1. Return the item and Diff Lab will swap it for the correct unit if one is available. The costs of the units are adjusted and a refund/payment is made as necessary. The customer pays all freight.
  2. Return the item to the address supplied by Diff Lab (may be MFactory in Taiwan or Wavetrac in the USA) and when received, Diff Lab will refund the amount paid less freight, transaction fees, and a 15% re-stocking fee.
  3. Return the item to Diff Lab, to be returned to the manufacturer by Diff Lab at the customer's expense. Diff Lab will refund the total amount, less all freight costs, less transaction fees, and a 15% re-stocking fee.

Refunds for Incorrect Item/s Received

There are no refunds for incorrect items received. Diff Lab will send a return label to cover the cost of return freight, and will send the correct unit at our expense. The customer shall not dispose of the original packaging, or use the item. If the item is used, it will not be exchanged. A customer who uses an item, has determined by using it, that it is the correct item, and is ineligible to return it. If you receive the wrong item (not what you ordered), do not use the item if you intend to exchange it for the correct item.

Refunds for Time Critical Items

Performance vehicle parts are not time critical (e.g. a human organ, tickets to a concert, fresh food) and there will be no claim made against Diff Lab that a performance part for a vehicle is time critical. Order the items you need well head of any deadlines you may be facing, because some items (particularly OS Giken) have a lead time which can be weeks to months. Diff Lab does not recognise an event, a race, a weekend drive, or any other event, as an excuse to claim that some order was time critical. Upgrading your car is not time critical.