Elje Assured
2% of the factory order, minimum $600, on by default. An inspection before the balance is paid, the balance held by a licensed escrow partner until it passes, help with any defect for 2 years, and the paperwork your certifier asks for.
With Elje Assured the factory gets 30 percent to start. The other 70 percent sits with a licensed escrow partner, never with Elje, until an independent inspection passes.
In one line
Assured is a service Elje provides. It is not insurance, and it is not a product warranty from Elje. It sits on top of whatever rights you have under the Australian Consumer Law and your building contract, and takes none of them away.
What Assured includes
- Inspection booked and reported: a third-party inspector checks the order at the factory against your drawings and the golden sample before the balance is paid. The inspector's own fee is passed on at cost.
- The balance held until it passes: you pay the factory's balance to a licensed escrow partner, not to the factory and not to Elje. It is released to the factory only when the inspection passes.
- Defect resolution: if something is wrong on delivery or shows up later, we run the claim with the factory, the forwarder and the installer, and push it to a fix.
- A 2-year backstop through partners: for 2 years from delivery, where the factory does not fix a manufacturing defect, Elje may fund a repair or replacement from the Elje defect resolution pool, up to the limits in the Assured terms.
- The certifier pack: the compliance evidence for each line, such as WaterMark and WELS listings, slip ratings and glass certificates, in one file for your certifier and plumber.
What Assured does not include
- Installation. How your builder or installer fits the goods falls under their contract and the home building warranties, not by Assured.
- Damage in transit. That is claimed on the cargo insurance policy, and we help you lodge it.
- Wear and tear, misuse, or damage after handover on site.
- Changes of mind, or a choice you made against the advice in your Project Plan.
- Delays, exchange-rate movements, or costs caused by a late delivery.
- Anything ordered without Assured, or after you opted out of it.
- An unlimited payout. The backstop is limited to the amounts in the Assured terms, which will be printed here before Assured is sold.
Who holds the money
Never Elje. You pay the factory's deposit direct to the factory. With Assured, the balance goes to a licensed escrow partner, which releases it to the factory only when the inspection passes. If it fails, the money stays where it is until the factory fixes the order and it passes.
The escrow partner is being chosen now. Its name, its licence and its terms will be on this page before the first order is placed, once our lawyer has signed off the structure.
| Money | Goes to | When |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit for the goods | The factory, direct | When you order |
| Balance for the goods | The licensed escrow partner | Before inspection |
| Balance released | From the escrow partner to the factory | When the inspection passes |
| Elje Assured fee, 2% | Elje | With the deposit |
How a defect claim runs
- Tell us within 2 years of delivery, with photos and the item's code.
- We check it against the inspection report and the golden sample, and send the claim to the factory.
- The factory repairs, replaces or credits. Most fixes are parts sent on the next shipment, or a local repair the factory pays for.
- If the factory does not fix a manufacturing defect, the backstop applies, within its limits.
- Every claim and its outcome is logged against the factory's scorecard. Factories that do not fix things lose future introductions.
What it costs
From the fee, Elje pays the escrow partner's fee and funds the defect resolution pool. The inspector's fee is extra, at cost, and shown on your Project Plan.
| Factory order | Assured fee |
|---|---|
| $20,000 | $600 (the minimum) |
| $30,000 | $600 |
| $60,000 | $1,200 |
| $120,000 | $2,400 |
Opting out
Assured is on by default. You can decline it. If you do, you sign that inspection, payment protection and defect claims are yours to arrange. The Project Plan is still yours.
Why you might want it
When you buy direct from a factory in China, you are the importer. Your legal rights against an overseas factory can be hard to enforce from Australia. Assured gives you an inspection before you pay in full, and a local team chasing the fix for 2 years. If you import through your builder instead, your builder carries more of that risk, and their contract and the home building warranties apply.
Questions
Is Assured a warranty?
No. It is a service from Elje: inspection, the held balance, defect resolution and a limited backstop. Your rights under the Australian Consumer Law and your building contract stay exactly as they are.
Is Assured insurance?
No. The freight is insured on a cargo policy. Assured is not an insurance policy.
Who picks the inspector?
Elje books a third-party inspection company, named in your Project Plan before you order. The factory does not choose it.
What if the factory disputes the inspection?
The balance stays with the escrow partner. The factory can rework and ask for a re-inspection. How a disputed result is settled will be set out in the escrow terms.
- Elje, how it works: the model, the fees and the worked example
- Elje landed estimate, the live $60,000 worked example
- QIMA, pre-shipment inspection (timing, AQL standard, what is checked)
- ASIC Information Sheet 198, extended warranties and when they are financial products
- ACCC, warranties and how they sit alongside consumer guarantees
- ACCC, buying online from overseas businesses
- Escrow.com terms of use (an example of how a licensed escrow holds and releases funds)