What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You! If You Buy Or Sell Anything You Need To Know About This! |
Every State
(in the USA) has one form or another of the Law Of Merchantability.
So why is this law so important for both Consumers and Retailers to know?
Because
under certain circumstances it guarantees the consumer the right to return the
goods that they purchased for a full refund, regardless of a store’s
“Policy” or “Procedures”.
As an
example, under the Law Of Merchantability, a store that has a clearly marked
policy of “No exchanges / No returns” or “No cash refunds” would have to
take back the goods and give a full cash refund (or if purchased on a credit
card, a credit back on the same card”).
Now, if you
surf the Web and pull up all the laws having to do with this matter, you’re
going to feel like you need a law degree and a bottle of aspirin to make any
sense of things.... But have no
fear. The law is really very
simple.
If you buy
or sell something it has to work for the purpose, or reason it was bought/sold
for.
Let me give
you some examples:
If I buy a Digital Cell Phone, and the phone will not work right, such as
it keeps malfunctioning, and a reasonable number of replacement units, and/or
repairs fail to get it working reliably, then I am entitled to my money back.
Why? Because I bought the
phone with the intention of using it to make Cell Phone Calls.
If in fact it keeps malfunctioning, then it is not working for the reason
I purchased it.
If I go into a Hardware Store and tell the store clerk that I need
something to cut metal, and he sells me a wood saw, I’m entitled to get my
money back. Why?
I needed a saw to cut Metal, not wood, and the store knew that.
They sold me the wrong item: An
item that cannot do what I bought it for.
If I go into a car dealer and tell the salesperson I need to be able to
tow a 5,000 lb. trailer with the car... and
they sell me a car that can only tow 4,000 lbs., but they told me it would work
for the job I was buying it for (to pull a 5,000 lb. trailer)... I could get my
money back.
In short, it
is very simple. If an item is
bought to do a particular job, or for a particular use, and the seller knows it,
or should have known it, and it just will not work for that job, or has
repeatedly proven defective, under the law, the money paid for the item must be
refunded.
So,
remember, “No Cash Refunds” Etc. ... Does not always mean that a person is
not entitled to their money back!
Below is a
partial out-take of the California Law:
Civil Code
Section 1791.1.
As used in
this chapter:
(a) "Implied warranty of merchantability" or "implied warranty
that goods are merchantable" means that the
consumer goods meet each of the following:
(1) Pass without objection in the trade under the contract description.
(2) Are fit for the ordinary
purposes for which such goods are
used.
(3) Are adequately contained, packaged, and labeled.
(4) Conform to the promises or affirmations of fact made on the
container or
label.
(b) "Implied warranty of fitness" means (1) that when the
(c) The duration of the implied warranty of merchantability and
(d) Any buyer of consumer goods injured by a breach of the implied
warranty of merchantability and where applicable by a breach of the implied
warranty of fitness has the remedies provided in Chapter 6 (commencing with
Section 2601) and Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 2701) of Division 2 of the
Commercial Code, and, in any action brought under such provisions, Section 1794
of this chapter shall
apply.
California
Civil Code Section
1792.
Unless disclaimed in the manner prescribed by this chapter,
1792.1.
Every sale of consumer goods that are sold at retail in
1792.2.
(a) Every sale of consumer goods that are sold at retail in
(b) Every sale of an assistive device sold at retail in this state
1792.3.
No implied warranty of merchantability and, where
1792.4.
(a) No sale of goods, governed by the provisions of this
following:
(1) The goods are being sold on an "as is" or "with all
faults"
(2) The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the goods
(3) Should the goods prove defective following their purchase, the
(b) In the event of sale of consumer goods by means of a mail
order
catalog, the catalog offering such goods shall contain the
1792.5.
Every sale of goods that are governed by the provisions of
1793.
Except as provided in Section 1793.02, nothing in this
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Last modified: November 08, 2002