What You Don’t Know Can Hurt You!

If You Buy Or Sell Anything You Need To Know About This!

  If you have ever bought or sold any item that did not work, or just did not do the job it was purchased for, then you had better know about the Laws Of Merchantability.

 

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 retailer, distributor, or manufacturer has reason to know any particular purpose for which the consumer goods are required, and further, that the buyer is relying on the skill and judgment of the seller to select and furnish suitable goods, then there is an implied warranty that the goods shall be fit for such purpose and (2) that when there is a sale of an assistive device sold at retail in this state, then there is an implied warranty by the retailer that the device is specifically fit for the particular needs of the buyer.

   (c) The duration of the implied warranty of merchantability and where present the implied warranty of fitness shall be coextensive in duration with an express warranty which accompanies the consumer goods, provided the duration of the express warranty is reasonable; but in no event shall such implied warranty have a duration of less than 60 days nor more than one year following the sale of new consumer goods to a retail buyer.  Where no duration for an express warranty is stated with respect to consumer goods, or parts thereof, the duration of the implied warranty shall be the maximum period prescribed above.

   (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, every sale of consumer goods that are sold at retail in this state shall be accompanied by the manufacturer's and the retail seller's implied warranty that the goods are merchantable.  The retail seller shall have a right of indemnity against the manufacturer in the amount of any liability under this section.

 

1792.1.  Every sale of consumer goods that are sold at retail in this state by a manufacturer who has reason to know at the time of the retail sale that the goods are required for a particular purpose and that the buyer is relying on the manufacturer's skill or judgment to select  or furnish suitable goods shall be accompanied by such manufacturer's implied warranty of fitness.

 

1792.2.  (a) Every sale of consumer goods that are sold at retail in this state by a retailer or distributor who has reason to know at the time of the retail sale that the goods are required for a particular purpose, and that the buyer is relying on the retailer's or distributor's skill or judgment to select or furnish suitable goods shall be accompanied by such retailer's or distributor's implied warranty that the goods are fit for that purpose.

   (b) Every sale of an assistive device sold at retail in this state shall be accompanied by the retail seller's implied warranty that the device is specifically fit for the particular needs of the buyer.

 

1792.3.  No implied warranty of merchantability and, where applicable, no implied warranty of fitness shall be waived, except in the case of a sale of consumer goods on an "as is" or "with all faults" basis where the provisions of this chapter affecting "as is" or "with all faults" sales are strictly complied with.

 

1792.4.  (a) No sale of goods, governed by the provisions of this chapter, on an "as is" or "with all faults" basis, shall be effective to disclaim the implied warranty of merchantability or, where applicable, the implied warranty of fitness, unless a conspicuous writing is attached to the goods which clearly informs the buyer, prior to the sale, in simple and concise language of each of the

following:

   (1) The goods are being sold on an "as is" or "with all faults" basis.

   (2) The entire risk as to the quality and performance of the goods is with the buyer.

   (3) Should the goods prove defective following their purchase, the buyer and not the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer assumes the entire cost of all necessary servicing or repair.

   (b) In the event of sale of consumer goods by means of a mail

order catalog, the catalog offering such goods shall contain the required writing as to each item so offered in lieu of the requirement of notification prior to the sale.

 

1792.5.  Every sale of goods that are governed by the provisions of this chapter, on an "as is" or "with all faults" basis, made in compliance with the provisions of this chapter, shall constitute a waiver by the buyer of the implied warranty of merchantability and, where applicable, of the implied warranty of fitness.

 

1793.  Except as provided in Section 1793.02, nothing in this chapter shall affect the right of the manufacturer, distributor, or retailer to make express warranties with respect to consumer goods. However, a manufacturer, distributor, or retailer, in transacting a sale in which express warranties are given, may not limit, modify, or disclaim the implied warranties guaranteed by this chapter to the sale of consumer goods.


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