seller tells you what you can expect from the product, what you must do if you have a problem and what will be done in return.
There are three types of warranties: Oral, written, and implied.
An oral warranty is simply the seller’s spoken promise about the product that you rely on in deciding to buy. While oral warranties are binding, they’re obviously hard to prove. It’s best to get these promises in writing, if you can.
A written warranty is simply a written promise about a product. A seller is not required to give you a written warranty. However, most do. And, if the seller does give you a written warranty, the seller must declare whether the warranty is FULL OR LIMITED. The distinction is important. A full warranty gives you the best protection: for example, if a product breaks down, the seller must try to fix it within a reasonable time. You pay nothing for parts or labor. And if it can’t be repaired within a reasonable time, you get your money back or a brand new product. A limited warranty is anything less than a full warranty. Under a limited warranty the seller might pay for replacement parts, but you might have to pay for labor. If the seller couldn’t fix the product after a reasonable number of tries, you would still probably be entitled to your money back, except that the legal steps you would have to go through would be a lot more complicated. Full warranties are definitely best.
Federal law also requires that all products costing more than $15, with warranties, must have their warranties available for you to look at before you buy, so that you can examine and compare them. Do it!
The third type of warranty is an unwritten and unspoken one—that’s why it’s called an implied warranty. Vermont law declares that these types of warranties are given to you automatically by the seller even though they are not formally expressed to you. They come on all products. For purposes of consumer goods (other than used cars), these warranties cannot be taken away from you. The most important implied warranty for consumers is the implied warranty of merchantability. This is a warranty of basic quality—it assures you that a thing will at least do what it’s supposed to do. A toaster must toast, a reclining chair must recline. This kind of warranty covers new and used products and services, and may entitle you to repairs at no cost. If you purchase an item that proves to be seriously defective, it is not too old (still within its “useful life”), and you have not abused it, then you might very well have an implied warranty claim against either the seller or the manufacturer.
On Your Own, 2008 Edition 53
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