Warranties

Everything you buy comes with a warranty. Whether it is that the vender has the right to sell it, or that scrap metal is actually metal.

Many goods, though not boasting a warranty, or promising that if you are not satisfied your money will be returned, do in fact have “implied” warranties.

This implication is by law, and has been established over generations by the Courts. Selling an item, “as is/where is”, does suggest that it is not in prime condition, but does not impute that it will explode.

The infamous, “no refund” only operates as long as the purchaser actually gets what he or she purported to buy. It does not protect a vender from misrepresentation, i.e. selling sheets for a king sized bed which are for a double.

In matters in which Consumer Organizations intervene, “no refund” is forgotten.

Very often vendors will claim that the warranty was breached by the consumer. In almost every case, this is untrue. If you purchase a product and use it for the purpose it was intended,  there is virtually nothing you can do to cause the warranty to be vitiated.

For example, a particular cell phone was recalled in Japan because it was so susceptible to moisture than putting it against a normal ear would cause it to cease to function.

This phone was later sold in Jamaica. The vendors claimed, when the phones would cease to work, that it was the consumer who caused the moisture damage to the phone. That is, until the Consumer Affairs Commission proved the product had been recalled in Japan. Then the product was withdrawn in Jamaica, but sold to other poorer countries which did not have strong Consumer organisations.

Hence a defective product, a product known to be defective, was foisted on those least able to withstand the loss.

A warranty can be understood as a statement; “This product is so good that it will work as specified for a period of X time.”

When the product doesn’t work as specified for the period claimed, the warranty kicks in, and the consumer is to be reimbursed, offered a replacement or the item repaired.

It is not to be a matter of angst, it is to be dealt with as a matter of course.

As a consumer, be vigilant. Be sure of what you are purchasing, its uses and be unwilling to accept that you have invalidated the warranty by regular use.

As a vendor, do not sell inferior products, do not refuse to satisfy your customers. It is better to take the loss than to lose patronage.

Word of mouth supersedes commercials on prime time television. If you ask me which is the best computer to buy, I will instantly tell you Dell because they live up to their warranty.

Another company, once “the standard”, so dissatisfied their customers, they had to sell off part of their business or face bankruptcy.

What caused this?

Word of Mouth

The company which instantly offers a refund, replacement or credit note, will keep that customer. The company which makes getting back payment a three act play, not only will never see that customer again, but everyone he speaks to, and everyone they speak to.

Living up to warranties is required by law. Do not provoke the law to take its course. Losing business is the result no matter what the Court decides.