Providing Warranties

There are some considerations to providing warranties. In addition, there are some government agencies that protect consumers from being harmed by businesses that affect the warranties they provide.

SUMMARY

• A warranty does not have to be provided, however, consumers will have more faith in the product if there is a warranty.
• If a warranty is provided, it should be followed.
• You should seek an attorneys advice to help in drafting warranties, including following both federal and state laws.

SHOULD A WARRANTY BE PROVIDED?

A business does not have to provide a warranty for their products. Typically, if a product comes with a warranty, there will be more faith in the product because the consumer will have knowledge that they will have some compensation if they receive a product that does not fit what was stated in the warranty.

When providing a warranty, the warranty typically will include what compensation the consumer will get, issues with the product that will allow them to get the compensation, and the time limit for the warranty. Product compensations, typically, include repairs, exchanges, or refunds. A warranty also usually warrants the product will be made in good condition and provide for defective products to receive the compensation. The time limit is usually 1 year depending on the products.

DO YOU HAVE TO COMPLY WITH YOUR WARRANTY?

If a warranty is offered, it should be followed. If the business does not comply with it, a consumer or governmental may be able to take action against the business. There are also possibilities that consumers can report the business to governmental agencies that lead to investigations by those agencies.

There are a few things to keep in mind before returning or exchanging a product. There are some individuals that purchase products just to take advantage of warranties, especially if warranties offer refunds without taking back the product. There should be some research done to make sure there is actual problems with the product, including asking for pictures of the product or having it returned, before providing the compensation in the warranty.

GOVERNMENTAL AGENCIES

There are a few governmental agencies that regulate products. There may be federal and state laws that apply.

For federal laws, there are some regulations provided by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). There are certain disclosures that need to be made and the warranty must be written in a certain fashion depending on the warranty. On the FTC website, there is a lot of information relating to how they regulate warranties. There are also information on the investigations and cases the FTC has brought against businesses.

For state laws, the laws may all be different and should be researched for each state. Some states do not allow statements that a product is sold “as-is” while others have different mandatory implied warranty time lengths.