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~Maine's Consumer Protections Laws at Work for You~

 

Several years ago I wrote about Maine's warranty law, and I've had some additional experience utilizing this law recently that I thought I would share.

 

My sense is that few Mainers are aware of this law, called an "implied warranty" law.  What this means is that legally the warranty on the goods you buy is not necessarily limited to the stated warranty (often one year) that comes along with the product - this includes automobiles.

 

Legally, both the manufacturer and the retailer are equally responsible for their products for 4 years after purchase if they are defective.  According to the State's website, "It can be an Unfair Trade Practice to refuse to honor the Maine Implied Warranty Law within four years of sale."  Certain conditions have to be met however (see link below). 

 

Many years ago I got GE to come out and fix our oven for free by citing this law.  Just this year I had a problem with a Sleep Number product and the second time it was a cable modem that I bought from Amazon.  In both cases the products stopped working properly after the manufacturer's warranty expired.

 

 

In both cases I went through the retailer (Sleep Number and Amazon) instead of the manufacturer.  In both cases the retailers gave me a hard time and told me that the return window was closed and that I should contact the manufacturer.  I told them that the manufacturer's warranty had expired, but Maine's warranty law makes both the manufacturer and retailer responsible for defective products.  Sleep Number then referred me to their warranty policy, which they said indicates that their warranty is only for one year.  So I looked at their policy and it states (in all caps - the underline is my addition):  "EXCEPT TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE APPLICABLE TO YOUR SLEEP NUMBER PRODUCT IS LIMITED IN DURATION TO ONE YEAR FROM THE DATE OF PURCHASE."

 

So I called them back and pointed out that their own policy states that their one-year warranty doesn't apply if a state's laws say otherwise and that the retailer has to follow Maine laws if they are selling their products in Maine.

 

In both cases, after a couple of phone calls (and some runaround), I got replacement products sent out.

 

Here's the link to the law if you're interested:  http://www.maine.gov/ag/consumer/law_guide_article.shtml?id=27922
Click on "Chapter 4....." for the full text of the law.
 

Your government at work for you.......