How Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act Affects Warranty?
Passed in 1975, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is a law designed to help the consumers in taking any of their unsettled warranty to the courts. However, this act is only applicable to written warranties. This act safeguards the consumers against the low quality and defective products. As manufacturers or dealers are required to pay huge amounts in compensation, they try their level best to maintain their quality so as to avoid facing Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
If a vehicle is not working as it should or as it was at the time of purchase, then, the buyer is entitled to claim his/her lemon under Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. The act says that if any part of the product, which has a written warranty, is defective, the warrantor has to give a choice of refund or replacement to the buyer.
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act - Buyer Lawsuits
If a manufacturer is unable to meet the standards set in the warranty, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act entitles the buyer to claim re-compensation by making breach of warranty a violation of federal law. The manufacturers are also required to pay back the court costs and attorneys' fees to the buyer. This means that incase the manufacturer loses that case, he will have to pay cost of the lawsuit, fee of the lawyer of the buyer and a refund or replacement. The heavy expenses involved are a big turn off for the manufacturers and they try to avoid such court proceedings.
Most of the state lemon laws give the manufacturers three chances to set the product right according to the buyer’s requirement. And incase the product is still malfunctioning; the buyer can claim a refund or replacement under Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. However, some of the states have five attempts limit for the manufacturers.
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act - Substitute to Consumer Lawsuits
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act also has a substitute for the lawsuits. It has a purchaser lawsuit for violation of warranty, which requires the manufacturer to use informal dispute dissolution mechanism. This informal dispute resolution mechanism is used for resolving warranty problems that are at a stand-still.
Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act has forced the manufacturers to maintain a standard and meet the promised warranty. It has positively affected the warranties, standard of the products and thus customers’ rights.