Warranties
Conventional warranty
The merchant or manufacturer may supply or offer a specific warranty, termed a conventional warranty since it is granted under the contract. It enhances the legal warranty and in no way diminishes its scope. A conventional warranty may be written or not, i.e. it may be given verbally by the salesperson or be stated in the merchant's advertising material.
If a document detailing the warranty exists, insist on receiving a copy. If not, ask that it be indicated on your receipt or contract, along with any warranty-like claims made by the merchant or merchant's representative. It is easier to have a warranty respected if it is written in specific terms.
You should know that:
- any conventional warranty given a consumer who purchases a good also applies to a consumer who leases for a period of 4 months or more (or if the leasing contract states that it can be extended over a period of 4 months or more).
- it is prohibited to exclude something from a conventional warranty unless the exclusion is clearly indicated by the merchant or manufacturer.
- certain manufacturers only honour their warranty if you buy the good or service from one of their certified merchants. If you buy from an uncertified merchant, the latter must inform you in writing before completing the transaction that the manufacturer's warranty is not valid. If not, the merchant must honour it at his cost. For example, if you buy a good manufactured by a US company from a Canadian merchant not certified by this manufacturer, the merchant must inform you in writing. If not, he may have to honour it should the good break.
Legal warranty
Under the Consumer Protection Act
and the Civil Code of Québec, all goods purchased from a merchant are covered by a legal warranty guaranteeing their quality. The legal warranty applies even if the merchant or manufacturer pretends to sell the good without a warranty or if the warranty the merchant offers on the good (so-called "conventional" or manufacturer's warranty) offers insufficient coverage.
This legal warranty allows you to demand that the good you are purchasing:
- has no hidden defects, i.e.:
- a defect that is so significant that you would not have bought the good or paid as much for it had you know about the defect before making the purchase;
- a defect that you were not told about and that you could not have noticed through an ordinary examination of the good; or
- a defect that existed before you purchased the good.
(Note that should the case go to court, the existence of a hidden defect often requires an expert's testimony.)
- is suitable for the use for which it is normally intended;
- lasts a reasonable length of time, based on the price paid, the contract and the conditions governing its use.
Under the legal warranty, the merchant and manufacturer have obligations regarding the good, whether or not there is another warranty. (Note that no costs may be charged to honour a legal warranty.) These obligations are tied to the good and if you sell it to another consumer, he may take recourse directly against the manufacturer under this same legal warranty. You can also take recourse against a merchant or manufacturer if you injure yourself because you were not warned of the dangers inherent in using a good.
The good or service you purchase must comply, not only with the description in the contract, but also with the merchant's advertising and the salesperson's statements or claims.
The Consumer Protection Act also stipulates that the spare parts and repair services needed to maintain a good must be available for a reasonable length of time. If the merchant or manufacturer wishes to renege on this obligation, he must inform you in writing before the contract is signed.
Finally, it is important to know that you cannot have a defective good repaired by a third party without the manufacturer's or merchant's authorization or without first having served him formal notice to perform the repair, on pain of losing your rights and recourses. These rules apply also to both conventional and extended warranties.
Extended warranties
The term "extended warranty" is used without distinction to refer to two different types of contracts, i.e.:
- so-called conventional extended warranties, which extend the duration of the manufacturer's or merchant's warranty;
- insurance-style extended warranties, which ensure the consumer of compensation (repair, replacement or refund) should the car be defective. Insurance-style extended warranties are generally offered by third parties, i.e. the company offering the coverage is not the good's manufacturer, vendor or lessor.
What does the warranty cover?
Take the time to carefully read the extended warranty contract offered to know what exactly this warranty covers (parts, labour) and whether you will have to pay to have it honoured. Most warranties cover only the parts mentioned in the contract. Some include a deductible that you must pay when making a claim.
You need to know what the warranty does not cover (exclusions). Unlike the part of the contract listing the parts covered, which the salesperson stresses, this part often goes unmentioned or is somewhat nebulous. Do no hesitate to ask the salesperson for any information or explanations you deem necessary.
One of the exclusion clauses most often cited by companies offering insurance-style extended warranties and glossed over when consumers read their contract is the following: "this warranty does not cover replacement or repair of a part resulting from normal wear and tear". Merchants may be tempted to blame the problem on normal wear and tear.