Test Your Knowledge of Warranties

Objectives

  • Teach students about consumer rights;
  • List the areas of intervention governed by the Consumer Protection Act;
  • Explain the roles of organizations and institutions that can tell consumers more about their rights and obligations;
  • Learn about the recourses available to consumers and merchants in asserting their rights.

Description

Using various information tools, the students answer an online questionnaire on warranties and how to enforce them.

Equipment

Introduction

To begin the activity, the teacher presents two scenarios (6.9 Mo), each accompanied by a question on warranties. These questions show real-life situations that involve warranties and are an opportunity to determine whether students are already familiar with the topic.

The teacher informs students that what they learn during this activity will enable them to properly understand the answers to these two questions.

Next, the teacher asks the following questions:

Q – By a show of hands, how many of you know that any goods purchased from a merchant are covered by legal warranties?

To prepare students for the next question, the teacher can add that before paying for an additional warranty (sometimes called "extended warranty"), it is important to know that legal warranties exist and what they cover. 

Q – What is the purpose of the legal warranty?

A – The legal warranty protects consumers who buy a product against potential problems that can affect this item. In particular, they allow you to demand that the good purchased:

  • can be used for the purpose for which it was attended;
  • have a reasonable service life, given the price paid, the contract, and the conditions of use;
  • not have any hidden defect, i.e., a significant defect that existed before the sale, that was not disclosed to you, and that you could not have known about, despite your caution;
  • be consistent with the description in the contract, the advertising, and the representative's statements.

To help students understand what legal warranties are and how they differ from other types of warranties, the teacher can present the Three Types of Warranties video.

The teacher asks students to read the three following documents on the topic of warranties: 

Instructions

Using the information provided in all three documents, students can work individually or in small groups to answer the online quiz titled Warranties quiz (in French only).

To benefit fully from this exercise, students should take the time to read the explanations provided for each question of the quiz. 

Conclusion

To wrap up the activity, the teacher asks the entire class the following questions:

Q – Out of a total of 10 points, what was your score on the quiz?

A – [Students answer.]

Q – What did you learn through this quiz on warranties?

A – The following elements should come up in the discussion: 

  • All goods, new or used, purchased from a merchant are covered by a legal warranty.
  • Legal warranties apply automatically and at no charge.
  • The law does not specify the reasonable service life of a good. (In determining the reasonable service life of a good, several factors must be considered, such as the price paid, the contract clauses, and the conditions of use for that item.)
  • Merchants cannot be exempted from respecting legal warranties for any reason.
  • When a good is defective, the merchant may choose to repair it, exchange it, or reimburse the consumer.
  • Repair of defective goods is also guaranteed for a period of three months.
  • Before offering an additional warranty, the merchant must provide the consumer with information on certain legal warranties and on the free warranty from the manufacturer of the good (by reading him or her the following text: “The law provides a warranty on the good you are buying or leasing: you must be able to use it normally for a reasonable period of time," and providing a hard copy document stating this information).
  • The Office de la protection du consommateur helps consumers enforce legal warranties by providing them with an information kit to help them with the process (negotiating with a merchant, writing a letter of formal notice, taking the merchant to Small Claims Court, etc.).