Express Warranty
Candlefocus EditorAn express warranty is an agreement by a seller or manufacturer to provide repairs or a replacement for a faulty product or service within a certain time period. When a seller promises a buyer certain characteristics or details about a product or service in its marketing materials, it must make good on that promise in order to provide an express warranty. This type of warranty is also sometimes presented in the form of a written document.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act was enacted to protect consumers from false and misleading warranty promises from sellers and manufacturers. According to this act, companies that provide written express warranties must agree to certain federal guidelines, including providing customer service for the duration of the warranty term and notifying customers if their warranty is proper and legal.
In cases where a seller or manufacturer does not make specific guarantees, an implied warranty comes into effect. An implied warranty is an implied guarantee of quality or fitness of a product that is assumed under law to exist even when not written or stated. In other words, this type of warranty is an agreement between a buyer and seller regardless of any explicit verbal or written agreement. The implied warranty says that if a product fails to perform as intended, the seller must replace it or work to resolve the issue.
There are two main types of implied warranties: the implied warranty of merchantability, which states that a product is fit for daily use and the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose, which states that the product is fit for the buyer's specific use. Both of these legal protections are intended to ensure customer satisfaction and guard against false advertising or misrepresentation of products and services.
Express warranties provide much-needed peace of mind for buyers and sellers alike, providing clarity on who is responsible for the cost of repairs or replacements for gifted or purchased products. Whether through an express warranty provided by a seller or an implied warranty offered by law, these warranties help protect customers from products that fail to meet their advertised promises.