Breach of Warranty Claim Frequently Asked Questions
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Find Out if You Have a Claim
Click here to submit a no obligation evaluation or call 609-714-2020.
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What is a breach of warranty claim?
Breach of warranty claims usually involve vehicles, other types of products or parts that were sold with a warranty. Usually, the case is one where a dealership makes repeated repairs to your car or product under the warranty for the same problem but couldn’t fix it. One such law that may help you get relief from such a problem is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act (the Warranty Act).
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What is the Magnuson-Moss Warranty-Federal Trade Commission Improvement Act?
The Warranty Act is a law designed to help in the enforcement of breach of warranty claims. The Federal Government decided that, since warranties were difficult to enforce, it should be easier for the public to enforce certain warranties and service contracts by having a right to sue those who give and then fail to honor warranties or service contracts for money damages, attorney’s fees and court costs.
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Does my claim qualify as a breach of warranty?
Under the Warranty Act, to recover money damages, the following minimum requirements must be met:
- The vehicle or product must be a new or used “consumer product” distributed in commerce and normally used for personal, family, or household purposes.
- A written warranty or service contract was provided with the product.
- You must be a “consumer'' -- a buyer (other than for purposes of resale) of the vehicle or other consumer product, a person to whom the vehicle or product was transferred during the duration of an implied or written warranty (or service contract) applicable to the vehicle or product, or any other person entitled by the terms of such warranty (or service contract) or under applicable State law to enforce against the warrantor (or service contractor) the obligations of the warranty (or service contract).
- The issuer of the warranty or service contract failed to comply with the Warranty Act or failed to honor the terms of its warranty or service contract.
The Warranty Act applies to most consumer products that are sold or leased with a warranty or service contract and that are normally used for personal, family or household purposes, such as vehicles, mobile homes, computers, appliances, agricultural products, heating and air conditioning systems, plumbing components, etc. Many services are excluded under the Warranty Act and often the question of whether a warranty or service contract is regulated by the Warranty Act is for the courts to decide.
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How do I get relief for a breach of warranty?
There is no “magical” Warranty fairy that gives out refunds or replacement vehicles to all deserving consumers. A consumer who is damaged by the failure of a manufacturer or supplier to comply with any obligation under any written warranty, implied warranty, or service contract that they issue the consumer, may file a lawsuit in the Superior Court of New Jersey [or in other courts of competent jurisdiction]. If you win the lawsuit, you may be awarded money damages, reasonable attorney's fees [based on actual time your attorneys spent working on the case] plus court costs, including the fees for filing the lawsuit. Attorneys would argue that, if the product’s manufacturer or the selling dealer who provided a warranty with the vehicle or other product is unable or unwilling to fix it within a reasonable period of time, the buyer should be permitted to file a lawsuit against the wrongdoer in the Superior Court of New Jersey. Under the Warranty Act, if the warranty requires you to make a claim with a dispute settlement or arbitration program before filing a lawsuit, you may be required to participate in that process before filing a lawsuit against them. You must also make a legal demand to the issuer of the warranty before suing them. Your attorney can perform these steps for you.
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Should I file a complaint with an arbitration or dispute program myself?
Under the Warranty Act, if the warranty requires you to make a claim with a dispute settlement or arbitration program before filing a lawsuit, you may be required to participate in that process before filing a lawsuit against them. Normally, your attorneys perform this step for you. If the buyer decides to participate in such a program (either through themselves or their attorney) and if the program fails to resolve the issue, the buyer may still be able to file a lawsuit against the wrongdoer. If you hire an attorney, before filing your lawsuit, they can file the paperwork necessary to comply with any required dispute settlement or arbitration program. Often consumers try to take this step on their own, such as by filing paperwork with the Better Business Bureau, only to become frustrated by the paperwork and steps that are normally part of such programs. The employees of the settlement or arbitration program are not permitted to give you legal advice and as they must be neutral, they do not represent your interests. Further, by acting on their own through such a program, consumers could mistakenly agree to a settlement that fails to provide the consumer everything they deserve under the law. Also, if you try to represent yourself in such a program, you may fail to take an important step (miss a deadline, fail to complete crucial paperwork, etc.) and jeopardize your case.
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How do I prove my breach of warranty case?
As soon as you notice that your vehicle or product has a defect, you must:
- Report the defect to the manufacturer, selling dealer or their authorized repair facility immediately.
- Arrange for the vehicle or product to be repaired by the manufacturer, selling dealer or their authorized repair facility.
- When you get your vehicle or product repaired, before leaving the dealership or repair facility, you should ask for a repair invoice listing what was done to your vehicle. If the manufacturer, dealer or their agent refuses to give you an invoice, for each repair attempt or inspection of your vehicle by the dealer, you should keep a record of the date and mileage when the vehicle was brought in, each and every problem you complained of on that date and the date and mileage when the vehicle left the dealer or their authorized repair facility.
- If the problem repeats itself, take the vehicle or product back to the manufacturer, dealer or their agent.
- Provide the manufacturer, dealer or their agent a reasonable number of days or chances to fix the vehicle or product.
- If the party providing you the warranty or their dealership or agents fail to fix the fix the vehicle in a reasonable period of time and the warranty requires you to make a claim with a dispute settlement or arbitration program before filing a lawsuit, contact an attorney to proceed with this step of your claim (or you may do so yourself - but it is not recommended that you take this step without an attorney's assistance).
- Before filing a lawsuit and after completing any required dispute settlement or arbitration program (or if it is not necessary to do so under the warranty or service contract), make a specific type of written demand for the issuer of the warranty or service contract to provide you legal relief. To make certain that the demand takes the correct form, you should have an attorney prepare this demand for you.
Your case may be weakened or lost if the party providing you the warranty or service contract proves one of the following:
- You fail to prove that the vehicle or product has defects that substantially impair its value.
- The vehicle’s defect is the result of the buyer’s abusing, neglecting, modifying or altering the vehicle or if the defect is caused by a component not sold by or manufactured by the party issuing you the warranty (such as where you buy a car alarm and the alarm affect’s your car’s electrical system).
- You fail to give the party issuing you the warranty or service contract a reasonable number of chances to fix the vehicle or product.
- If it is required, you fail to make a claim with a dispute settlement or arbitration program before filing a lawsuit.
- Before filing a lawsuit, you fail to make a specific and proper demand for the issuer of the warranty or service contract to provide you legal relief. To make certain that the demand takes the correct form, you should have an attorney prepare this demand for you.
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Should I try to handle my case without a lawyer?
Since legal proceedings can be very complex, since many manufacturers and dealers use attorneys to defend Warranty Act cases and since the Warranty Act permits successful claimants to recover reasonable attorney’s fees and court costs from the manufacturer, there is little benefit to a consumer trying to handle a Warranty Act case without being represented by an attorney. Indeed, it is often quite easy for manufacturers’ or dealers attorneys to defeat consumers who try to handle Warranty Act cases without an attorney. Also, if you try to represent yourself, you may fail to take an important step (miss a deadline, fail to complete crucial paperwork, etc.) and jeopardize your case.
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Should I wait to see if the vehicle is fixed?
If your vehicle has been at the manufacturer’s dealership at least 30 or more cumulative days for repairs for the same problem or has been subject to repair 3 times for the same problem, you should not wait any longer to ask an attorney to evaluate your claim. Legal proceedings may take time to be concluded and thus, the longer you wait to find out you have a case (or if you have a valid case, to stat the process), the longer you shall likely have to wait to conclude your case. Delay could hurt your case.
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If I financed the vehicle's purchase, can I stop making payments?
It is generally very, very risky for a consumer to decide to stop making payments on a vehicle simply because it doesn’t work well or even if it doesn’t work at all. Failing to make payments on a vehicle could result in: (1) the credit of everyone on the vehicle’s loan being damaged; (2) the vehicle being repossessed; (3) everyone on the vehicle’s loan being sued; (4) ultimately, in a money judgment being entered against you, which may even exceed the vehicle original price. Failing to make payments on the vehicle’s loan could make a bad situation much, much worse. Always consult with an attorney before deciding to stop making payments on a vehicle loan.
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What if the dealer or manufacturer says I don't have a case?
Ignore them and seek competent legal advice. Only attorneys licensed in New Jersey to practice law are permitted to give legal advice and only they are able to evaluate if you have a valid claim. Until you speak with an attorney who is knowledgeable about this area of the law, do not draw any conclusions, regardless of what you heard from non-attorneys or read on the web.
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What will happen if I do nothing?
If you have a valid claim and you do nothing to enforce your rights, you shall be stuck with your defective vehicle and the seller, manufacturer or warranty provider shall get the best of you. There are strict time limits for perfecting and filing certain legal claims. Do not try to interpret the law by reading a website!
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How do I find out if I have a case?
Click here to submit a free evaluation or call 609-714-2020.
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