When you buy or rent a product, you expect it to work. In an ideal world, everything you buy would be of high quality, durable, safe, free of defects and would meet your expectations! Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
The Legal Warranty: Automatic Minimum Protection
The legal warranty is a minimum legal protection for consumers. It applies automatically when you buy something.
The legal warranty says that, if a merchant sells you something that isn’t of good quality, durable, safe and in line with any expectations created by the merchant, you can, among other things, get a refund or have the product replaced. The legal warranty also protects consumers against hidden defects.
A legal warranty covers products bought or leased (rented) in Quebec, even if they come from somewhere else. The legal warranty applies when you buy or lease a product in person (in a store in Quebec) or remotely (online or by phone). It is provided to consumers free of charge.
Merchants and manufacturers must respect this legal warranty. Before offering an extra contractual warranty to consumers, such as an extended warranty or other protection plan, they must inform consumers orally and in a written notice that they already benefit from the free legal warranty. Merchants and manufacturers must also inform you that you can cancel your additional warranty at no charge. You must send them written notice of cancellation within 10 days of signing the additional warranty contract.
The legal warranty is attached to the product
The legal warranty is attached to the product. What does that mean?
This means that if you sell the product to someone else, the other person can use the legal warranty, unless it has expired.
Did you buy something from someone (an individual) who is not a merchant?
|
Various Kinds of Protection Under the Legal Warranty
1. Quality
You must be able to make normal use of the product. In other words, it has to work. This is protection against a product sometimes called a “lemon.”
For example, a lawnmower that doesn’t mow your lawn doesn’t work for its normal use.
2. Durability
The products you buy or rent should last a reasonable amount of time. The “life expectancy” of the product should be reasonable given the price paid, the terms of the contract and any conditions that apply to the use of the product.
In other words, the legal warranty protects you against defects in a product that appear after you buy it, if you use it properly.
Of course, an expensive, high-end product will be under the legal warranty for a longer time than a cheaper low-quality product.
Since consumers and merchants don’t always agree on what is a reasonable length of time, this question is often debated in the courts. Here are a few examples of life expectancy considered unreasonable (too short):
- 7 years for a refrigerator,
- 6 years for a heat pump,
- 5 years for a washer.
These examples give you a general idea of reasonable life expectancy. Each situation is different depending on the product and the evidence brought before the court. You can estimate the reasonable life expectancy of your product by comparing your situation to other similar cases. You can find several examples of reasonable life expectancies for different products in the judgment directory of the Office of Consumer Protection (OPC).
3. Product must match description
Products you buy must reflect:
- the description of the product in the contract,
- the merchant’s advertising, and
- statements or representations made by the merchant verbally or in writing at the time of the sale (or lease).
4. Safety
A product you buy must be safe: it must not pose a danger to people who use it. You must be warned of any risks.
Careful! If a consumer is careless with the product, the legal warranty doesn’t apply.
5. Hidden defects
For the warranty against hidden defects to apply, the defect must be significant, serious and hidden. Let’s look at this in more detail:
- A significant defect: a defect that influences your decision to buy or rent the product. If you had been informed of the defect, you wouldn’t have bought the product or you wouldn’t have paid as high a price.
- A serious defect: a defect that prevents the product from working properly or being used for the purpose for which it was bought. It can also be a defect that results in repair costs and inconvenience.
- A hidden defect is a defect that:
- was not mentioned to you even though the merchant or the manufacturer was supposed to tell you about it, or
- you could not have discovered by an ordinary examination of the product.
For example, cracks in wood flooring that are easy to see are not a hidden defect.
The warranty against hidden defects only applies to the defects that have existed before you bought the product. In some cases, help from an expert is necessary to prove that the defect existed before the product was sold.
Some specialized sellers are professionals in their particular field. This is the case for manufacturers. Because of this, the defects in the products they sell or manufacture are considered to exist when the product is sold, unless the manufacturer proves that the buyer caused the defect by improper use of the goods.
How to Use the Legal Warranty
The first thing you must do is notify the merchant or manufacturer in writing as quickly as possible. You need to say that you’ve discovered a defect and give the merchant or manufacturer a chance to correct the problem. This is called the notification stage.
To meet the requirements of the legal warranty, the merchant or manufacturer generally suggests one of these solutions:
- give you a full refund or reduce the purchase price,
- replace the product or pay you the cost of replacing it,
- repair the product,
- replace defective parts so the product can work properly,
- do necessary maintenance work for a reasonable amount of time.
The merchant or manufacturer might tell you that the last two solutions will not be possible if there is ever a problem with the product. However, they must notify you about this in writing before you purchase the product.
If you have any trouble enforcing your rights when using the legal warranty, or if you want to file a complaint against a merchant, you can contact the Office de la protection du consommateur (consumer protection bureau).
To find out more about enforcing your rights as a consumer, read our article Solving Problems: Options for Consumers.
Other Legal Warranties: Vehicles, New Homes, Buildings
Consumers benefit from different warranties when they buy a used vehicle from a merchant.
To find out more about enforcing warranties on buildings, read our article Hidden Defects in Buildings.
Also, if you buy a new house, you might benefit from a special warranty.