Magnuson–Moss Warranty Act

FTC staff sends warranty warnings

• With apologies to R&B legend Ben E. King, when consumers buy a product with a warranty, it’s with the expectation that businesses will stand by what they sell.
• But standing by your warranty won’t do customers much good if you disregard the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
• The FTC staff just sent warning letters to six companies, raising questions about statements the companies are making that appear to tie warranty coverage to consumers’ use of authorized parts or service, a practice that may violate both the Warranty Act and the FTC Act.
• FTC staff recently took a closer look at companies’ warranties and promotional materials and saw language that raised concerns that some businesses were telling consumers that their warranty would be void if they used unauthorized parts or service.

• If you own a 2020-23 Ford Escape or a 2021-23 Ford Bronco Sport with a 1.5-liter engine, you may be affected.
• Ford repeatedly provided consumers with false assurances about the safety of their vehicles to make sales and obfuscate the defect, the complaint alleges.
• By continuing to sell these vehicles after receiving numerous reports of spontaneous fires and leaking fuel injectors, Ford violated consumer protection laws, the complaint alleges.
• “It had a responsibility to respond immediately and be transparent with consumers as soon as it became aware of reports of fires.

• In July, the FTC announced a similar case alleging that Webers warranty illegally claimed that the use of aftermarket parts would void the companys warranty on gas and electric grills.
• Weber must add to its warranty a statement that Using third-party parts will not violate this warranty.
• The Commission votes to approve the final orders against Weber-Stephen Products and MWE Investments were 5-0.
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• Within 3 months of purchase, water started to leak in the passenger rear area of the vehicle from the convertible hard-top.
• Despite providing BMWs dealers with numerous attempts to repair the vehicle, the water leaks continued along with rattling noises from where repairs were performed.
• The Boynton Beach resident reached out to BMW directly in an effort to resolve this issue, but BMW was uninterested.
• Additionally, federal law will allow Krohn & Moss, Ltd. Consumer Law Center to recover payment for the consumers attorneys fees and costs.