<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by BedPurchaser:
I purchased a wooden bed frame from a local store in California. When I got home and assembled the frame I found that the headboard was not constructed plumb/level. I informed the employee who delivered the bed that I was not satisfied and that I needed ot talk to the owner. The owner ignored me. The next day he advized me that "All sales are final."
I requested a replacement or an adjustment to the original purchase price. And was told "All sales are fine."
Do I have any recorse? Is there a 72 hour legal right to refusal? <HR></BLOCKQUOTE>
My response:
In most States, such as California, there are no laws that compel a merchant to give a refund, in whole or in part. Refunds are given to customers by reason of "goodwill." Therefore, and despite the fact that all sales of merchandise are, in fact final, a store will usually refund money if you have a receipt and the product to be returned.
That being said, your seller of the bed is relying on the fact that there is no law forcing him to give you your money back, and apparently, he cares very little about his "goodwill" in the community where he sells his merchandise.
But, this is not the end of the story.
When you bought the bed, whether you realized it or not, you entered into a contract - - "I'll sell you my bed, if you pay my price. Okay, let's exchange money for the bed". That's a contract.
In every contract for the sale of goods (like your bed), there is an "implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose." That is, every product we buy must perform as shown, told, or expected. It must do what it was designed to do. Otherwise, there is a breach of the "implied warranty" in the Uniform Commercial Code, of which California, and other States, is a signatory.
U.C.C. - ARTICLE 2 - SALES
..PART 3. GENERAL OBLIGATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF CONTRACT
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"§ 2-315. Implied Warranty: Fitness for Particular Purpose.
Where the seller at the time of contracting has reason to know any particular purpose for which the goods are required and that the buyer is relying on the seller's skill or judgment to select or furnish suitable goods, there is unless excluded or modified under the next section an implied warranty that the goods shall be fit for such purpose."
Since you discovered a "flaw" in the construction of the bed, it can be considered "defective" and not in compliance with the "fitness" requirements of the U.C.C.
Since there was a "breach" of the said Code section, you are entitled to a refund of your money. The seller either doesn't know this Code section, or is purposefully preying on the fact that YOU don't know the Code.
If, after you write a written demand for a refund based on a "breach of the implied warranty of fitness", the seller either ignores you, or continues to fail to refund your money, "don't take the law into your own hands - - you take him to (Small Claims) court" and the judge will award you a judgment in your favor.
Good luck.
IAAL
U.C.C. - ARTICLE 2 - SALES
..PART 3. GENERAL OBLIGATION AND CONSTRUCTION OF CONTRACT
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
§ 2-315. Implied Warranty: Fitness for Particular Purpose.
Where the seller at the time of contracting has reason to know any particular purpose for which the goods are required and that the buyer is relying on the seller's skill or judgment to select or furnish suitable goods, there is unless excluded or modified under the next section an implied warranty that the goods shall be fit for such purpose.
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[This message has been edited by I AM ALWAYS LIABLE (edited July 06, 2000).]