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From: stevev@tekchips.UUCP (Steve Vegdahl)
Newsgroups: net.consumers
Subject: Re: Is "NO REFUND/NO EXCHANGE" Legal?
Message-ID: <131@tekchips.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 15-Jul-85 21:31:17 EDT
Article-I.D.: tekchips.131
Posted: Mon Jul 15 21:31:17 1985
Date-Received: Thu, 18-Jul-85 04:43:29 EDT
References: <42400004@gypsy.UUCP>
Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR
Lines: 26

> I have a general question about make purchases that has been bothering me
> for some time.  Suppose I go into a store to buy some item.  What I want to
> know is if there is writing on my receipt and/or a sign in the store which
> says "NO REFUNDS/NO EXCHANGES", can the merchant really enforce this?
> Suppose I take the item home and it is a total piece of trash or it just
> doesn't work, can the merchant really keep me from getting my money back or
> gettting a replacement or even credit?  This seems to be a fairly common
> practice in many small stores.
> 
> I would tend to think that there is some implied warranty or law that says
> that I have the right to return something for any reason within a small
> period of time.  Is there really such as law in most states?  I would be
> interested to know what other people think about this.

This came up once on the People's Court, and Judge Wapner ruled that a
NO REFUNDS/NO EXCHANGES policy can be enforced by the merchant, but that
it does not apply if the merchandise is defective.  Inasmuch as this
applies in your state/jurisdiction, if you buy an X from such a merchant,
he is required to take it back if it does not work, but he is not required
to take it back if you find a better deal elsewhere, or if you decide that
you want a different color.

		Steve Vegdahl
		Computer Research Lab.
		Tektronix, Inc.
		Beaverton, Oregon