What types of warranties do California consumer protection laws require?

Warranties are either express or implied. Express warranties are those offered by manufacturers or sellers for a given product. Implied warranties are those that are created by operation of law. California enforces both express and implied warranty and has a host of consumer protection laws that apply to both. 

California Warranties, Rules, and Consumer Protection Law

There are a few different sets of rules that apply to warranties in California:

• California has adopted the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) which is a collection of rules and requirements that relate to the purchase and sale of goods. All 50 states across the US have adopted either part or whole of the UCC. There are a wide variety of different warranty rights created by the UCC including, among other things, a right vested in the buyer to be able to return or refuse goods that are defective.
• The Song Beverly Consumer Warranty Act is a California Consumer Protection Law that deals with lemon law claims. Under this law, manufacturers are required to either attempt to repair an item, or to replace the item or refund the consumer’s money if a reasonable number of repair attempts have not corrected the defect. 

A number of other regulations under California Consumer Protection Law may also be in place to protect consumers. Among these laws are rules that require manufacturers to enforce express warranties, whether those warranties are made orally or are made as part of an advertisement.

Getting Help

If you are unsure about how warranties work in the state of California, you should contact an attorney. If you  believe that you have received a defective product and that the defect is in violation of either an express warranty by the manufacturer, or of a warranty implied by law, it is in your best interests to consult with an experienced lawyer. Your attorney can help you to decide how best to make a claim or contact the manufacturer to get your money back and obtain any other damages you may be legally entitled to based on California Consumer Protection Law.