BushCo America: Corporations stab you in the back

This is a warning for all of you out there. I had a bad experience with Circuit City that I told you all about a few days ago. I've found out about something that I think you all should know. A company can limit implied warranty of merchantability (the expectation that the product you're buying actually works), and in the case of Circuit City, can bury it deep in the fine print of their web site.

Here's the text from Circuit City:

"We provide our website and its contents on an "AS IS" basis and make no warranty or representation regarding any Product, either express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement, which are hereby expressly disclaimed, unless otherwise stated herein."

http://www.circuitcity.com/rpsm/cat/-13317/edOid/105469/rpem/ccd/lookLearn.do

To get to this, you have to click on "terms of use" in fine print at the very bottom of the home page, or click on "help" and "important legal information."

Why is this important? Because this is what Circuit City is using to sell you defective products. This clause gives them the legal right to sell you something that doesn't work and tell you to get lost when you try to get an exchange or refund.

Here's the text of the law:

"(2) Subject to subsection (3), to exclude or modify the implied warranty of merchantability or any part of it the language must mention merchantability and in case of a writing must be conspicuous, and to exclude or modify any implied warranty of fitness the exclusion must be by a writing and conspicuous. Language to exclude all implied warranties of fitness is sufficient if it states, for example, that "There are no warranties which extend beyond the description on the face hereof.""

http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/article2.htm#s2-209

In my opinion, what Circuit City is doing doesn't make the limitation of the implied warranty "conspicuous", but in Republican controlled America, you're not going to win that in court.

The end result of this for the consumer is that you have to be VERY careful who you buy from. They are moving to limit ALL corporate liability, even the obligation to sell you products that work. If you don't pay very close attention to this, you can end up like me and be out $1000 for a TV that doesn't work.

In our country right now, "let the buyer beware" means corporations feel free to screw you over with abandon. You need to know this BEFORE you buy. If you buy under these terms, you could end up with a defective product that you can't get a refund or exchange for. In the case of computers and big electronics, we're not talking about chump change. You could lose a LOT of money.

I was thinking about doing some after x-mas shopping for a notebook. I'll avoid them.

In my area, it's hard to find a parking spot at Fry's and Best Buy on weekends, while the large parking lot at Circuit City is virtually empty. Somehow they've found a way to stay in business without being bothered by customers.