SCENARIO

Harold Sanchez was in the market to buy some new kitchencabinets. After looking at numerous “big box” stores, he decidedthat he would rather pay a local craftsman to design and constructhis cabinets as a way to support small businesses. Harold beganresearching local cabinet makers online and found DeNight Cabinets,LLC. Pictures on the website were appealing to Harold. They showeda man diligently working on a cabinet in a woodworking shop,numerous beautifully crafted cabinets, and, in the “About Us”section of the website, the story of the owner’s desire to createthe highest quality cabinets. As a careful consumer, Harold dideven more research on the company itself. He looked through theterms and conditions on the website and noticed the followingwarranty:

WARRANTY TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

DeNight Cabinets, LLC, warrants that all products will be freeof defects in the material or workmanship for as long as they areowned by you, the original purchaser. To make a warranty claim,contact DeNight Cabinets, LLC, at 123 Main Street, Bobswell, MA00012 USA. DeNight Cabinets, at its option, may elect to repair orreplace any product covered by this warranty. Things not covered:the natural aging of cabinets or variations in wood, wear and tearor damage caused by misuse/negligence/alteration, nonresidentialuse, or improper storage, installation, or handling. This warrantydoes not cover indirect, special, incidental, or consequentialdamages, loss of use, or labor expenses in uninstalling orinstalling any material or parts.

Harold also looked for online reviews of DeNight Cabinets and,seeing mainly positive results, he decided to give them a call.

During the conversation with DeNight Cabinets, Harold was toldthat he could take all the measurements for the cabinets himself,if he felt comfortable to do so, and enter the measurements in theonline order form. Harold had some experience doing handiwork andthought he could complete the task without a problem. Harold tookof the measurements and entered them in the online form asinstructed which calculated the total cost ($4,000) based on themeasurements and feature selections Harold made. Harold entered hiscredit card and completed the purchase. The email confirmation hereceived stated, “Thank you for your purchase with DeNightCabinets! We look forward to providing you with the highest qualitycabinets in the region. Because all cabinets are custom made, wewill notify you of a shipping date once the cabinets are ready sothat you can make arrangements to receive them.” Six weeks passedand Harold had not heard from DeNight Cabinets, so he decided tocall the company. The representative stated that she had no recordof him purchasing any cabinets, therefore, it would take at leastanother eight weeks to build and ship his cabinets. Harold wasshocked. He stated that his credit card had been charged when hemade his initial order and that he had bank statements to provethat DeNight had made the withdraw. Additionally, he also had anemail confirmation of his order. The representative from DeNightapologized and stated that she would see what she could do andwould contact Harold in a few days.

Several days later, a different representative from DeNightcontacted Harold and stated that there must have been amiscommunication between the first representative and the warehousebecause his cabinets were already in production. Harold wassomewhat relieved until later that evening when he noticed hiscredit card had been charged for another $4,000 by DeNight. Haroldmade another call to DeNight to dispute the second charge. DeNightagreed that the charge was in error and that it would refund theamount. It also updated Harold on an anticipated shipping date—anadditional five weeks out. Harold became extremely agitated,stating, “Look, I ordered these more than six weeks ago. If you hadtold me it would take this long I would never have ordered them. Ihave been without a kitchen all this time, and now you are tellingme it is going to take another five weeks! This is completelyunacceptable. Maybe I should just cancel the order.” The represponded, “Sir, these are all custom made. It takes time. And wedon’t allow for refunds since all cabinets are made to yourspecifications.”

Against his better judgment, Harold decided not argue and waitedfor the cabinets. Once they finally arrived, they truly werebeautiful. He stood in the kitchen admiring his new cabinets, whilethe local news played on a TV in the background. He overheard areporter say, “Up next, local cabinet maker DeNight Cabinetssubject to a new lawsuit. We will tell you why one family says thecompany’s use of a dangerous varnish caused their house fire.”

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

Answer each of the following questions in 3–5sentences:

1. What are some of the consumer protection issues that arepresent here?
2. Has the legislature crafted the laws in a way that protectsconsumers even at the detriment of business, or is there a balancestruck between forcing a business and consumers to actreasonably?
3. Are consumers sufficiently aware of their rights under consumerprotection laws? If not, what could be done to help educateconsumers?
4. Would it be "safer" for businesses not to offer any warrantyrather than risk being out of compliance with the Magnuson-MossWarranty Act? How do warranties, in general, improve or hurtbusiness profitability?

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

A The consumer protection issues present in this scenario include false advertising potential breach ... View the full answer