(c) No warrantor of a consumer product may condition his written or implied
warranty of such product on the consumer's using, in connection with such
product,
any article or service (other than article or service provided without charge
under
the terms of the warranty) which is identified by brand, trade or corporate
name;
except that the prohibition of this subsection may be waived by the commission
if:
1. The warrantor satisfies the Commission that the warranted product will
function properly only if the article or service so identified is used in
connection with the warranted product, and
2. The Commission finds that such a waiver is in the public interest.
How This Affects You!
The manufacturer of the printer you are using cannot void the warranty on your
printer because you use a cartridge or refill kit manufactured by someone other
than the printer manufacturer. This prohibition includes the use of compatible
cartridges, and remanufactured cartridges.
IBM vs. The United States
(The Sherman and Clayton Antitrust Law)
Furthermore: you don't have to be intimidated when the printer people tell you
they will void your warranty on your equipment if you do not use the O.E.M. ink
or
toner. Nor should you be intimidated if they should try to charge extra because
you
are not using the O.E.M. ink or toner. This is illegal for another reason and
this is
referred to as product linking, check it out:
The Supreme Court (IBM vs. The United States) held that IBM could not
threaten customers with termination of their data processing equipment leases
just because they did not use supplies manufactured by IBM. Such practice
constituted a "tying agreement" and was found to be in violation
of the Sherman and Clayton_Antitrust Law.
How This Affects You!
Stand up for your right of free choice of vendor because you are acting within
the letter of the law. Your printer service people are aware of lower priced
supplies, so threatening to void warranties and service call charges are their
only defense. Save this information to intimidate them with their illegal
actions.
Is the printer industry trying to corner the market?
Excerpts from May 5, 2002 Posted: 8:33 AM EDT (1233 GMT)
...NEW YORK (AP) --Brian Evans thought he'd gotten a good deal on
a Canon inkjet printer -- until it ran out of ink.
"I paid 80 bucks for the printer, and the ink was 52 bucks," Evans
said, pausing on his way out of a Manhattan office supply store.
"It's incredible," said Evans, a 33-year-old bank employee, holding
aloft a plastic bag with his latest purchase -- another ink cartridge.
Companies like Lexmark, Hewlett-Packard, Canon and Epson have coupled
low-priced inkjet and laser printers to high-priced disposable ink cartridges
for years.
But that business model sprung a leak.
Wily entrepreneurs started refilling and rebuilding toner and ink cartridges
and selling them for about half the price -- building a $3 billion yearly
business that has carved away an 11 percent chunk of the lucrative refill
market.
So the printer giants are battling back, using clever techniques aimed at
clawing back market share. They are also facing something of a backlash --
legislation in some states that's designed to protect the refillers.
One method employed by the printer giants is a so-called "killer"
computer chip installed on ink cartridges that makes it tough for the cartridges
to be refilled. Some chips warn refill users that the cartridge is
"invalid." Sometimes they even disable the printer.
Another means of protecting refills is a "prebate" agreement that
Lexmark uses to sell discounted refills. In return, the buyer promises to return
the cartridge to Lexmark for remanufacturing -- and not to sell it to anyone
else.
"If you buy a Chevrolet and you pull it out of the lot, Chevrolet can't
make you drive back and buy their gasoline," Jackson said. "It's the
same with printers. We consider toner the fuel for the printer industry."
Printer companies say neither effort is aimed at thwarting re-manufacturers.
"We're really giving customers a benefit they didn't have before,"
said Epson marketing manager Rajeev Mishra, whose company has installed smart
chips on many replacement cartridges. Mishra says it's done so customers can
track ink use and other printing statistics.
Printer firm: Pricing is 'very competitive'
HP and Lexmark declined telephone interviews, opting to answer questions
through e-mail and declining to address many of the complaints. Neither company
had much to say about the price differential between printers and ink.
...
For instance, a Lexmark Z22 color inkjet printer was selling on OfficeMax.com
recently for $49.98 while its replacement ink cartridges cost $32.97 for black
and $37.87 for color. Meanwhile, remanufactured cartridges for the Lexmark Z22
were selling on InkSell.com for $19.95.
Asked about their rationale for selling printers at a low cost and ink at a
high one, Lexmark's Tim King said the company's pricing was calibrated to
"provide customers with compelling value in both hardware and
supplies."
HP's Bob Major wrote that the company's pricing was "very competitive
based on cost per page."
Lexmark's use of chips and legal agreements "is intended to enforce the
customer's agreement to return the cartridge to Lexmark for remanufacturing so
they don't wind up in landfills," King wrote.
"There's only one reason. It's to prevent erosion of their market
share," said Chamales, whose customers for re-manufactured cartridges
include Wal-Mart and the White House.
Government is doing more than just buying refills from independents.
Legislation promoting or requiring the purchase of re-manufactured cartridges
has been adopted or proposed in North Carolina, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and
other states -- while the European Union has a measure pending.
"Lexmark is the toughest," Forrest said. "There's always a
shortage of Lexmark empties."
Lexmark has surrendered just 6 percent of its market to re-manufacturers,
less than any other big printer company, according to market data from Lyra
Research of Newtonville, Massachusetts.
Along with HP, Lexmark also fuses printer heads to its disposable inkjet
cartridges, another method for making them tougher to duplicate, analysts say.
Epson and Canon, whose inkjet cartridges are simpler, have been hit the
hardest by re-manufacturers. They've lost 14 percent of their ink refill market,
Lyra found.
Re-manufacturers are also using technology to their advantage.
In addition to duplicating some of the smart chips on their rebuilt
cartridges, they've used the Internet to help them sell.
Understanding the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is the federal law
that governs consumer product warranties. Passed by Congress in 1975, the Act
requires manufacturers and sellers of consumer products to provide consumers
with detailed information about warranty coverage. In addition, it affects both
the rights of consumers and the obligations of warrantors under written
warranties.
To understand the Act, it is useful to be aware of Congress' intentions in
passing it. First, Congress wanted to ensure that consumers could get complete
information about warranty terms and conditions. By providing consumers with a
way of learning what warranty coverage is offered on a product before they buy,
the Act gives consumers a way to know what to expect if something goes wrong,
and thus helps to increase customer satisfaction.
Second, Congress wanted to ensure that consumers could compare warranty coverage
before buying. By comparing, consumers can choose a product with the best
combination of price, features, and warranty coverage to meet their individual
needs.
Third, Congress intended to promote competition on the basis of warranty
coverage. By assuring that consumers can get warranty information, the Act
encourages sales promotion on the basis of warranty coverage and competition
among companies to meet consumer preferences through various levels of warranty
coverage.
Finally, Congress wanted to strengthen existing incentives for companies to
perform their warranty obligations in a timely and thorough manner and to
resolve any disputes with a minimum of delay and expense to consumers. Thus, the
Act makes it easier for consumers to pursue a remedy for breach of warranty in
the courts, but it also creates a framework for companies to set up procedures
for resolving disputes inexpensively and informally, without litigation.
What the Magnuson-Moss Act Does Not Require
In order to understand how the Act affects you as a
businessperson, it is important first to understand what the Act does not
require.
First, the Act does not require any business to provide a written warranty. The
Act allows businesses to determine whether to warrant their products in writing.
However, once a business decides to offer a written warranty on a consumer
product, it must comply with the Act.
Second, the Act does not apply to oral warranties. Only written warranties are
covered.
Third, the Act does not apply to warranties on services. Only warranties on
goods are covered. However, if your warranty covers both the parts provided for
a repair and the workmanship in making that repair, the Act does apply to you.
Finally, the Act does not apply to warranties on products sold for resale or for
commercial purposes. The Act covers only warranties on consumer products. This
means that only warranties on tangible property normally used for personal,
family, or household purposes are covered. (This includes property attached to
or installed on real property.) Note that applicability of the Act to a
particular product does not, however, depend upon how an individual buyer
will use it.
The following section of this manual summarizes what the Magnuson-Moss Warranty
Act requires warrantors to do, what it prohibits them from doing, and how it
affects warranty disputes.
In passing the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, Congress
specified a number of requirements that warrantors must meet. Congress also
directed the FTC to adopt rules to cover other requirements. The FTC adopted
three Rules under the Act, the Rule on Disclosure of Written Consumer Product
Warranty Terms and Conditions (the Disclosure Rule), the Rule on Pre-Sale
Availability of Written Warranty Terms (the Pre-Sale Availability Rule), and
the Rule on Informal Dispute Settlement Procedures (the Dispute
Resolution Rule). In addition, the FTC has issued an interpretive rule that
clarifies certain terms and explains some of the provisions of the Act. This
section summarizes all the requirements under the Act and the Rules.
The Act and the Rules establish three basic requirements that may apply to you,
either as a warrantor or a seller.
As a warrantor, you must designate, or title, your written warranty as
either "full" or "limited"
As a warrantor, you must state certain specified information about the
coverage of your warranty in a single, clear, and easy-to read document.
As a warrantor or a seller, you must ensure that warranties are available
where your warranted consumer products are sold so that consumers can read
them before buying.
The titling requirement, established by the Act, applies to all written
warranties on consumer products costing more than $10. However, the disclosure
and pre-sale availability requirements, established by FTC Rules, apply to all
written warranties on consumer products costing more than $15. Each of these
three general requirements is explained in greater detail in the following
chapters.
What the Magnuson-Moss Act Does Not Allow
There are three prohibitions under the Magnuson-Moss
Act. They involve implied warranties, so-called "tie-in sales"
provisions, and deceptive or misleading warranty terms.
Disclaimer or Modification of Implied Warranties
The Act prohibits anyone who offers a written
warranty from disclaiming or modifying implied warranties. This means that no
matter how broad or narrow your written warranty is, your customers always will
receive the basic protection of the implied warranty of merchantability. This is
explained in Understanding Warranties.
There is one permissible modification of implied warranties, however. If you
offer a "limited" written warranty, the law allows you to include a
provision that restricts the duration of implied warranties to the duration of
your limited warranty. For example, if you offer a two-year limited warranty,
you can limit implied warranties to two years. However, if you offer a
"full" written warranty, you cannot limit the duration of implied
warranties. This matter is explained in Titling Written Warranties as
"Full" or "Limited".
If you sell a consumer product with a written warranty from the product
manufacturer, but you do not warrant the product in writing, you can disclaim
your implied warranties. (These are the implied warranties under which the
seller, not the manufacturer, would otherwise be responsible.) But, regardless
of whether you warrant the products you sell, as a seller, you must give your
customers copies of any written warranties from product manufacturers.
Tie-In Sales" Provisions
Generally, tie-in sales provisions are not allowed.
Such a provision would require a purchaser of the warranted product to buy an
item or service from a particular company to use with the warranted product in
order to be eligible to receive a remedy under the warranty. The following are
examples of prohibited tie-in sales provisions.
In order to keep your new Plenum Brand Vacuum Cleaner warranty in effect, you
must use genuine Plenum Brand Filter Bags. Failure to have scheduled
maintenance performed, at your expense, by the Great American Maintenance
Company, Inc., voids this warranty.
While you cannot use a tie-in sales provision, your warranty need not cover use
of replacement parts, repairs, or maintenance that is inappropriate for your
product. The following is an example of a permissible provision that excludes
coverage of such things.
While necessary maintenance or repairs on your AudioMundo Stereo System can be
performed by any company, we recommend that you use only authorized AudioMundo
dealers. Improper or incorrectly performed maintenance or repair voids this
warranty.
Although tie-in sales provisions generally are not allowed, you can include such
a provision in your warranty if you can demonstrate to the satisfaction of the
FTC that your product will not work properly without a specified item or
service. If you believe that this is the case, you should contact the warranty
staff of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection for information on how to apply
for a waiver of the tie-in sales prohibition.
Deceptive Warranty Terms
Obviously, warranties must not contain deceptive or
misleading terms. You cannot offer a warranty that appears to provide coverage
but, in fact, provides none. For example, a warranty covering only "moving
parts" on an electronic product that has no moving parts would be deceptive
and unlawful. Similarly, a warranty that promised service that the warrantor had
no intention of providing or could not provide would be deceptive and unlawful.
Two other features of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act
are also important to warrantors. First, the Act makes it easier for consumers
to take an unresolved warranty problem to court. Second, it encourages companies
to use a less formal, and therefore less costly, alternative to legal
proceedings. Such alternatives, known as dispute resolution mechanisms, often
can be used to settle warranty complaints before they reach litigation.
Consumer Lawsuits
The Act makes it easier for purchasers to sue for
breach of warranty by making breach of warranty a violation of federal law, and
by allowing consumers to recover court costs and reasonable attorneys' fees.
This means that if you lose a lawsuit for breach of either a written or an
implied warranty, you may have to pay the customer's costs for bringing the
suit, including lawyer's fees.
Because of the stringent federal jurisdictional requirements under the Act, most
Magnuson-Moss lawsuits are brought in state court. However, major cases
involving many consumers can be brought in federal court as class action suits
under the Act.
Although the consumer lawsuit provisions may have little effect on your warranty
or your business, they are important to remember if you are involved in warranty
disputes.
Alternatives to Consumer Lawsuits
Although the Act makes consumer lawsuits for breach
of warranty easier to bring, its goal is not to promote more warranty
litigation. On the contrary, the Act encourages companies to use informal
dispute resolution mechanisms to settle warranty disputes with their customers.
Basically, an informal dispute resolution mechanism is a system that works to
resolve warranty problems that are at a stalemate. Such a mechanism may be run
by an impartial third party, such as the Better Business Bureau, or by company
employees whose only job is to administer the informal dispute resolution
system. The impartial third party uses conciliation, mediation, or arbitration
to settle warranty disputes.
The Act allows warranties to include a provision that requires customers to try
to resolve warranty disputes by means of the informal dispute resolution
mechanism before going to court. (This provision applies only to cases based
upon the Magnuson-Moss Act.) If you include such a requirement in your warranty,
your dispute resolution mechanism must meet the requirements stated in
the FTC's Rule on Informal Dispute Settlement Procedures (the Dispute
Resolution Rule). Briefly, the Rule requires that a mechanism must:
Be adequately funded and staffed to resolve all disputes quickly;
Be available free of charge to consumers;
Be able to settle disputes independently, without influence from the
parties involved;
Follow written procedures;
Inform both parties when it receives notice of a dispute;
Gather, investigate, and organize all information necessary to decide each
dispute fairly and quickly;
Provide each party an opportunity to present its side, to submit
supporting materials, and to rebut points made by the other party; (the
mechanism may allow oral presentations, but only if both parties agree);
Inform both parties of the decision and the reasons supporting it within
40 days of receiving notice of a dispute;
Issue decisions that are not binding; either party must be free to take
the dispute to court if dissatisfied with the decision (however, companies
may, and often do, agree to be bound by the decision);
Keep complete records on all disputes; and
Be audited annually for compliance with the Rule.
It is clear from these standards that informal dispute resolution mechanisms
under the Dispute Resolution Rule are not "informal" in the sense of
being unstructured. Rather, they are informal because they do not involve the
technical rules of evidence, procedure, and precedents that a court of law must
use.
Currently, the FTC's staff is evaluating the Dispute Resolution Rule to
determine if informal dispute resolution mechanisms can be made simpler and
easier to use. To obtain more information about this review, contact the FTC's
warranty staff.
As stated previously, you do not have to comply with the Dispute Resolution Rule
if you do not require consumers to use a mechanism before bringing suit under
the Magnuson-Moss Act. You may want to consider establishing a mechanism that
will make settling warranty disputes easier, even though it may not meet the
standards of the Dispute Resolution Rule.
The
Environment
Recycling saves energy, thus reducing acid rain and air pollution.
Recycling aluminum cans
uses 95% less energy than making aluminum cans from scratch.
Recycling paper uses 60%
less energy than manufacturing paper from virgin timber.
Recycling conserves
valuable natural resources.
Recycling metals minimizes
the need for mining new minerals and decreases damage to wilderness.
Recycling paper reduces
the rate of deforestation. (Source:Earth
Day Resources)
Recycling
Benefits
Recycling
your printer cartridges is a great way to help the environment,
preventing additional solid waste from entering our already
overburdened landfills.
Consider....
The
EPA has determined that landfills in many states are
dangerously close to capacity. Nineteen states
will reach capacity in less than a decade.
Toner
cartridges are made of industrial grade plastics that can
take 1000 years to decompose.
Each
cartridge recycled keeps 3 to 4 pounds of plastic and
metal out of our landfills.
The
toner cartridge remanufacturing industry saves 73.5
million pounds per year from being sent to our landfills.
The
remanufacturing industry saves more oil in a seven month
period than the Exxon Valdez spilled into Alaska's Prince
William Sound in 1989.
on all orders over
$200.00 SPECIALS
NOT INCLUDED (Sorry, We can
not ship to PO Boxes)
We
Accept
RCR
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