Q: Hi, I live in GA. Is a warranty valid if you never received it?
I purchased a shed last Oct. that is now leaking and has caused mold. It has 1yr builder warranty. I'm now being to it's not covered because I had the shed finished. I never received the warranty in person, verbally, via email or mail. Is it still valid?
A:
Yes. If a Seller gives a warranty on its goods, the warranty is valid and enforceable even if the consumer never read or even received a printed copy.
Under the Magnuson Moss Act, the Seller must make the warranty available upon request. Back in the day, Montgomery Ward Department Store had warranty centers in its stores where consumers could go to read the warranty on its products if they do chose.
Sears is often credited as taking the approach of having the actual written warranty printed on one side of its product packaging, which a lot of retailers then followed.
But the Seller cannot get out of the terms and conditions of its own warranty merely because a consumer didn’t receive a copy of it. It’s one of few exceptions to the materiality issue (ie if the consumer never read the warranty, then the warranty must not have been a material part of the purchase transaction).
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