ABSTRACT
The purpose of this book has been to examine consumer product guarantees, to consider their function and to develop a suitable legal framework for guarantees. It has been seen that signalling theory, which postulates a link between product quality and guarantees, is only useful to a limited extent. In most cases, guarantees do not accurately reflect the likely level of quality to be expected from a product. Instead, guarantees are most likely to be of relevance when a consumer is seeking to obtain redress when a product has developed a fault which can be attributed to the manufacturing process. Empirical evidence reveals that almost all consumers will seek to obtain redress themselves without taking legal advice and the assistance of a dispute resolution mechanism which involves a third-party (such as mediation or the small-claims court procedure). This is not due to a lack of awareness, but primarily because the cost of utilising such mechanisms often exceeds the benefit of resolving the dispute. Furthermore, the literature on consumer complaining behaviour has identified a number of factors which have a bearing on how consumers respond to particular problems. These include the extent to which an addressee of a complaint will respond and how he will treat the consumer. Manufacturers' guarantees can provide a vital indication to consumers as to the likely responsiveness of the manufacturer to consumer complaints through their terms and conditions, and the procedure for bringing a claim, in particular.
