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There are no specific laws regarding the purchase of "lemons," or defective items, when it comes to television sets, but consumers have the same rights to have their sets repaired or replaced as do purchasers of other products under federal warranty laws.
Lemon laws apply to products with a defect that impacts its function in some way. Although no furniture lemon law exists as of 2010, the federal lemon law applies to all new products with a purchase price of $15 or higher and thus extends to most furniture covered by a written warranty. The federal lemon law is called the Magnusom-Moss Warranty Act. It requires manufacturers to provide clearly written warranties detailing the terms and conditions. In addition, consumers receive certain protections under other federal and state laws.
Written warranties and implied warranties giving consumers certain rights after buying defective merchandise did not become regulated by federal law until the passage of the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act of 1975.
Depending on what you consider a "lemon," so-called lemon laws in the U.S. are either a relatively recent phenomenon or a long-standing tradition. People typically think of used vehicles when they hear someone talking about having bought a lemon. On that front, state and federal consumer-protection laws have been around only since 1975. But if "lemon" ultimately describes any substandard product offloaded on an unsuspecting consumer, then the U.S. has a lengthy history of that kind of law dating back to 1906.
The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is often called the Federal Lemon Law because it protects the rights of consumers who have purchased products that are defective. Under the act, consumers have the right to sue manufacturers who refuse to honor written warranties or have given warranties that contain unfair terms. The Magnuson-Moss Act can be used by consumers in states that do not have lemon laws, and also in conjunction with state lemon laws.
There are presently no state lemon laws that offer protection to consumers when purchasing electronic goods, such as televisions. However, consumers are protected by a federal law known as the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act.
Lemon laws were created to give consumers protection against faulty warranties and products that do not meet accepted standards of performance and quality. In some instances, lemon laws offer a more extensive guarantee than the product's warranty. Every state has its own set of rules regarding how lemon laws are enforced and which products are covered. The federal lemon laws are uniform and cover all citizens, regardless of the state in which you live.
There is a federal lemon law known as the Magnuson Moss warranty act that covers the purchases and sales of new cars. Find out why lemons refer to cars that aren't meeting expectations with legal advice from a certified family mediator in this free video on laws and the court.
