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Freedom to waive consumer protectionsFreedom to waive consumer protectionsPosted Jun 20, 2006 3:15 UTC (Tue) by giraffedata (subscriber, #1954)In reply to: Freedom to waive consumer protections by jschrod Parent article: iTunes runs into trouble in Norway It's fundamentally the same in the US, but I sense from your wording a difference in degree -- i.e. Europe leans more socialist. Throughout the US, a consumer has the power to waive even the warranty that merchandise is usable for its normal purpose. And consumers do that a lot. But a consumer is not able to waive the warranty on an automobile against injury-causing defects. And under US law, "merchants" have considerably more power to negotiate than "consumers." A merchant, BTW, isn't just someone who sells something -- it's basically defined as someone who should know what he's doing because he's in business. "Consumer" is essentially the modern word for "peasant."
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Freedom to waive consumer protections Posted Jun 22, 2006 7:18 UTC (Thu) by Wol (guest, #4433) [Link] Actually, even in the UK it is possible for a consumer to waive consumer protection law BUT the retailer has to cover themselves pretty comprehensively to do so.
The usual approach is to sell stock as damaged or second-user, and say that it is "as seen". All of which is a major tip-off to the consumer that the goods quite possibly may be faulty.
Even there, there are liabilities you can't disclaim - for example it is illegal to sell a non-roadworthy vehicle unless you explicitly point out that fact to the buyer. If you didn't tell the buyer because you didn't know, then sorry, you're liable.
Cheers,
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