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Man Beats Kmart in Court Over Fridge, But Should He Have Won?

Kenmore refrigeratorAs reported in the Asbury Park Press, a 79-year old New Jersey man had a problem with a Kenmore refrigerator he had bought a year earlier. Around Christmas, the gentleman noticed that food in his freezer was getting mushy.

When he contacted Kmart, they told him that he was using the refrigerator improperly because he placed it in his unheated garage, contrary to the instructions in the owner’s manual.

*MOUSE PRINT:

kenmore55

Apparently, you are not supposed to put the refrigerator in a garage where the temperature can fall below 55 degrees. Kmart refused to give the man a refund because of his misuse of the product, but offered him a $75 gift card for the lost food in the freezer, and a 20% discount on a new refrigerator.

That was not satisfactory to the consumer, so he sued Kmart in small claims court for $535.59. The judge asked him a few questions like whether he was told of this limitation in the store before he bought the appliance. The consumer said no.

With that, the judge ruled in consumer’s favor. Incidentally, Kmart did not show up for the hearing. It is a general court rule that if the defendant does not appear for the trial, the plaintiff wins by default.

The question becomes, had Kmart shown up in court, would the consumer have still won?

Here’s MrConsumer’s take: If the consumer had asked for a refrigerator that could be used in a cold environment like a garage, and if Kmart directed him to this particular model, then Kmart would be responsible if in fact the refrigerator was not suited for that purpose. (This is the Implied Warranty of Fitness for a Particular Purpose.) If however the consumer never made known his intentions to use the refrigerator in a manner that most people do not, he was negligent by not following the manufacturer’s instructions and warnings… and should not have won.

A salesperson cannot be expected to read the consumer’s mind and recite all the do’s and don’ts listed in the product manual.

What do you think? Should this consumer have won his case? Add your opinion in the comments section.

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Early Withdrawal Penalties Reach New High (or Low)

Dave S. recently wrote to Mouse Print* about an eye-opening notice he received from Wings Financial Credit Union when his certificate of deposit matured. It announced a change in their early withdrawal penalties.

*MOUSE PRINT:

Wings

Unbelievably, the credit union will now charge two-years-worth of interest on any CD over a year if you withdraw money early. In other words, if you opened one of their 26-month CDs with $25,000 paying 1.00% interest, and decide three months after opening the account that you need the money for another purpose, they will confiscate the interest you’ve already earned and put it toward a total charge of $500 in penalties! You will actually lose principal.

Mouse Print* contacted Wings Financial to question the severity of their new penalties. A customer service representative replied:

…we have had many members express the same frustration. We are awaiting Board approval to reduce the penalty…

This credit union is not alone in jacking up early withdrawal penalties. Gone are the days of the simple three months loss of interest for early withdrawals. Even MrConsumer’s own credit union is clamping down.

*MOUSE PRINT:

USAlliance terms

Here, the penalty is only a year of interest. How generous of them.

We’ve always thought of credit unions as being very member-driven, and offering better rates and terms than the big banks. That apparently is not always the case.

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Citi’s New Credit Card Fine Print Improves Benefits

Citi Double Cash CardOn April 17, Citi sent out an email to holders of certain credit cards announcing “Important information about your card’s protection benefits.” Uh oh, you know what that usually means. But for once that notice from a credit card issuer announcing a change in terms had good news for cardholders, reversing an industry trend.

Buried in the linked detailed brochure are these generous improvements in benefits:

*MOUSE PRINT:

“Citi Price Rewind,” the card issuer’s name for their price guarantee (if an item is advertised for less within 60 days, you get back the difference) now will cover price differences up to $500 per item instead of just $300, and the maximum total claim you can make per year is more than doubled to $2500.

*MOUSE PRINT:

“Extended warranty” which previously doubled the manufacturer’s warranty up to an additional year, now gives you 24 months of extra protection even on manufacturer’s warranties as short as 90 days. This is a HUGE new benefit for shoppers.

*MOUSE PRINT:

“Return protection,” which provides that the credit card issuer will buy back an item you want to return if the seller will not accept it, increases from a protection period of 60 days after purchase to 90 days after.

*MOUSE PRINT:

“Trip cancellation and interruption coverage” which provides a refund of certain travel purchases if unforeseen events occur, is substantially expanded. The old policy only covered $1500 of expenses per year. The new policy covers up to $3000 per trip. The new policy also greatly expands the definition “family” to even include a family pet that may have a life-threatening illness.

There are many additional changes in contract language in the new set of benefits compared to the old.

A few words of caution: this list of benefits is not all-inclusive, and does not apply to all Citi credit cards. At a minimum, it does apply to the Citi Double Cash card. These new benefits go into effect on May 15, 2016.

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