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Lemon
Law... Automobile Manufacturer’s
“solutions”, “offers” and
“releases”
The
consumer will often call the
manufacturer’s “customer
assistance center” or other
facility offered by the
manufacturer via an “800”
number to “assist” in
resolving the customer’s request
for help, or a repurchase or
replacement vehicle under the
California Lemon Law.
It is vitally important to know
that these “assistance
centers” are staffed by people
who are typically recording your
conversation for “quality
control purposes.” The recording
can potentially be used against
the consumer in a later
Arbitration or legal action
depending upon the content of the
recording – that is – if it
benefits the manufacturer’s
position. You should consider
telling the customer assistance
center representative that you
intend to record the conversation
as well, so both parties have a
record of what was said.
In dealing with these “customer
assistance centers,” the
consumer is often given a “case
number”. Do not be misled by the
word “case” or “case
number”. It is not a legal Lemon
Law case, as you might think. It
is simply a reference number used
to retrieve information on your
past call(s) into the “customer
assistance center” when calling
in again.
Often the agent at the customer
assistance center will “offer”
a “solution” to the
consumer’s request for
repurchase or replacement of their
defective vehicle by offering a
Service Contract, Extended
Warranty, the return of a few
monthly car payments, or other
“resolutions” to the
consumer’s request for
California “lemon law”
assistance. These “offers” are
often accompanied by a
“release” form that forever
releases the manufacturer from any
legal responsibility to you for
current or future problems you may
encounter with your vehicle. These
"offers" and
"resolutions" do not
comply with California state lemon
law requirements in any way or
fashion. Car owner beware!
Some customer assistance centers
will simply “re-direct” the
customer back to their selling
dealer to get another repair.
Others will “inform” the
customer that the customer
assistance center will
“contact” the repairing
dealership. This often simply
leads to another repair visit,
with no satisfaction to the
consumer for their defective
vehicle. Some consumers have
likened this to the
“merry-go-round” syndrome. The
consumer does not like the
“ride” and “wants to get
off”.
You don't have to deal with any of
this nonsense. Simply call our
offices at 1-800-CA-LEMON
(1-800-225-3666) to speak to one
of the professionals at our law
firm for immediate help. |
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