BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 1326
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1326 (Roth)
As Amended June 18, 2014
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :37-0
BUSINESS & PROFESSIONS 12-0
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|Ayes:|Bonilla, Jones, | | |
| |Bocanegra, Campos, | | |
| |Eggman, Gordon, Hagman, | | |
| |Maienschein, Mullin, | | |
| |Skinner, Ting, Wilk | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the warranty period for hearing aids to begin
on the initial date of delivery to the buyer instead of on the
date of completion of fitting, extends the 30-day warranty
period to 45 days, and requires the written warranty to specify
the initial date of delivery and the expiration date of the
warranty. Specifically, this bill :
1)Requires all new and used hearing aids sold in California to
be accompanied by the retail seller's written warranty which
shall contain the following language:
This hearing aid is warranted to be specifically fit
for the particular needs of you, the buyer. If the
hearing aid is not initially fit for your particular
needs, it may be returned to the seller within 45 days
of the initial date of delivery to you. If you return
the hearing aid, the seller will either adjust or
replace the hearing aid or promptly refund the total
amount paid. This warranty does not affect the
protections and remedies you have under other laws.
2)Authorizes the retail seller to specify any longer period for
the return of an unfit hearing aid.
3)On the initial date of delivery, requires the seller to revise
the written warranty to include the initial date of delivery
to the buyer and the expiration date of the warranty.
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4)Requires, if the warranty period relating to an implied or
express warranty has tolled for specified reasons, that the
warranty period for hearing aids resumes on the date upon
which the repaired or serviced hearing aid is delivered to the
buyer, or five days after the buyer is notified the hearing
aid is repaired or serviced and is available for the buyer's
possession, whichever is earlier.
5)Requires a hearing aid seller, after receiving the hearing aid
for warranty repairs or service, to provide to the buyer at
the time of delivery a work order or receipt that specifies
the date the warranty period resumes and the revised
expiration date of the warranty, as adjusted to reflect the
suspension of the warranty period under the tolling
provisions.
FISCAL EFFECT : None. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS :
1)This bill extends the statutory warranty period for hearing
aids and clarifies warranty tolling provisions. This bill is
sponsored by Hearing Healthcare Providers California.
2)According to the author, "The technology of hearing aids has
advanced significantly since Song-Beverly was introduced in
1979. At that time, hearing aids were analog; 'fitting' them
meant turning the volume up or down. Modern digital hearing
aids convert sound into a code that can be adjusted to amplify
specific parts of the sound to meet an individual's needs.
Due to this additional complexity, the fitting of a hearing
aid takes longer, with each fitting requiring the hearing aid
be returned to the provider for adjustment? The problem lies
with the several interpretation[s] of what completion of
fitting means in Song-Beverly. Currently, the 30 days may
toll, only to be restarted with each successive trip to the
provider. The result is a warranty period that can last
upwards of a year or more? The purpose of this bill is to
provide a defined and reliable warranty period for new and
used hearing aid devices."
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3)Technological advances in digital hearing aids have increased
the effectiveness of hearing aids dramatically, which have
also increased the cost and complexity of these devices.
Hearing aids may range from a few hundred to a few thousand
dollars (and costs may double if two hearing aids are
required), and "fitting" the hearing aid may require multiple
visits and readjustments.
4)In California, the SpeechLanguage Pathology and Audiology
Board (Board) licenses and regulates over 700 audiologists,
over 900 dispensing audiologists, and over 1,000 hearing aid
dispensers. Audiologists provide services to individuals with
hearing, balance, and related communic5)ative disorders, and
dispensing audiologists are licensed audiologists who are
certified to fit and sell hearing aids. Hearing aid
dispensers fit or sell hearing aids to individuals with
impaired hearing.
These licensees are required to provide to the buyer of a
hearing aid a written receipt signed by, or on behalf of, the
licensee that contains, among other things, the date of the
sale, specifications on the hearing aid sold, the address
where the licensee shall be available to fit, adjust, or
service the hearing aid, and the terms of any guarantee or
written warranty as required by the Song-Beverly Act, which
provides warranty provisions for consumers of assistive
devices.
6)The product warranty or "right of return" provisions of
Song-Beverly apply to the sale and refund of hearing aids.
According to the Board's 2012 Sunset Report, the provisions of
Song-Beverly have been difficult to enforce because the
warranty language is vague and is interpreted in several
different ways, with the resulting confusion hurting both the
consumer and the hearing aid dispenser.
Currently, Song-Beverly requires that every sale of an assistive
device at retail be accompanied by the retail seller's implied
warranty that the device is specifically fit for the
particular needs of the buyer. Song-Beverly also requires
that at the time of sale, the assistive device include the
retail seller's written warranty which states that the device
is warranted to be specifically fit for the particular needs
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of the buyer and that it may be returned to the seller "within
30 days of the date of receipt or completion of the fitting,
whichever comes later," so that the seller can either adjust
or replace the device, or refund the amount paid if the device
is not fit for the buyer's needs.
In its Sunset Report, the Board found that the term "completion
of the fitting" does not have a meaning that is universally
understood or agreed upon by either the retailer or the buyer.
As a result, the retailer must ultimately determine when the
device is deemed "fit," and the buyer must also be in
agreement because the term implies some level of satisfaction
with the fit of the hearing aid. Often, an agreement cannot
be reached, and the hearing aid dispenser is faced with
ongoing adjustments and exchanges with no foreseeable end date
to the 30-day warranty period. The Board states that it is
difficult to enforce or even clearly delineate a warranty
period that is interpreted to start on the date the consumer
was satisfied.
This bill would modify the warranty provisions for hearing aids
by eliminating the "completion of fitting" standard that can
determine the start of the warranty period, which could lead
to an overall shorter warranty period, but would also increase
that existing 30-day period to 45 days based on date of
receipt. The purpose is to prevent the warranty clock from
"restarting" at 30 days every time a hearing aid is adjusted,
which in some cases can cause a 30-day warranty to last
multiple months. This bill would start the warranty "clock"
upon initial delivery, only stopping or "tolling" when the
hearing aid is being repaired or refitted, and would require
disclosures of the warranty expiration date and provisions for
tolling. These changes, in addition to changes clarifying when
the tolling provisions resume, would provide clear guidance to
buyers and retailers to help them understand the warranty
period.
Analysis Prepared by : Eunie Linden / B., P. & C.P. / (916)
319-3301
FN: 0004117
SB 1326
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