BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 1326|
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UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Bill No: SB 1326
Author: Roth (D)
Amended: 6/18/14
Vote: 21
SENATE BUSINESS, PROF. & ECON. DEV.COMM. : 8-0, 4/7/14
AYES: Lieu, Wyland, Berryhill, Block, Corbett, Galgiani, Hill,
Padilla
NO VOTE RECORDED: Hernandez, Vacancy
SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE : 7-0, 4/29/14
AYES: Jackson, Anderson, Corbett, Lara, Leno, Monning, Vidak
SENATE FLOOR : 37-0, 5/5/14
AYES: Anderson, Beall, Berryhill, Block, Cannella, Corbett,
Correa, De León, DeSaulnier, Evans, Fuller, Gaines, Galgiani,
Hancock, Hernandez, Hill, Hueso, Huff, Jackson, Knight, Lara,
Leno, Lieu, Liu, Mitchell, Monning, Morrell, Nielsen, Padilla,
Pavley, Roth, Steinberg, Torres, Vidak, Walters, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Calderon, Wright, Yee
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/7/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Hearing aids: warranty: work order or receipt
SOURCE : Hearing Healthcare Providers California
DIGEST : This bill clarifies hearing aid warranty provisions
by requiring a retailer to provide written warranty beginning
and expiration dates from the time the hearing aids are
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initially delivered to the buyer; clarifies the hearing aid
warranty tolling period after repair or service; and requires
the seller to provide a work order or receipt with the date the
warranty period resumes and the revised expiration date of the
warranty adjusted to reflect the suspension of the warranty
period during repair or service.
Assembly Amendments make technical changes.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides, under the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act
(Song-Beverly), implied warranties and remedies relating to
new and used assistive devices.
2. Requires all new and used assistive devices sold in
California to contain the retail seller's written warranty,
in at least 10-point bold type, as follows:
The assistive device is warranted to be specifically
fit for the particular needs of the buyer;
The device may be returned to the seller within 30
days, or a longer period if specified by the seller, of
the date of actual receipt by the buyer or completion of
fitting by the seller, whichever occurs later, if the
device is not specifically fit for the buyer's particular
needs; and
The seller must either adjust or replace the device or
promptly refund the total amount paid by the buyer if the
buyer returns the device to the seller.
1. Provides that if the buyer returns the assistive device
within the written warranty period, the seller shall, without
charge and within a reasonable time, adjust the device or
replace it with a device that is specifically fit for the
particular needs of the buyer.
2. Provides that if the seller does not adjust or replace the
device so that it is specifically fit for the particular
needs of the buyer, the seller must promptly refund to the
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buyer the total amount paid for the assistive device and any
other consideration exchanged as part of the transaction, and
the sale is rescinded.
3. Provides that if a sale of assistive devices is rescinded,
the seller may not charge, penalize, or impose any other fee
on the buyer in connection with the purchase, fitting,
financing, or return of the device.
4. Provides that a warranty period is tolled for the period
from the date upon which the buyer either delivers
nonconforming goods to the seller for warranty repairs or
service, or notifies the seller of the nonconformity of the
goods, until the date upon which the repaired or serviced
goods are delivered to the buyer, the buyer is notified the
goods are repaired or serviced and are available, or the
buyer is notified that repairs or service is completed, if
repairs or service is made at the buyer's residence.
5. Provides that the warranty period shall not be deemed
expired if either or both of the following situations occur:
The warranty repairs or service has not been performed
due to delays caused by circumstances beyond the control
of the buyer; or
The warranty repairs or service performed upon the
nonconforming goods did not remedy the nonconformity for
which such repairs or service was performed and the buyer
notified the manufacturer or seller of this failure within
60 days after the repairs or service was completed.
1. Requires the seller to provide to the buyer a receipt
showing the date of purchase.
2. Provides that, if the seller performed warranty repairs or
service, the seller must provide to the buyer a work order or
receipt with the date of return and either the date the buyer
was notified that the goods were repaired or serviced or,
where applicable, the date the goods were shipped or
delivered to the buyer.
This bill:
1. Revises existing warranty provisions for hearing aids to
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require the retail seller to provide to the buyer with a
written warranty that the hearing aid is specifically fit for
the particular needs of the buyer, and if the hearing aid is
not initially fit for the buyer's particular needs, the
hearing aid may be returned to the seller within 45 days of
the initial date of delivery to the buyer.
2. Provides that if the buyer returns the hearing aid to the
retail seller, the seller will either adjust or replace the
hearing aid or promptly refund the total amount paid.
3. Authorizes the retail seller to specify a warranty period
longer than 45 days.
4. Requires the retail seller, on the initial date of delivery,
to revise the written warranty to include the initial date of
delivery to the buyer of the hearing aid and the expiration
date of the warranty.
5. Specifies that the warranty period for hearing aids resumes
on the date upon which (a) the repaired or serviced hearing
aids are delivered to the buyer, or (b) five days after the
buyer is notified the hearing aids are repaired or serviced
and are available for the buyer's possession, whichever is
earlier.
6. Requires hearing aid sellers, after receiving the hearing
aids for warranty repairs or service, to provide to the buyer
at the time of delivery to the buyer a work order or receipt
specifying (a) the date the warranty period resumes, and (b)
the revised expiration date of the warranty, as adjusted to
reflect the suspension of the warranty period.
Background
In 1979, Song-Beverly established warranty provisions for
assistive devices, including hearing aids. At that time,
hearing aids were analog and amplified all sounds equally, and a
completed fitting of the hearing aid primarily involved turning
the hearing aid sound up or down.
Since 1979, analog hearing aids have been slowly phased out in
favor of digital hearing aids, which utilize computer chips to
convert incoming sounds into a digital code. The computer chips
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are adjusted based on each individual's hearing loss and
listening needs. As such, a successful fitting of digital
hearing aids may take a year or more, and each fitting may
require a consumer to return the digital hearing aids to the
provider for additional adjustments.
Under Song-Beverly, hearing aid purchasers have 30 days from
actual receipt by the purchaser or completion of fitting by the
seller, whichever occurs later, to return the hearing aid for a
replacement or for a full refund. (Civil Code Section
1793.02(a).) With the advent of digital hearing aids and
extended timeframes for fittings, and because Song-Beverly
provides that the warranty begins at the time of completion of
fitting or actual possession of the hearing aid by the buyer,
whichever is later, hearing aid consumers and providers have
become uncertain as to when the warranty begins. Further,
consumers may or may not recall or have documentation to support
the purchase or return dates over the course of the fitting
process.
This bill revises the warranty and tolling provisions for
hearing aids under Song-Beverly to clarify the warranty period.
Comments
The author writes:
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 interpretations 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.
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The purpose of this bill is to provide a defined and reliable
warranty period for new and used hearing aid devices.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: No Local:
No
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/7/14)
Hearing Healthcare Providers California (source)
AA Hearing Aids Center
Advanced Ear Care
American Hearing Aid Center of the South Bay, Inc.
Bartlett's Hearing Aids
California Academy of Audiology
Carlson's Hearing Aid Center
Creekside Hearing Aid Service
Gillett Hearing Aid Center
Hearing Aid Systems, Inc.
Miracle-Ear Center
Sears Hearing Aid Centers
Speech-Language Pathology & Audiology & Hearing Aid Dispensers
Board
Twin Cities Hearing Aid Center
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The bill's sponsor, the Hearing
Healthcare Providers California, and supporters write,
"Song-Beverly does not clearly define when certain warranty and
right of return provisions apply to hearing aids. The vagueness
of these provisions leads to confusion by the hearing aid
dispenser and the consumer and makes it very difficult for the
Board to mediate consumer complaints when parties involved have
different interpretations of their rights and responsibilities."
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 78-0, 8/7/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Allen, Ammiano, Bigelow, Bloom,
Bocanegra, Bonilla, Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian
Calderon, Campos, Chau, Chávez, Chesbro, Conway, Cooley,
Dababneh, Dahle, Daly, Dickinson, Donnelly, Eggman, Fong,
Frazier, Beth Gaines, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon,
Gorell, Gray, Grove, Hagman, Hall, Harkey, Roger Hernández,
Holden, Jones, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Linder, Logue, Lowenthal,
Maienschein, Mansoor, Medina, Melendez, Mullin, Muratsuchi,
Nazarian, Nestande, Olsen, Pan, Patterson, Perea, John A.
Pérez, V. Manuel Pérez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
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Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting, Wagner,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Wilk, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NO VOTE RECORDED: Fox, Vacancy
MW:k 8/8/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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