Computer with used parts: the label, the 10 days and the full refund

It is the law that turns “may contain used parts” into a mandatory warning with a minimum size and a fixed location, and that attaches a consequence to non-compliance: if you were not warned and the equipment fails because of those parts, you get a repair on the clock and, if the clock is missed, a full refund.

Any consumer who buys computers or their components containing used, recycled or reconstructed parts where the seller did not comply with the warning the law requires, and whose equipment develops a defect as a result of containing such parts. The right is exercised within the year of the sale.

• That it be a computer or its components containing used, recycled or reconstructed parts.Verified against the official source
• That the seller did not comply with the warning the law requires.Verified against the official source
• That the equipment developed a defect as a result of containing such parts, and that the claim be made within the year of the sale.Verified against the official source

Information pending verification.

1. 1

   Step 1: Look for the label in two places, not one

   The law requires the notice, poster, label or tag no smaller than one (1) inch by two (2) inches, in a visible and legible place, both on the equipment and on the box it comes in, and in Spanish and English. Being on the box is not enough if it is not on the equipment, and vice versa.

2. 2

   Step 2: Claim within the year of the sale

   The right the law creates is bounded: the consumer who bought without the warning and whose equipment developed a defect as a result of containing those parts is entitled, within the year of the sale, to repair. Keep the dated receipt; it is what sets the year.

3. 3

   Step 3: Ten days, or twenty if it leaves Puerto Rico

   The repair must occur within no more than ten (10) days from delivery for that purpose, or twenty (20) days if the defect is repaired outside Puerto Rico’s jurisdiction. The clock does not start when you complained: it starts when you delivered the equipment for repair. Ask for written proof of the delivery date.

4. 4

   Step 4: Past the deadline, the refund is total

   If the seller fails to repair within the aforementioned term, the buyer is entitled to a full refund of the price paid for the computer and its components, once these are delivered to the seller. The law says “full,” not prorated for use.

5. 5

   Step 5: That equipment cannot be resold

   The law imposes an absolute ban on selling computers or components containing used, recycled or reconstructed parts that were returned for a defect resulting from containing such parts and whose repair was not achieved within the specified term. If you suspect you were sold one of those, it is part of the complaint.

6. 6

   Step 6: The complaint goes to DACO

   The law empowers the Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs to issue orders and impose fines for violations of the regulation, as provided in Articles 13 and 18 of Act No. 5 of April 23, 1973, as amended. DACO establishes the regulation under the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act. The step by step of the complaint is in our DACO complaint guide.

The Department of Consumer Affairs is the forum: it regulates the label, issues orders and imposes fines. If the equipment carries a written factory or store warranty, that is an additional claim on its own track and we cover it in the warranty guides. If what you want is to dispose of old equipment, that is the electronics recycling guide.

• Accepting the label only on the box: the law requires it on the equipment and on the box.
• Accepting it in one language: it must be in Spanish and English.
• Counting the ten days from the complaint: they run from delivery of the equipment for repair.
• Letting the year from the sale pass: the right is bounded to that period.
• Accepting a partial refund: the law says full refund of the price paid.
• Not asking for written proof of the date you delivered the equipment to the shop.

These are the government pages this guide is based on.

• Departamento de Asuntos del Consumidor (DACO)

  DACO

  bvirtualogp.pr.gov

• DACO services

  DACO

  www.daco.pr.gov