Your receipt faded: the store had to print it on durable material

It is the law that shifts to the business the responsibility for the receipt remaining legible. The statement of motives explains why it was needed: many establishments give consumers receipts or warranty documents whose characters fade over a relatively short period, which can cause serious problems for anyone claiming under the warranty. Before this law, DACO’s Regulation on Deceptive Practices and Advertising provided that a business using a printing technology that fades had to notify the customer to photocopy the receipt so as not to lose the warranty — that is, the duty to run and make a copy was yours. This law reverses that: the receipt must be durable from the start.

Every consumer who acquires goods or services at an establishment operating in Puerto Rico. "Establishment" is any structure, building, premises, warehouse, lot or analogous place where any type of sale, dispensing or distribution of goods and services to consumers takes place.

• Having acquired goods or services at an establishment operating in Puerto Rico.Verified against the official source
• That the receipt or warranty document does not preserve the information for more than a year, or for the warranty term if longer.Verified against the official source

• The faded or blank receipt: it is the evidence of the breach, even if it can no longer be read.
• The warranty document, if the establishment issued you one in writing.

1. 1

   Step 1: Know the exact standard

   The law does not say "lasting a reasonable time". It says the characters must be printed or written on durable materials — permanent ink and paper — guaranteeing preservation of the printed information for a term longer than one (1) year or for the term the warranty on the good or service runs, whichever is greater. If you bought something with a three-year warranty, the receipt must stay legible for those three years.

2. 2

   Step 2: Note the written warranty carries the same duty

   Article 4 extends it: when an establishment operating in Puerto Rico issues a written warranty on goods sold or services rendered, that document must be printed or written on durable materials to the same standard. That is, it is not enough for the receipt to hold up if the warranty paper is the one that fades.

3. 3

   Step 3: Understand what counts as a receipt

   The law defines "purchase receipt" as the document, writing or stub recording the date, time, place, good acquired or type of service provided, and the sum paid by the consumer to the establishment. And it defines "warranty" as the document affirming the fitness and quality of the goods sold or services rendered, involving a commitment to refund, repair, replacement or any other adequate remedy to correct failures, defects or deficiencies during a specific term, through the establishment or the product’s manufacturer.

4. 4

   Step 4: Keep the receipt even if it faded

   It sounds counterintuitive, but a blank receipt is precisely the proof that the establishment did not meet the durable-material standard. Do not throw it away: bring it, with the approximate purchase date and what you bought, when you file the complaint.

5. 5

   Step 5: Take the complaint to DACO

   The Secretary of the Department of Consumer Affairs oversees compliance with this Act and the Regulation issued under it, and orients establishment managers. They may impose on any natural or juridical person who violates its provisions an administrative fine of no less than one hundred (100) dollars and no more than ten thousand (10,000) dollars per infraction. That is the route when the store tells you there is no warranty without a legible receipt.

The Department of Consumer Affairs: the law charged it with approving the implementing Regulation under the Uniform Administrative Procedure Act within one hundred eighty (180) days of its approval, and gives it the power to oversee and fine. If the problem is also that the product’s warranty itself is not being honored, that is a separate claim that also goes through DACO, and for motor vehicles there is a specific warranty law we cover separately.

• Throwing away the faded receipt: blank is precisely the evidence the establishment failed to comply.
• Believing the duty to photocopy is yours: this law moved the duty to the establishment.
• Thinking it only applies to the receipt: a warranty issued in writing carries the same durable-material standard.
• Assuming one year is the ceiling: the standard is more than a year OR the warranty term, whichever is greater.
• Confusing this claim with the product warranty claim: they are two distinct matters before the same DACO.
• Not knowing there is a fine: from one hundred ($100) to ten thousand ($10,000) dollars per infraction.
• Believing a small stand is outside it: the definition of establishment includes any premises, warehouse, lot or analogous place of sale.

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