Rhode Island § 6-45-5 - Consumer Enforcement of Assistive Technology Device Warranties

§ 6-45-5. Replacement or refund for device.

(a) If, after a reasonable number of attempts to repair, a nonconformity develops in a new assistive technology device or demonstrator, the manufacturer shall carry out the requirement under subsections (a)(1) and (a)(2) at the sole option of the consumer upon his or her request for it:

(1)(i) In the case of a sale, the manufacturer shall refund to the consumer and to any holder of a perfected security interest, as their interest may appear, the full purchase price plus any finance charge or sales tax paid by the consumer at the point of sale and collateral costs, less a reasonable allowance for use.

(ii) In the case of a lease, the manufacturer shall refund to the lessor and to any holder of a perfected security interest, as their interest may appear, the current value of the lease and refund to the consumer the amount that the consumer paid under the lease plus any collateral costs, less a reasonable allowance for use.

(2) The manufacturer shall provide a conforming replacement.

(b)(1) To receive the refund described in subsection (a)(1) or the replacement described in subsection (a)(2) the consumer shall offer to the manufacturer of the device or its authorized dealer to transfer possession of the device.

(2) The manufacturer shall make the refund required by this section within fourteen (14) calendar days after the offer described in this subsection.

(3) The manufacturer shall make the replacement required by this section within thirty (30) calendar days after the offer described in this subsection.

(4) If the replacement required by this section is not made within fourteen (14) calendar days after the offer described in this subsection, then the manufacturer shall provide the consumer a loaner for use until replacement is made.

(5) The manufacturer may require that, simultaneously with the manufacturer timely making the refund payment described in subsection (a)(1) of this section or the replacement described in subsection (a)(2) of this section, the consumer shall deliver possession of the original device to the manufacturer or its authorized dealer and sign any documents necessary to, or to provide reasonable evidence of, a transfer of title and possession of the device to any person as the manufacturer shall designate.

(6) The manufacturer may impose the requirements described in subsection (b)(5) of this section only if:

(i) The time and place of the mutual activities described in subsections (b)(2), (b)(3), and (b)(5) are readily accessible to the consumer; and

(ii) The manufacturer provides the consumer a writing that is received no later than four (4) business days before the time of these mutual activities and states in clear and understandable language the time and place of these mutual activities and the requirements allowed by subsection (b)(5) that the consumer must meet at that time and place.

(c) A reasonable allowance for use shall be that amount obtained by multiplying the full purchase price (or in the case of a lease, the total amount for which the lease obligates the consumer) by a fraction, the denominator of which is the number of days in the useful life of the device and the numerator of which is the number of days after delivery of the device to the consumer and prior to the beginning of the first out-of-service period as defined in § 6-45-4(b).

(d) As used in subsection (c) of this section, the useful life of the device equals the greater of:

(1) Five (5) years; or

(2) Any other time that the consumer may prove to be the expected useful life of devices of the same kind.

(e) The current value of the lease equals the total amount for which that lease obligates the consumer during the period of the lease remaining after its early termination, plus the lessor’s early termination costs and the value of the device at the lease expiration date, less the lessor’s early termination savings.

(f) In the case of a manufacturer of an assistive technology device system of which one or more component products are not new, if the dealer gives the consumer, prior to his or her decision to enter into the sale or lease, a written statement specifying the component products that are not new and containing the following statement: “You will not have replace-or-refund rights under the Assistive Technology Lemon Law for the component products listed on this sheet”, then the manufacturer shall not have the duties and liabilities of a manufacturer under this section with respect to these component products, but only with respect to component products that are new and to the work performed by the manufacturer in creating the assistive technology device system.