• Coverage provided by an extended warranty
• How to have an additional warranty enforced
• If the compagny goes out of business
• Cancelling an additional warranty

A merchant can offer you an additional warranty for purchase. In case of a defect of the appliance you bought, the additional warranty allows for replacement or a refund. In general, there are 2 types of additional warranties:

• The extended warranty. This warranty extends the duration of the warranty that is offered free of charge by the merchant or the manufacturer. This type of warranty is honoured by the merchant that sold the piece of furniture to you or the manufacturer that made it.
• The "insurance" type of warranty. This protection is additional to the warranty that is offered free of charge by the merchant or the manufacturer. It is usually honoured by a third party.

Coverage offered by an additional warranty

Always read the warranty contract carefully to learn:

• what is covered;
• what is not covered (the exclusions);
• the conditions of application.

How to have an additional warranty enforced

You must contact the merchant, manufacturer or any other person responsible for the additional warranty and follow these steps:

1. Ask them to repair the item, have it repaired, or authorize you to have it repaired. You must demonstrate that:
   • the item has a defect that is covered by the additional warranty;
   • you respected the terms of the contract.
2. If your request is denied, try to come to an agreement. The Negotiating With a Merchant page explains the procedure to follow.
3. If the negotiation fails, you can send a formal notice to the merchant, manufacturer or person responsible for the warranty. The Sending a Formal Notice page provides details on this subject.
4. If the request expressed in the formal notice does not bring about the desired results or remains unanswered, you can turn to the courts. The Filing a Complaint With the Small Claims Court provides further details.

If the company goes out of business

Generally speaking, the law does not provide for specific protection rules regarding amounts paid to obtain an additional warranty. If the company that sold you an additional warranty closes its doors, you may not be able to recover the amount you paid.

However, you may be able to recover the amounts paid in one specific case: if the protection came into effect more than 2 months after the purchase, in which case the company was required to deposit these amounts in a trust account. Note, however, that this does not apply to “insurance”-type additional warranties.

If you purchased an "insurance" type of warranty for an automobile, and the company can no longer honour it, you have recourse options. In order to carry out their operations, additional warranty merchants in the automobile industry must provide a security to the Office de la protection du consommateur. This amount could be used to compensate you should the merchant fail to abide by their obligations.

You can contact the Office to find out how to file a claim.

Cancelling an additional warranty

You have 10 days following the purchase of an additional warranty to cancel it without any fees or penalties.

To cancel an additional warranty, you must send a written notice to the merchant within the 10-day deadline. It is cancelled as soon as you send this notice. If you had already paid for this warranty, the merchant must reimburse you as soon as possible.

The 10-day deadline begins the day after the date on which you purchased the additional warranty. If the 10th day falls on a weekend or statutory holiday, the deadline is extended to the next business day.

This right of cancellation does not apply to an additional warranty contract entered into with an insurer authorized by the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF). The AMF’s Register of firms and individuals authorized to practice lets you check whether you did business with such an insurer. Information on cancelling this type of contract is available on the AMF website.

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