The Federal Trade Commission said Wednesday that it gave final approval to consent agreements with Sears, Roebuck and Co., Montgomery Ward & Co. and four subsidiaries of R.H. Macy & Co., settling FTC charges that they failed to make warranties available to customers prior to purchase.
A 1976 FTC rule requires retailers to provide customers with manufacturers’ product warranties for any item that costs more than $15. Stores are supposed to make the warranties available by displaying the information near the product or informing customers that warranties are available through signs in locations throughout the store.
In another action, the FTC charged Dillard Department Stores Inc. with violating federal law by making it “unreasonably difficult” for customers to remove unauthorized charges from store credit card bills.
The FTC is seeking an order requiring Dillard’s to give refunds or credits to affected customers.
In an administrative complaint, the FTC said Dillard’s has forced customers reporting unauthorized charges to file notarized affidavits and to testify in court against unauthorized users.
