Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/901126
• Self-cleaning powder coated finish! • Powder coated finish will not fade or rust! • Lifetime warranty For example, the outdoor lighting product shown in Figure 1 was pur- chased and installed 26 months prior to this photograph by a professional land- scape contractor. The location was a tropical environment within a few hun- dred yards of the Pacific Ocean. The property owners complained that the finish on the lighting fixtures failed and they insisted that they be replaced under warranty. The product data specifica- tion sheet listed the following: • New energy-efficient LED technology • Durable cast aluminum construction • State-of-the-art matte black powder coated finish will not fade • Lifetime warranty The commercial lighting fixture manu- facturer argued that the product is not rusting, it is corroding. They refused to honor the warranty claim based upon their interpretation of the wording. Their legal team stated that the "Warran- ty" is defined as the assurance that is given by the seller that the thing sold is exactly as represented in the sale agree- ment and that no guarantee was ever made. To validate their position, they described a guarantee as a pledge given by a maker of an article in the sales agree- ment that they will repair or replace it free if it is unsatisfactory or develops defects within the stated time of the date of pur- chase. They claimed that there was no sales agreement or guarantee statement regarding finish quality. The product was made from cast aluminum and pow- der coated as stated, and there was no time period specified despite the refer- ence to Lifetime Warranty as advertised. We are living in the age of electronic information overload, and the quality and accuracy of the information that we are getting from advertisers is understand- ably suspect, to say the least. As the saying goes, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is not true. The consumer should always be cautious of advertising statements that seem to be unrealistic. When promotional material is created for the purpose of swaying the decision- making process of the consumer, exag- gerations and misleading statements are often made. The legal responsibility and liability of these statements is a matter for the lawyers to sort out. For the rest of us, we simply need to be realistic with our beliefs as we attempt to filter this information and make sound purchas- ing decisions based on facts. make unrealistic claims regarding finish quality. These claims range from over- statements to complete lies. Listed below are some of the unrealistic statements that have been made by product manu- facturers in an attempt to promote the finish quality of their products. • Our products provide a maintenance- free powder coated finish! • Powder coated finish will last a life- time! • State-of-the-art powder coating finish requires no maintenance! Figure 1 Misleading Advertising 20 POWDER COATING, November 2017 Figure 2 Catastrophic Adhesion Failure