t^BusXNESS & FINANCE
The Federal Trade Commission yesterday charged GeorgeÛªs Radio and Television Co., a major Washington area appliance retailer, with failing to give consumers required information about the warranties on products.</br></br>The complaint was the first issued by the FTC under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act, which established federal standards for warranties on consumer products. The FTCÛªs rules outlining what manufacturers and retailers must tell consumers about the terms of warranties on appliances and other consumer products costing more than $15 went into effect on Jan. 1, 1977.</br></br>The law, and the regulations implementing it, require that warranties be disclosed completely, labeled either Û¢Û¢full" or ÛÏlimitedÛ and be available for the consumer to read and compare before buying. Û¢ Û¢	By giving consumers, what it calls "GeorgeÛªs extended limited warranty,Û violates the requirement that a warranty be designated exclusively limited or full. A full warranty requires that a defective product be repaired or replaced within a given time.</br></br>Û¢	Failed to clearly and conspicuously disclose what parts or components of the products are covered by or excluded from each warranty offered, and when the warranty time period begins.</br></br>Û¢	Failed to make manufacturersÛª and its own warranties available prior to sale. It may have set up binders containing the information, but failed to give consumers ready access to them, the FTC complaint charged.