European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 16, 1977, Darmstadt, Hesse                                D watch by Marynett emand to see that warranty before you buy. Don t buy if you can t. When it comes to new cars several readers have reported to stars and stripes that salesmen Haven t Handwritten warranties available for them to see before ordering that new buggy. Clifford Hasenyager a department of defense civilian working in Dusseldorf Germany for example says he was told by a general motors dealer at cafes in wies Baden that the terms of the new car guarantee just weren t available in writing. This definitely should not be the Case. Starting Jan. 1, 1977, the Magnuson Moss warranty act rules that warranties on consumer products costing More than $15 must be available for you to look at before you buy so you can comparison shop this is just one of the protections offered the consumer by this act. It pays to be familiar with just what is covered and to demand your rights. Under the act All warranties must be easy to read and understand. They must be written in Ordinary language not  Fine print in t allowed. Also the customer should be aware of the fact that every term and condition of the warranty must be spelled out in writing. If it in t there it in t part of the warranty so beware of Oral explanations of the warranty. What the Sale clerk says won t count when it comes to service if it has not been included in the written contract. Many customers Are confused by the terms full and limited warranties. Here s what they signify. A full warranty offers a lot of Protection. A defective product will be fixed or replaced free including removal and re installation if necessary. It will be fixed within a reasonable time after you com Plain. You will not have to do anything unreasonable to get warranty service. Such As ship a piano to the factory Friday september 16, 1977 the warranty is Good for anyone who owns the product during the warranty period. If the product can t be fixed or has t been after a reasonable number of tries you get your Choice of a new one or your Money Back. A full warranty however does t have to cover the whole product. It May cover Only part like the picture tube of a to. Or it May leave out some parts like tires Ona car. And the limited warranty a warranty is limited if it gives you anything less than what a full one gives. For example a limited warrant May cover Only parts not labor. Allow Only a pro rata refund or credit. You get a smaller refund or credit the longer you had the product require you to return a heavy product to the store for service. Cover Only the first purchaser. Charge for handling. The limited warranty is the Type used by the car companies Selling through cafes. Normally your warranty rights under either of these warranties include the right to consequential dam  this Means the company must not Only six the defective product but also pay for any damage the product did. A company can usually get out of this extra responsibility by saying in the warranty that it does not cover con sequential damages. For example if your car s Antifreeze is faulty and the engine Block cracks you May get Back Only the Cost of the Antifreeze. You la find that no responsibility for consequential damages clause inserted in overseas car contracts. For example american motors corporation am International division and it is not alone states that it does not assume any responsibility for loss of use of car loss of wages inconvenience or other items which would be considered consequent ional  this Means that overseas customers Are excluded from the am s buyer Protection plan offered customers in the . Use of a leaner car trip interruption Protection toll free hotline Etc., Are not offered in overseas areas. Under the Magnuson Moss warranty act your warranty rights Don t run out at the end of the warranty for prob lems you complained about during the warranty period. The stars and stripes Page 19 ". Warranties on consumer products costing More than $15 must be to  . No. Or Hijii  Raj ii ii available for you to look at before you buy. " the company must still take care of those problems no matter How Long it takes. What can you do if you have problems Here s what the Federal Trade commission Etc advises make sure you have contacted the right person in the company. If the manufacturer gives a warranty Don t Stop with the seller. Write or Call the manufacturer at the address Given in the warranty. Explain exactly what you think it owes you under the warranty repair replacement refund consequential damages. Contact a local consumer Protection office or com plaint Center. Overseas the military can take prob lems to their local jag offices if your product was manufactured after july 4. 1975, you can sue the company under the warranty act. If you win you can get Money damages or any other Type of Relief the court decides to give you. This includes the Cost of bringing the lawsuit and attorney s fees. If the product was manufactured before july 4, 1975, you can still sue the company under state Law. You should con tact a lawyer for information. Report violations of the Law to the Etc. It cannot help directly with a warranty problem but it needs to know if companies Are obeying warranty rules. It s also Wise to do some warranty checking before buying a product. Find out if the company has a Good or bad reputation for living up to its warranty to report violations of the warranty Law write to the Federal Trade commission warranties Washington. . 20580. For copies of a pamphlet spelling out the War Ranty act write to the Etc Legal and Public records. Room 130, Washington . 20580. Camping americans have been taking to the Hills and shorelines in record numbers and a lot of them Are finding accommodations in anew kind of Campground those operated under franchises from National chains. Most of these Chain campgrounds which have sprung up in the last 10 years Are far More luxurious than those in state and National Parks. Almost All have swimming pools grocery and Supply stores laundry facilities playgrounds game rooms and hot showers. Names such As campgrounds of America United safari International Jelly Stone Parks and Kamp Dakota Are becoming As familiar to campers As Sheraton Hilton and Howard John son Are to other travellers. It s just like the Motel business said David Dodd vice president of marketing for safari which is based in Knoxville Tenn. Except the customer brings his room with  these companies Are reporting that people seeking to operate franchises Are knocking on their doors. We receive about 400 inquiries a week during the summer said Harold Lloyd vice president of sales for campgrounds of America headquartered in Billings mont., and about 10,000 inquiries in All each  the business has its Pitfalls. Energy shortages could put a crimp in camping and that kind of franchising if it Mush rooms could result in the same kind of saturation the fast food franchisers encountered. For the camper a franchise sign can represent a Standard of Quality. All the franchise companies attempt to build camper loyalty guiding people from Campground to Camp ground All in their own systems of course. There Are frills too. Some campgrounds have water slides a sort of log flume ride without the log. Outdoor Whirlpool Baths Are available As Are Tennis courts. At least one Campground features ceramics classes. The Industry places the campgrounds into two classifications destination and transient. Destination campgrounds Are those near vacation areas or Parks with enough attractions to hold campers sever Al Days. Most of the campgrounds in Florida and those near Yellowstone Park fit into this category. Transient campgrounds Are those in which campers stay usually Only one night on their Way to another place. Campgrounds of America says there Are 13,650 campgrounds in the United states. The publicly owned Sites total 5,470 the rest Are privately held. About 16 per cent or 1,300 of the private campgrounds Are affiliated with a franchise company. Campgrounds is the Industry giant with 830 Sites nationally. United safari is second with 120 Sites. At least two Motel chains Are getting into the business. Ramada Camp inn owns 14 Parks and trav a Parks owned by Holiday inn has 36 Sites. Dave Collins executive vice president of safari said 90 per cent of its campgrounds Are run by owner operators and usually these people Are husband and  rates for camping at the Parks Are set by the owners not in the franchise Compa Nies and statistics Are hard to come by. The fees for one night stays Range from $4 to As High As $15, depending on the location and time of year. Collins pointed out that a Good por Tion of a Campground s income is generated by the extras such As pinball machines Coin operated laundries and store revenues. In Europe the Price of gasoline is three times what it is Here says Harold Lloyd of campgrounds of America and they have More campers than we have. Of course they Don t drive motor Homes or pull air streams but More of them Camp. The american family enjoys the amp ing Way of travel. Because of Energy prob lems camping May change but i Don t think it will Ever be  not by Louise Cook associated press of Long should you keep your old income tax returns when can you throw out can celeb checks where should you store copies of your insurance policies if you Don t know the answers you re not alone. Many americans Are confused about which personal records they need to hang on to and for How Long. The Federal consumer information Center reports that the Booklet keeping records what to discard is one of the Agency s most popular. The Booklet is available at no charge from the Center dept. S25e, Pueblo colo., 81h9. Meanwhile if you want to Start Clearing some of the clutter from household draw ers files and desks Here Are a few tips you do not need to keep All cancelled checks. Copies of cancelled checks Are usually available at your Bank. You should save checks you need for income tax purposes to prove business expenditures for example and review the collection periodically to see which ones Are outdated. Federal income tax returns should be kept for at least three years. That s the amount of time the internal Revenue service has to audit your return. There Are some exceptions to the three year limit however. If you failed to report More than 25 per cent of your Gross income for example the government has six years to collect the tax or Start Legal proceedings. There Are no limits for prosecution if you filed a return that is proved fraudulent. Time limits for state income tax audits vary Check with local authorities. Keep receipts and sales slips for big ticket items particularly those covered by a warranty. You May need proof of Purchase if you have a problem. 0 keep a household inventory in Case of fire or burglary. Last the item the Date purchased the Cost the Model number if possible the Brand name the dealer s name and a general description. Snapshots of your rooms also can help identify possessions. Update the inventory with any major Purchase. Irreplaceable papers marriage and birth certificates divorce adoption arid citizenship papers and and other do u ments that Are recorded with the courts or the government should be kept in a Safe Deposit Box. One copy of your household inventory also should go in the Safe Deposit Box. Keep another copy at Home and give a third copy to your insurance company tax returns education and employment records Bank books and social Security cards do not need the Protection of a Safe Deposit Box they can be replaced relatively easily