No-nonsense commercial guarantees

I have repeatedly emphasised that the legal guarantee is valid for two years and not, as certain traders have been misleading consumers into believing, for six months. However, I am still receiving letters saying that they were given a six-month, and not a two-year, guarantee. Another question is: can traders offer six-month guarantees?

There are two types of guarantees, namely:

1. the legal guarantee, which is ours by right and is valid for two years; and

2. the commercial guarantee which is not ours by right.

Traders are legally obliged to offer a legal guarantee for two years covering the consumer against a hidden defect and lack of conformity. On the other hand they are not legally obliged to offer commercial guarantees.

However, if they want to offer consumers a better service, traders can offer commercial guarantees over and above the legal guarantee. It is also worth pointing out that although traders are not obliged to offer commercial guarantees, we still have laws on them.

This column has a list of six suppliers who offer "no-nonsense" commercial guarantees. In 2003 I discussed the matter with the company directors involved and we agreed to set up meetings to ensure that their commercial guarantees conformed to the following eight conditions in accordance with the laws on commercial guarantees which must:

1. be formulated in at least one of the official languages of Malta;

2. set out the name and address of the guarantor, and clearly state the permanent address of the place of trade or business;

3. clearly state the contents of the guarantee and its duration from the date of purchase;

4. clearly specify how a consumer is to proceed to make a claim and to obtain execution of the commercial guarantee;

5. clearly state whether the commercial guarantee is transferable. Unless stated that it is not, this guarantee may be transferred;

6. provide a clear description of the goods or services covered by the commercial guarantee;

7. clearly stipulate what the guarantor undertakes to do if there is a defect in the goods or if the services are not properly carried out; and

8. state that the consumer enjoys rights at law which are not adversely affected by the guarantee.

Indeed, at the time I suspended the publication of our list of companies to holding meetings with the suppliers concerned to ensure that they had complied with these amendments. Moreover, apart from the amendments, I added some extra conditions which suppliers had to adhere to if they wanted to continue to be included in the list. It proved to be well worth the effort even though we lost some companies in the process.

Guarantee conditions

At this stage it is well worth highlighting some of the conditions. First of all, the law only obliges suppliers to inform buyers whether the guarantee is transferable or not. They can choose not to make it transferable as long as they inform the buyer accordingly. However, suppliers in our list must agree to make their guarantee transferable.

With regard to bulky appliances, if their customers come up against faults or breakdowns during the guarantee period, they can inform the suppliers on the telephone. Should it not be possible to sort out the problem on the telephone, these suppliers will call at their customer's address and there will be no 'call-out' fee charged.

Another important aspect of their guarantees is that these suppliers offer coverage for "parts, labour, and transport" for the full guarantee period. Therefore, if you have a problem with them regarding the guarantee terms and conditions, as outlined above, write to me. I have discussed these issues with the managing directors/ general managers concerned.

With such suppliers offering such guarantees, I see no reason why we should accept inferior guarantees. While encouraging you to make the most of the situation, I urge more suppliers to offer full guarantees as outlined above. They are invited to write to me.

However, suppliers interested in joining the list should know that we intend to impose a limit as to how many companies we can have on our list to retain its prestige aspect. Here follows our current list, including details of the relevant suppliers:

Aplan Ltd: Managing director Alex A. Mizzi; general manager Lino Apap. Head office (and outlet): Aplan Centre, Birkirkara Bypass, Birkirkara BKR 14. Tel: 2148-0590, 2148-0593; fax 2148-0598; e-mail: admin@aplan.com.mt.

Centro Casalinga: managing director: Jacques Scerri, MBA, B.Com. (Hons.). Head office: J.J. Scerri Co. Ltd, Quarries Street, St Venera. Tel: 2125-0980/1/2; fax 2123-5942; e-mail: sales@jjscerri. com.

Delta Homecentres: managing director: Maurice Mizzi. Head office: The Lyric, Antonio Bosio Street, Msida. Tel: 2133-1071/2; fax 2138-3920; e-mail: mfmizzi@mhl. mizzi.com.mt.

Forestals (Appliances) Ltd: managing director: Tancred Tabone. Head office: 110, The Strand, Sliema. Tel: 2134-4700/7; fax 2134-4709; e-mail: info@forestals.com. Website: www.forestals.com.

Oxford House Ltd: managing director: John Galea. Head office and outlet: Notabile Road, Mriehel. Tel: 2144-2334; fax 2148-8656; e-mail: info@ oxfordhouse.com.mt. Website www. oxfordhouse.com.mt.

The Phoenix Group: managing director: Steve Petroni. Head office and outlet: Old Railway Track, St Venera. Tel: 2385-2200; Servicing Dept.: 2385-2300; fax: 2144-9216; e-mail: info@phoenixgroupmalta. com. Website: www.phoenixgroupmalta. com.

If you have a problem with these companies on the guarantee terms and conditions, as outlined above, you can write to me.