Guarantee period on imported products

George Stagno Navarra from Sliema writes: I would like to ask about the period of guarantee stipulated/recommended by the European Union to manufacturers of industrial as well as domestic goods. Is there a particular law governing such issues which may apply to individual EU member states? Alternatively, would a product manufactured in any one of the countries forming part of the European Union have to be covered by a manufacturers' guarantee, and which has to be honoured equally in each and every one of the 25 member states?

Yes there is an EU law on guarantees which deals with certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees and makes provision for both legal and commercial guarantee. This law provides that the seller must deliver goods to the consumer which are in conformity with the contract of sale - this is known as the "legal guarantee".

Consumer goods are presumed to be in conformity with the contract if they:

(a) comply with the description given by the seller and possess the qualities of the goods which the seller has held out to the consumer as a sample or model;

(b) are fit for any particular purpose for which the consumer requires them and which he made known to the seller at the time of conclusion of the contract and which the seller has accepted;

(c) are fit for the purposes for which goods of the same type are normally used;

(d) show the quality and performance which are normal in goods of the same type and which the consumer can reasonably expect, given the nature of the goods and taking into account any public statements on the specific characteristics of the goods made about them by the seller, the producer or his representative, particularly in advertising or on labelling.

However, there shall be deemed not to be a lack of conformity if at the time the contract was concluded the consumer was aware, or could not reasonably be unaware of, the lack of conformity.

The law also provides that the seller shall be liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity which exists at the time the goods were delivered. Therefore, in the case of a lack of conformity, the consumer shall be entitled to have the goods brought into conformity free of charge by repair or replacement or to have an appropriate reduction made in the price or the contract rescinded with regard to those goods.

In the first place, the consumer may require the seller to repair the goods or he may require the seller to replace them, in either case free of charge, unless this is impossible or disproportionate. A remedy is considered to be disproportionate if it imposes costs on the seller which, in comparison with the alternative remedy, are unreasonable, taking into account:

(a) the value the goods would have if there were no lack of conformity,

(b) the significance of the lack of conformity and

(c) whether the alternative remedy could be completed without significant inconvenience to the consumer.

Any repair or replacement shall be completed within a reasonable time and without any significant inconvenience to the consumer, taking account of the nature of the goods and the purpose for which the consumer required the goods.

"Free of charge" refers to the costs incurred to bring the goods into conformity, including the cost of postage, labour and materials.

Moreover, in the following cases the consumer may require an appropriate reduction of the price or have the contract rescinded:

(a) if the consumer is entitled to neither repair nor replacement, or

(b) if the seller has not completed the remedy within a reasonable time, or

(c) if the seller has not completed the remedy without significant inconvenience to the consumer.

The consumer is not entitled to have the contract rescinded if the lack of conformity is minor.

The seller shall be held liable where the lack of conformity becomes apparent within two years as from delivery of the goods. This is a Europe-wide guarantee and must therefore be honoured in all EU countries. However, member states may provide that, in order to benefit from his rights, the consumer must inform the seller of the lack of conformity within a period of two months from the date on which he detected such lack of conformity.

This legal guarantee provided by this law subsists irrespective of any commercial guarantee that may be given by a seller/producer. So the legal guarantee is separate and additional to the normal commercial guarantee we are used to.

On commercial guarantees, EU law leaves it up to individual manufacturers to determine the conditions. However, it does state that any commercial guarantee offered by a seller or producer will be legally binding under the conditions laid down in the guarantee document and the associated advertising. It must place the beneficiary in a more advantageous position than would otherwise have been the case. And it must be given in a written document, which must be freely available for consultation before purchase, showing in particular the duration and territorial scope of the guarantee, and the name and address of the guarantor. So the duration of the commercial guarantee must be clear.

Any contractual terms or agreements which directly or indirectly waive or restrict the rights resulting from the directive are not binding on the consumer. In other words, a trader may not agree with the consumer so that the latter gives up his rights.

Individual member states are free to adopt more stringent provisions if they want a higher level of consumer protection. EU law here imposes minimum, not maximum, standards.

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