Legal guarantee valid for two years

I am featuring this letter without naming the trader and the brand of the mobile phone involved because there are many traders who adopt the same stance on this issue. As regular readers know, no matter how many times I refer to this issue, we still have many consumers who do not know their rights in this context:

On May 16, 2005, I bought a (mobile phone). The product code for the battery was with a three-month warranty. The battery stopped functioning abruptly. I ended up buying a new battery, this time with a warranty of six months.

After reading your article of May 14, ten days later I called the (seller) to complain about the warranty period that it should be of two years according to the Consumer Affairs Act Articles 56-93 of the Laws of Malta. The sales manager informed me that, since October 2005, they were given the go-ahead by the mother company to extend the warranty period to two years on mobile phones and six months on mobile batteries.

Could you verify if the Consumer Affairs Act in this case applies too? If so, given the fact that the battery failed before the warranty period of two years had expired what are my rights and/or the obligation of the supplier/trader?

Thanks for your attention. (Charles Zerafa)

The situation on this issue is now getting drastically out of hand. In the prevailing scenario too many traders exploit the situation and maximise on consumers' ignorance. Yet I am prepared to continue clarifying the issue ad nauseam.

Without going into complicated details and without naming any specific traders, suffice it to say that there are too many traders who go out of their way to confuse consumers.

So, in plain and simple terms, the legal guarantee in Malta and Gozo is valid for two years and covers every part of the item bought. Perhaps, one day, all consumers will be aware of their rights.

In this case, to be fair, I must point out that the battery is a consumable item. However, in cases where the battery stops abruptly within days after having bought the mobile phone, it could very well be faulty. If it proves to be faulty, it should be replaced.