No-nonsense commercial guarantees

As regular readers know, we have a list, albeit a short one, of suppliers who offer no-nonsense commercial guarantees. The legal guarantee is valid for two years and not, as certain rogue traders mislead consumers into believing, for six months.

Only the legal guarantee is ours by right. However, although traders are not legally obliged to offer commercial guarantees, we have a list of five companies which offer commercial guarantees over and above the legal guarantee.

I held meetings with the company directors involved to verify that their commercial guarantees conform with the following eight conditions in accordance with the law. These guarantees 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 the duration of the guarantee 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 may be transferred to others. Unless otherwise stated, 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.

Apart from these amendments, I added some extra conditions, which the listed suppliers had to adhere to if they wanted to continue to be included in the list.

It proved to be a laborious task but well worth the effort even though, in the process, we lost some companies. At this stage it is well worth highlighting some of the conditions have referred to.

Guarantee 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. However, suppliers in our list agreed 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 by 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 do have a problem with them regarding the guarantee terms and conditions, as outlined above, write to me.

With such suppliers offering such guarantees, I see no reason why we should accept inferior guarantees. Here follows our current list (in alphabetical order), 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 9037. Tel: 2148-0590, 2148-0593; fax: 2148-0598; e-mail: service@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.

Forestals (Appliances) Ltd: managing director: Tancred Tabone. Head office: 110, The Strand, Sliema. Tel: 2343-6000; 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