Bid to harmonise shop guarantees

Date: 04/01/1996

By Fiona McHugh

THE European Commission is expected to take steps next week to bolster the right of consumers to return faulty goods bought in shops in other member states.

A proposal now being drafted by the Directorate-General for consumer affairs (DGXXIV) seeks to harmonise the after-sales legal guarantees given on all products sold across the EU.

These vary widely from country to country, deterring shoppers who might otherwise have profited from Europe's single market from buying abroad.

The proposal, if approved by EU consumer ministers and MEPs, would give citizens one year to return products which do not live up to their expectations and get either their money back, or replacement goods.

Customers would be entitled to free repairs of faulty goods, or partial refunds if they decided to keep them, for up to two years after the items were purchased.

Shopkeepers would be responsible for defective goods sold on their premises, although disgruntled customers would be free to take their complaints straight to manufacturers if they deemed this easier than going to the vendor in question.

“This directive means that if you buy something in Germany which you discover is defective on your return to the UK, you have the right to return the product to a local representative or directly to the vendor in Germany,” explained a Commission official.

“At the moment, there are big problems because, for instance, products are only guaranteed for six months in Germany, but for six years in the UK.”

Cross-border shopping is expected to flourish if the directive is approved, as consumers' confidence in foreign vendors grows.

Despite heavy lobbying from consumer groups, the proposed new rules would apply only to manufactured goods and not to services, an omission which has been greeted with disappointment by the European consumer organisation BEUC.

“We wanted the directive to apply to both goods and services, and so we are very disappointed that the proposal on the table is so restrictive,” said Caroline Kerstiëns, who has been following the proposal on behalf of the Brussels-based organisation.

But the Commission defended its position. “There are so many different services that it would have been impossible to cover them in such a general way. We will have to deal with them separately,” said one official.

It is not yet clear whether Germany's two Commissioners, Martin Bangemann and Monika Wulf-Mathies, responsible for industry and regional policy respectively, will oppose the proposal when it is put to the vote next Wednesday (10 January).

They caused a furore in Brussels last summer when it emerged that both had received written instructions from Bonn to reject the proposal. Members of the Commission swear allegiance to Europe and independence from national governments when they take up office. Although Commissioners are known to defend national interests from time to time, they seldom receive instructions in writing from politicians at home.

Commission sources say Bangemann is still opposed to the proposal, but Wulf-Mathies raised no objections during a preliminary discussion of the dossier.