Draft consumer guarantee rules set for adoption

Date: 13/06/1996

THE European Commission is expected to adopt draft new rules next week which would make it easier for consumers to return faulty goods bought in member states other than their own.

At present, after-sales legal guarantees vary sharply from country to country. The UK, for example, allows shoppers up to six years to return purchases with which they are unhappy, while Germany insists that they must be brought back within six months.

Surveys conducted by Eurobarometer show that the current mosaic of guarantee rules deters cross-border shopping, with consumers opting to buy products at home rather than risk disappointment with those bought abroad.

The draft proposal, if adopted by MEPs and ministers, would harmonise legal rights - those automatically granted with products - in the EU.

Under the draft proposal, consumers would be entitled to free repairs of damaged goods “within a reasonable period”, or to replacement goods “when this is possible”.

Alternatively, consumers would be entitled to return goods which did not live up to their expectations (provided these expectations were deemed reasonable), or to demand a price reduction.

But they would have to return, or ask for these goods to be replaced, within a year. Shopkeepers would be held responsible for defective products bought on their premises.

Consumer groups have welcomed the draft directive, saying it will promote consumer confidence in foreign vendors.