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Brussels, 18 May 1999

EU shopper deal gives two years of guarantees on goods purchases

Right on time for the introduction of euro notes and coins on 1 January 2002 a Europe-wide minimum legal guarantee of two years will be introduced on consumer goods bought anywhere in the European Union (EU). This is the main right the new guarantee directive will give to consumers, once it has come into force. The directive, which was formally adopted by the Council of Ministers today and thus passed the whole legislative procedure, will give consumers two years of legal guarantee on all purchases of consumer goods in the EU. Consumers get specific rights to repair or replacement in the first place. Under special conditions, they can demand price reduction or rescind the contract.

« This is the most important consumer directive that has ever been negotiated until now, because it concerns every consumer nearly every day. These considerable new consumer rights will contribute to bringing Europe closer to its citizens », said Consumer Commissioner Emma Bonino. For consumers in some Member States it means that they will dispose of a legal guarantee period four times longer than they do for the moment such as Austrians, Germans, Greeks, Portuguese and Spaniards for whom only a six months guarantee period is in place. Member States which already have longer guarantee periods than two years can maintain them. In the United Kingdom and Ireland remedy of damages lasts for six years, no time limit exists in France, Belgium, Luxemburg, the Netherlands and Finland.

The directive applies to any defective movable consumer product. The seller is liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity which exists when the goods are delivered to the consumer. If a defect becomes manifest within the two year period, the consumer has the right to choose the remedy, following a hierarchy : he can first demand repair or replacement of the defective good. If this is impossible, unproportionate or cannot be done within a reasonable period or without any significant inconvenience for the consumer, he can demand price reduction or rescind the contract. The right to rescind the contract is however not granted in cases of minor defect. All these rights are free of charge for the consumer. For second hand goods, the guarantee period is limited to one year.

If a defect appears during the first six months following the purchase, the consumer does not have to prove that the product was defective at the moment of delivery! It is up to the seller to prove that the product was without any defect. Member States can introduce a notification period of two months from the date on which the lack of conformity was detected. If the consumer does not notify the defect within these two months, he would loose his rights. Furthermore this directive introduces transparency obligations for commercial guarantees which are given voluntarily by, for example, the producer.

The directive will come into force after publication in the Official Journal. Member States will then have two and a half years until 1 January 2002 to transpose it into national law. The guarantee directive ensures consumers a minimum standard of protection about their guarantee rights when they profit from the single market by cross-border shoppings and harmonises national guarantee laws on a high level of consumer protection. It adds to about a dozen consumer directives which form the acquis communautaire in this area.

Released on 01/06/99

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