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12/02/2009
Guarantees in Belgium and other European countriesEverything you should know about guarantees.The information that you receive from dealers when buying a product appears not always to comply with the law on guarantees. Here you can read everything you need to know about guarantees. The law on guarantees derives from a European Directive and applies in Belgium to all goods that were bought after 1 January 2005. Here is an overview of the law. For more information you can request (info@eccbelgium.be) or download our free brochure. Two years, one year or six months?The law gives the buyer a legal guarantee of two years. However, if the problem occurs following the first six months after delivery, the buyer must demonstrate that the problem already existed at the time of delivery. This is usually difficult. In fact you have a problem-free guarantee of six months. For this reason the commercial guarantee remains important and you are advised to enquire about the existence and content of a commercial guarantee before you make a purchase. Commercial guaranteesThe seller or the manufacturer may provide a commercial guarantee, which must offer more than the legal guarantee. A commercial guarantee must include a number of important elements, such as the duration of the guarantee, its geographical scope, and the name and address of the party offering the guarantee. If you do not receive written proof of this guarantee with the purchase contract then you need to ask for this to be supplied on a “durable medium”. This includes paper, fax or information on a website that you can print out. What demands can I make in case of a fault?The seller is obliged to repair or replace the goods free of charge. If this is impossible, then he must offer a price reduction or refund the entire purchase price (but not for a minor fault). What must I do?
And elsewhere in Europe?Some countries offer better protection than that required by the European Directive on guarantees. In the Czech Republic and Luxembourg the seller must carry out the repair or replacement within 30 days, otherwise the consumer can demand a refund. In Estonia a period of approximately two weeks is deemed to be reasonable for carrying out a repair. It is assumed in Germany after two attempts at repair that the item can no longer be repaired. In Finland there is no time limit on the duration of the guarantee. The duration depends on the lifespan of the product. In Greece the lifespan of the product is also taken into account. Moreover the seller must provide detailed information about the guarantee on paper for products that have a long lifespan, such as electrical apparatus. In Latvia the contract can be cancelled if a fault appears during the first six months after purchase. In The Netherlands the period of two years is not mentioned and can therefore be longer. In Portugal it is assumed for the entire period of two years that the fault already existed at the time of delivery. The burden of proof is on the seller for the entire two years. In Sweden you have a period of three years, while this period even goes up to six years in the United Kingdom. In the UK you can even demand a refund if you reject the goods soon after delivery because they are faulty. In Iceland expensive products with a long lifespan are subject to a guarantee of five years. LinksDe Belgische wet van 21 september 2004 over de bescherming bij verkoop van consumptiegoederen.
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