The consumer’s always right, says Which?

10 November 2008

In response to DBERR*’s consultation on the EU Consumer Rights Directive, Peter Vicary-Smith, Which? Chief Executive said:

“The Consumer Rights Directive is supposed to help consumers but there is a real danger that by harmonising consumer laws across Europe, UK consumers could lose hard-fought-for rights.

“The Government needs to ensure that rather than watering-down the UK rules, other EU countries benefit from the rights we currently enjoy, such as the ability to reject faulty goods and the right to claim against a seller for up to six years**.

“It would be a crying shame if this attempt to help consumers actually hindered them.”

Notes to Editor

* Department for Business Enterprise and Regulatory Reform

Which? welcomes the opportunity to comment on what are some of the most significant proposals in the field of consumer protection for some time.
- We are still working through the proposals but at this stage, we have some serious concerns about the draft directive.

Our particular concern is consumer rights: in the UK are in jeopardy because the European Commission is trying to harmonise consumer rights across the EU. The harmonised rules prevent "gold-plating" by the UK meaning that any more stringent rules need to be repealed.

A key concern in this area is the loss of the right to reject faulty goods. For example, someone buying, say, a washing machine would be able to reject it for being faulty as follows:

(a) if it was bought on its own from a retailer within a reasonable time of delivery (being long enough for the consumer to check whether or not the washing machine is faulty)
(b) If it was bought under a ‘supply and fit’ contract within a reasonable time of the fault developing (you lose the right to reject it if once you know about the fault your conduct suggests you are nevertheless happy to keep the faulty washing machine)

Under the current EU proposals, initially you'd only have a right to repair or replace the faulty goods – a refund is only available if the seller can’t or won’t repair or replace. This is not enough because you may have lost faith in the goods/seller and just want your money back. Also, it may not be an adequate remedy.

E.g. you buy a brand new car, but it has some scratches in the paintwork. If you get this resprayed, the scratches are removed but the car is worth considerably less because it has a "respray history".

** Under the proposals, a seller is only liable for faulty goods for a period of up to 2 years from the date of purchase. This is not long enough for goods whose life expectancy is much longer than 2 years e.g. cars, electrical goods, boilers etc. and where problems may not arise until a few years after the contract (compare with the supplied and fitted washing machine example above). Under current UK rules, you have up to 6 years in which to make a claim.

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