When consumers buy a product that turns out to be defective while still covered by the two-year legal guarantee, consumers are entitled to claim a free remedy from the seller.
The Sale of Goods Regulations within the Consumer Affairs Act provide different types of remedies that are available to consumers. Unfortunately, there is often a lack of agreement on the type of remedy that should be provided and this may result in a prolonged dispute and stress for both consumers and traders.
Consumer legislation requires that goods supplied to consumers conform with the description and specifications as stipulated in the sales contract. More specifically, goods supplied to consumers must be of the quantity and quality agreed, and must possess the functionality, compatibility and interoperability as stipulated in the sales contract.
Goods sold to consumers must also possess the quality, quantity and features normal for goods of the same type and which the consumer may reasonably expect given the nature of the goods and any public statements made by the seller.
If these requirements are not met, consumers are entitled to claim a free remedy from the seller.
When choosing between repair or replacement, the law also takes into account the significance of the lack of conformity and whether the alternative remedy could be provided without significant inconvenience to the consumer
The law gives consumers the right to choose between repair and replacement. However, the law also takes into consideration whether the remedy chosen by the consumer is impossible to execute and whether, compared to other possible remedies, would impose disproportionate costs on the seller. For instance, if a consumer requests the seller to replace a faulty product, the seller may instead offer to repair the goods if it is less costly for them.
When choosing between repair or replacement, the law also takes into account the significance of the lack of conformity and whether the alternative remedy could be provided without significant inconvenience to the consumer.
Thus, while the trader may argue that a repair would cost less and insist to repair instead of replace the faulty product, if the defect in the product is significant and/or the repair cannot be carried out within a reasonable time and without causing a significant inconvenience to the consumer, the latter may refuse the repair and claim a replacement.
The Sale of Goods Regulations also provide that in situations where the seller needs to remove the goods from the consumers’ house to repair them, any costs related to the removal and reinstallation of the goods must be paid by the seller. These include costs related to the hiring of a lifter to transport the goods from and back to the consumers’ house.
In situations where a replacement is the most suitable remedy, this should also be provided free of charge and within a reasonable time. Furthermore, consumers are not to be held liable to pay for their normal use of the product that turned out to be faulty.
So the product that replaces the defective product should be of the same quality and value. However, when a faulty product is replaced, the two-year guarantee provided by consumer law does not start again but continues from the original date of purchase.
In the event that repair or replacement are not viable options, then consumers are legally entitled to either claim a proportionate reduction in the price or to terminate the sales contract and claim a full refund of the money paid. When a reduction of the price is opted for, this should be proportionate to the decrease in the value of the product received by the consumer compared to its value if were not defective.
When a contract of sale is cancelled, consumers are obliged to return to the seller the product at the seller’s expense and the seller is, in turn, obliged to refund consumers the full price paid for the goods.
To exercise their legal right for a free remedy, it is necessary that consumers are in possession of the proof of purchase as evidence that the product is still covered by the two-year legal protection.
Furthermore, consumers are responsible to notify the trader in writing about the lack of conformity within two months from when they become aware of the problem.
If consumers encounter a problem with a product they bought they are advised to obtain information about their legal rights to ensure that their claims are reasonable and in line with the law. In situations where consumers do not manage to reach an amicable agreement on the type of remedy the seller should provided them, they may then contact the Office for Consumer Affairs at the MCCAA for guidance and assistance.