Every consumer purchase is covered by a mandatory legal guarantee. No seller can claim otherwise. The duration of the guarantee is 2 years and can be reduced to 1 year for second- hand goods. If the product is defective, responsible for putting things right is the seller, even for purchases made on an Internet platform. However, the platform may have agreed to act as an intermediary so read the terms and conditions.
When is an item faulty in the sense of the legal guarantee
A product (or service) is faulty if it does not comply with the given description or if it cannot be used for normal purposes or the specific purposes requested by the consumer. The product or service is also faulty if it is not of normal quality and does not perform as can be reasonably expected.
There are following remedies when products do not conform to the contract for sale:
- Right to repair
- Right to replacement
- Refund or reduction of the purchase price if repair or replacement is impossible, but only under certain conditions.
- Right to reasonable discount from the price of goods or replacement of goods.
- Claim rejection
The time frame for settlement of the claim is 30 days. Upon the lapse of this period, the consumer has equal rights as if the defects were irreparable.
If the good has been replaced, a new 2-year legal guarantee begins. If no amicable solution can be found, the prescription period is 3 years from the date on which the seller was notified of the defect, unless there is a suspension of the statutory limitation period.