Adviser's answers

Mr. Solar and the unfulfilling seller
 

When in Italy, Mr. Solar decided to buy a watch.

However, once in Spain, only two weeks after the purchase, the watch stopped working. Is it already broken? Doubtful, Mr. Solar contacted the seller asking for clarifications and, if necessary, for a change, but the seller refused to replace the watch, due to the fact that he had not the possibility to personally check its conditions, and advised consumer to contact a Spanish watchmaker or even the supplier.

What Mr. Solar can do?

Mr. Solar contacted the European Consumer Centre in order to ask for information about Italian legislation and also about the possibility to have his watch replaced.

Solution of the case

The European Directive 1999/44/EC, in force in Italy through the Decree of 2 February 2002, assures EU citizens a 2 years guarantee for all consumers goods.

Therefore, if you buy a defective product you can contact directly the seller asking for:

·         either the reparation or the replacement - in a reasonable time - of the product bought, without having to pay any expenses or to suffer any inconvenient;

·         an appropriate reduction of the price – if the product is damaged but still working - or even the cancellation of the contract in case the reparation or the replacement are impossible.

The consumer must contact the trader within 60 days following the date when the fault has been found out, so actually the guarantee has a length of 26 months.

Thanks to the directive 1999/44/EC the liable person for defective goods is not  the supplier but the seller. Therefore, in such cases you can simply turn to the shop when the product was bought and ask the seller to solve your problem.

For further information or to ask for ECC-Net assistance in order to solve your dispute:
ECC-Net Italia
info@ecc-netitalia.it
Tel 0644238090