OCU launches the campaign "Garantízate" to ensure consumer rights in the field of warranties

OCU, in coordination with members of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), has conducted a study to find out how easy it is for consumers to exercise their rights that fall under guarantee regarding the products they buy, and the conclusion is clear: the many obstacles they face in order to make these rights a reality, in practice, leads consumers to forego these rights and put up with an unjustified economic loss that can be as much as the total price paid for the product.

For this study OCU visited a total of 59 shops requesting information about how to exercise the guarantee on a product bought there, as well as contacting the customer services of 40 different brands asking them how to proceed in order to repair a previously purchased product of their brand.

One of the main conclusions of this study is that, although the law stipulates that the consumer should have the choice between going to the dealer or to manufacturer to have the defective product repaired or replaced, only in 33% of cases did the shop accept direct responsibility as according to the warranty. In contrast, a third of the shops refused to accept responsibility for the product, instead passing on the responsibility for the repair to the manufacturer. The other third agreed to take the product but the only options offered were that they would send the product to the service department provided by the manufacturer or to recommend that the buyer take it there themselves.

Likewise, although the law states that it is a consumer right to choose between repair or replacement of a defective product, the reality is that this possibility was almost never offered to the consumer with, in the best of cases, this being referring to as a possibility which was in the hands of the technical service department once the product had been checked.
 
In view of all these problems and, moreover, to offer individual and free advice, OCU asks for public support so that, with the signatures collected, the Organisation can present them to the competent authority in order to change the law concerning this right. At present, this regulation is ineffective because it is very difficult for the consumer to get their rights respected.

For more information (media): Eva Jimenez Tel .:   91 722 60 61 - ejimenez@ocu.org - www.ocu.org/organizacion