New European Directive for Warranty Claims?

BRUSSELS, Belgium – Consumers that have bought defective products can turn directly to the manufacturer for their warranty claims instead of going through the retailer; this is the objective of a new warranty Directive the European Commission is currently considering.

According to a recent report in the trade publication for the sporting goods sector, Sporting Goods Intelligence (SGI), the new directive will give consumers in all the member countries the option to clear their warranty claims for defective products directly with the vendors or the manufacturers, rather than with the retailers. According to the SGI report: “The vendor, which may be the importer or brand owner, would have to be based in the EU. Such an option is already given in some member states. If for example a Swedish citizen buys a pair of defective Spanish shoes in London, he or she would turn directly to the Spanish brand owner or the producer. Such a move would turn out to be very useful if the British retailer had shut down in the meantime. UGAL, the European federation of voluntary groups of independent retailers based in Brussels, is backing this proposal.”