Warranty of electronic items in the European Union (or "me vs. HP")

December 12, 2006 7:53 AM

Warranty of electronic items in the European Union (or "me vs. HP"):

The printer I bought from HP 17 months ago isn't working. When I called them today to send it for repairs they told me that the warranty is only valid for 12 months after purchase.

I'm pretty certain that every electronics item bought in the EU should be covered for a period of 2 years, but I can't seem to find a document online that supports my statement.

1. Am I right?
2. Any proof of it -- maybe somewhere in EU's website?

Thanks in advance for your help.

posted by kchristidis to law & government (11 comments total)

Never saw anything like that while I was in the UK for a year, but that may or may not be useful information as the UK doesn't exactly tow the EU line on everything else.
posted by tiamat at 7:58 AM on December 12, 2006

What country was it bought in? Each one tends to have their own laws on this, like the UK's Sale of Goods Act.
posted by cillit bang at 8:33 AM on December 12, 2006

cillit bang: no, that's wrong. It's a EU regulation.
posted by kchristidis at 8:38 AM on December 12, 2006

Well a quick Google reveals this page on HP's site:

Effective from 1st January 2002, the EU Directive to extend warranty on consumer products from 1- to 2- years, came into effect. This directive only impacts EU member state countries and will be phased in as the EU member states implement the directive. As of 1st January 2002 the following EU member states have implemented this EU Directive: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany The Netherlands, Norway, Italy and Sweden.

So the country you bought it in is very important, since a directive is merely an instruction to each government to implement a law, and has no meaning until they do.
posted by cillit bang at 8:46 AM on December 12, 2006

Hmm, I stand corrected in that one then.

I'm in Greece, but as long as I can find a link to the directive I should be set. Anyone?
posted by kchristidis at 8:56 AM on December 12, 2006

The actual number of the directive was hard to find... it's eu directive 1999/44/EC.
posted by antifuse at 9:04 AM on December 12, 2006

Note - the wording of that directive is very confusing to my non-lawyer brain... specifically Article 3, paragraph 1:

The seller shall be liable to the consumer for any lack of conformity which exists at the time the goods were delivered.

and Article 5, paragraph 3:

Unless proved otherwise, any lack of conformity which becomes apparent within six months of delivery of the goods shall be presumed to have existed at the time of delivery unless this presumption is incompatible with the nature of the goods or the nature of the lack of conformity.

The fact that you used the printer just fine for 17 months seems to belie the notion that this directive is specifically for product warranties. It seems more like the directive is giving you 2 years to take it out of the box and inform the manufacturer after you buy it, not that there's a minimum 2 year warranty. But I'm not so sure either way, really.
posted by antifuse at 9:11 AM on December 12, 2006

Antifuse, "lack of conformity which exists at the time the goods were delivered" is boilerplate that distinguishes manufacturing/design faults from wear-and-tear and breakage by the customer.

The second part seems to be purely about at who the burden-of-proof is on. Presumably to get a warranty repair after 17 months you have to prove that the product was defective when it came out of the box, which sounds fair enough but is probably impossible to do.

In any case, EU directives have no legal force against companies. The only thing that matters is Greek consumer law.
posted by cillit bang at 9:25 AM on December 12, 2006

antifuse: thank you for that link, you rock.

I took the time to read this article too, and I'm not a laywer so I don't claim to be an expert -- Article 5, paragraph 1:

The seller shall be held liable under Article 3 where the lack of conformity becomes apparent within two years as from delivery of the goods. If, under national legislation, the rights laid down in Article 3(2) are subject to a limitation period, that period shall not expire within a period of two years from the time of delivery.

So, should it appear to be out of conformity within a two year period from the delivery of goods, I guess I'm covered.

Conformity is defined in Article 2, Paragraph 2:

Consumer goods are presumed to be in conformity with the contract if they:

(a) comply with the description given by the seller and possess the qualities of the goods which the seller has held out to the consumer as a sample or model;

(b) are fit for any particular purpose for which the consumer requires them and which he made known to the seller at the time of conclusion of the contract and which the seller has accepted;

(c) are fit for the purposes for which goods of the same type are normally used;

I read the Greek version of the document which makes the "Article 5, Paragraph 1" bit even more understandable.

I think I'm covered.
posted by kchristidis at 10:19 AM on December 12, 2006

"The only thing that matters is Greek consumer law."

cillit bang: hmm, you may have a point here.

Anyone else with opinion on the matter?
posted by kchristidis at 12:24 PM on December 12, 2006

It is my understanding that until the directive is "transposed" into Greek law, it is of no effect.

IANAL.
posted by blue_wardrobe at 7:50 PM on December 12, 2006