Regulations regarding Refurbished Products

Waiting for an internal review by Legal Service of their handling of this request.

Dear Legal Service (SJ),

Under the right of access to documents in the EU treaties, as developed in Regulation 1049/2001, I am requesting documents which contain the following information:

Information regarding mandatory warranty period and necessary legal procedures when commercializing, importing and selling refurbished products, specifically, electronical refurbished products.

Yours faithfully,

Jan Monaco

Legal Service

1 Attachment

Dear Mr Monaco,

 

In the European Union sellers are liable to the consumer for the minimum
period of 2 years if the product turns out to be faulty. This is a so
called compulsory "legal guarantee" which applies to all new and second
hand goods.

 

You will find detailed information in the publicly accessible links below:

 

                1. Directive 1999/44/EC on certain aspects of the sale of
consumer goods and associated guarantees

 

               
[1]http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...

 

                2. Practical information on Your Europe portal regarding
sellers' obligations

 

               
[2]http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/sel...

 

Your Europe portal will also provide you with further information about
different aspects of EU law for businesses (such as product requirements,
environmental rules or information obligations).

 

[3]http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/ind...

 

You can also contact one of the 600 local branches of the Enterprise
Europe Network active in 50 countries. They can give you practical advice
and keep you informed about what’s new in EU legislation, alert you to
tender opportunities and provide training.

 

[4]http://een.ec.europa.eu/about/branches

 

I hope you will find this information useful.

 

Kind regards,

JUST A3

 

European Commission

DG Justice

Unit A3 – Consumer and Marketing Law

MO59 06/40

B-1049 Brussels/Belgium

 

 

 

 

 

References

Visible links
1. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexU...
2. http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/sel...
3. http://europa.eu/youreurope/business/ind...
4. http://een.ec.europa.eu/about/branches

Dear Legal Service (SJ),

Thank you for your reply. I'm afraid, however, that your own response is directly opposed to the regulations set out in the directive. Whereas you state that 2-year legal guarantee applies to both first and second hand products, the directive clearly states:

Member States may provide that, in the case of second-hand goods, the seller and consumer may agree contractual terms or agreements which have a shorter time period for the liability of the seller than that set down in Article 5(1). Such period may not be less than one year.

As you can see, and as per the directive, for second hand product the legal guarantee is for a minimum of one year, not two.

Also, I was requesting information specifically about Refurbished products, not only about guarantee, but also about commercialization, import and export of said goods. I would be grateful if you could update your response with these details.

Yours faithfully,

Jan Monaco