Camera died after 12 1/2 months... What are my rights??

[Jim99]

Dunno how you work that out

Regulations are binding on EU Member States, directives are not, so directives have no bearing on consumers.

The elements of a directive that are implemented, i.e. those that are part of the SOGA, have bearing. But that's what you need to refer to, not the directive.

 

[Freakbro]

Regulations are binding on EU Member States, directives are not, so directives have no bearing on consumers.

The elements of a directive that are implemented, i.e. those that are part of the SOGA, have bearing. But that's what you need to refer to, not the directive.

Directives are still legally binding though, the only difference to Regulations (I thought) is they don't specify exactly how you implement them

A directive is a legal act of the European Union,[1] which requires member states to achieve a particular result without dictating the means of achieving that result. It can be distinguished from regulations which are self-executing and do not require any implementing measures. Directives normally leave member states with a certain amount of leeway as to the exact rules to be adopted. Directives can be adopted by means of a variety of legislative procedures depending on their subject matter.

Direct effect

Even though directives were not originally thought to be binding before they were implemented by member states, the European Court of Justice developed the doctrine of direct effect where unimplemented or badly implemented directives can actually have direct legal force. Also, in Francovich v. Italy, the court found that member states could be liable to pay damages to individuals and companies who had been adversely affected by the non-implementation of a directive.

I do understand what you say about SOGA though, as I've used that with Currys once arguing when my Samsung TV went pop after 22 months. Took me a few months, but I won in the end.

 

[dannyjo22]

Don't know about the camera but I fancy a curry now

 

[Sudden]

Directives are still legally binding though, the only difference to Regulations (I thought) is they don't specify exactly how you implement them





I do understand what you say about SOGA though, as I've used that with Currys once arguing when my Samsung TV went pop after 22 months. Took me a few months, but I won in the end.

Directives must be implemented into UK law in order to have any effect. This particular one, has not been implemented fully, so the two year point is not really relevant from a legal sense.

Whether or not you try and blag it...*shrug*.

Edit - sorry, didn't read the second part of your quote. Would need more research, but my guess would be that it only applies where the member state was required to have implemented it, but didn't. I think the UK opted out of this particular one, rather than just decided not to implement it.

 

[Tefal]

Well, a EU directive (those bloody EU politicians meddling in our rights!) states all consumer goods have a two year guarantee



http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-1677034/Two-year-warranty-EU-law.html

It's not quite as straightforward as that as after 6 months you have the responsibility to show the fault came from an inherent defect, but if it's a known issue with the camera, that's pretty much your case.

But the EU rule does not require the buyer to show the fault is inherent in the product and not down to their actions.

?

 

[Behemoth]

Also the EU directive does not actually apply to us over here in the UK. The use of the EU directive drives me mental - I work dishing out consumer law advice to the public and the amount of times I hear that one in a day is unreal.

Sale of Goods act gives 6 years to make a claim and for anything bought as of middle part of next month consumer rights is going to become much easier Anything bought before that time though is still covered by the older version of the legislation so won't help the OP in his case sadly

That said even though we have 6 years to claim for our rights it doesn't mean the goods should last this amount of time.

 

[mattyprice4004]

Directives are still legally binding though, the only difference to Regulations (I thought) is they don't specify exactly how you implement them

True, however the UK has the Sale of Goods Act, which offers more protection - so the directive was not fully implemented, so can't be used.

SoGA gives you more rights anyway, use that.

 

[Freakbro]

?

Confusing isn't it

But I think it's as others are saying, since we have SOGA that can cover up to 6 years we use that instead and that does require the proof of inherent fault.

That said even though we have 6 years to claim for our rights it doesn't mean the goods should last this amount of time.

Absolutely, if it was a £10 kettle then it would be hard to argue (and a little futile) the full 6 year rule, but in my case of the £750 Samsung LCD TV I didn't accept that 22 months was a fair time for it to last.

Even though initially Currys said "22 months was a perfectly reasonable amount of time for a LCD TV to last" then they said "Wear and Tear" - right wear and tear on an item that doesn't move or get touched.

So I had an independent electrician look at it who said it was faulty capacitors (a very common fault in Samsungs) which I then used to show inherent manufacturing fault and claimed via SOGA (after Curries tried and failed to fix it twice) and even though I was only claiming 4/6'ths of the purchase price - I got a full refund. Result

 

[FoxEye]

...for anything bought as of middle part of next month consumer rights is going to become much easier Anything bought before that time though is still covered by the older version of the legislation ...

What's happening to SOGA next month?

 

[Jim99]

Directives are still legally binding though, the only difference to Regulations (I thought) is they don't specify exactly how you implement them

I do understand what you say about SOGA though, as I've used that with Currys once arguing when my Samsung TV went pop after 22 months. Took me a few months, but I won in the end.

It becomes very complex very quickly (one of the things I work on is EU law), but I think what you're saying is actually the key point.

Given that nations choose how to implement them, you can't take quotes from a directive and assume that's how it's implemented in your country and thus request that people adhere to them.

I've also heard that the 2 years mentioned in the directive actually relates to how long you have to bring the case, not how long the item should last for. In the UK we have 6 years anyway, so the directive makes no difference. The point there is that the item doesn't have to last 2 (or 6) years, and in many cases you wouldn't expect it to. Any perishable item, for instance. Or a disposable barbecue. Under SOGA they have to last (IIRC) a 'reasonable' length of time and you've got 6 years to make a complaint if you don't think it's last a reasonable time. But this paragraph is very much what I've seen and heard, not what I've looked into, IANAL etc etc.