Consumer Rights

Toby's got a new iPod thanks to consumer rights and YOU need to know about them...

European law states that ANY electrical good that fails because of a fault with the product within two years of the date of acquisition (i.e. when it got delivered as opposed to when you paid for it) must be replaced or repaired.

The Sales of Goods Act says that consumers should expect goods to work for a reasonable amount of time. If the company says their product should last for at least five years then you have a case for demanding a repair or replacement if it breaks down within that time. In fact, you have a case whether or not they say it should last for that long. I imagine it's harder to get repairs/replacements on these grounds as they're a bit vague. The European law seems pretty solid though.

A friend in retail did say that companies can get round it by saying that it was clear at the time of purchase that the product was only guaranteed for, say, a year - something from the Office for Trading Standards helps them there - but I don't think the European law actually specifies anything about that; it's just a straightforward law that it must be repaired or replaced if it goes wrong.

Lots of companies only give a one year warranty - even for products like washing machines and ovens. This is caused by the concept of extended warranties where you pay the company to guarantee your product for longer. But don't, at least for the first two years, because they have to repair/replace it anyway.

Anyway, nice Apple people