The EU legal guarantee allows consumers to request (normally within 2 years of purchase) repair or replacement of defective goods, or in some cases a refund. It is mandatory and to be provided at no extra cost by the seller.

However, in a number of EU Member States commercial warranties offered against payment are becoming more and more common. But are they worth the extra cost? Do they add to the legal protection in place in the EU, Iceland and Norway?

‘Commercial warranties, are they worth the money?’ The European Consumer Centres France and Germany investigated this question in cooperation with their European colleagues of the ECC-Network and published the results in a detailed study.

The study compares the legal guarantees and commercial warranties in the EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. It also shows that the legal guarantee of at least two years is applied quite differently across Europe and that commercial warranties are not always beneficial.

The ECC-Net has carried out 342 checks in 25 countries, screened 104 websites, contacted 127 shops and surveyed 543 consumers online.

The objective of this study is to help consumers understand their legal rights and to decide whether or not to purchase commercial warranties as well as to remind consumers of the possibilities given by the legal guarantees.

For the Malta Fact Sheet please click here, for the check list for consumers, please click here and for the check list for traders, please click here. The full report of the ECC-NET and its summary is available for download.

For an overview of the main rules governing legal guarantees and commercial warranties, this report also provides a summary table,

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