An additional year of warranty after hardware repair. This is the plan of the European Union

The growing problem in Europe related to the need to properly and ecologically dispose of an increasing amount of damaged electronic equipment (and not only it) has prompted the European Union to take specific steps in this direction. However, this does not mean that they will disadvantage ordinary consumers and Community citizens.

This is the idea of ​​extending the existing right to repair equipment under the manufacturer’s warranty by one additional year, which would apply from the moment the damaged item is repaired. And this is not the only idea of ​​the European Union to improve the provisions of the right to a consumer guarantee.

The consumer guarantee in the European Union is to be extended

The European Union wants to create a situation in which significantly more damaged products purchased within the Community will be returned for repair instead of being thrown into the trash. A preliminary agreement on the extension of warranty rights was concluded by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament.

According to the new assumptions, product service in the EU will be more consumer-friendly, which means, among other things, that it will be much faster in implementation and much more transparent in terms of the warranty provisions themselves. The main change assumes that after the repair, the owner of the equipment will be able to count on an extension of the warranty period by another 12 months, which will be counted from the moment the service procedure is completed.

Not just an extra year of warranty

Extending the period of the right to repair equipment under the manufacturer’s warranty is not the only idea that is being taken into account in connection with the introduction of the new ecological directive. The list of changes also includes:

• manufacturers offering spare parts at a reasonable price

• accepting second-hand or 3D-printed spare parts for repair

• making necessary repairs in a reasonably quicker time than currently possible,

• giving customers the right to choose between repair or replacement of products

In addition, ideas such as the European repair information form (containing provisions on service conditions, prices and deadlines) and the European service platform (containing information about equipment repair services in EU countries) are to be implemented.