Firms will have to fix appliances like TVs, washing machines and fridges if they break 10 years after you buy them, under new rules
MANUFACTURERS will have to fix appliances like TVs, washing machines and fridges if they break in the first 10 years after you’ve bought them.
The new EU rules also state that firms must make it easier for products to be repaired, such as designing them so they’re easier to take apart and fixed using readily available tools.
From 2021, all freezers, monitors, washer-dryers, dishwashers and lighting products sold across the EU will have to meet minimum “repairability” requirements.
Spare parts and information on how to repair the machines will also have to be made available to professional tradesman for a minimum number of years.
The rules don’t apply to things like computers or smartphones.
The measures are part of the EU’s Ecodesign Directive, which aims to cut demand for new products and carbon emissions linked to manufacturing, distributing and disposing of old machines.
Your rights if you've got a faulty product
IF something you've bought has broken you may be able to get your money back but how you go about it depends on when the fault develops.
Under the Consumer Rights Act, you have 30 days from when you bought it (or delivered to you. Whatever one is latest) to reject the product and get your money back.
You also have the rights to ask the retailer to repair or replace the product within six months of purchasing it if it’s broken. They must give you your money back if it can’t be repaired or replaced.
Shoppers have up to six years to complain about a product that was faulty when they got it, but after six months you have to prove that it was broken when you received it.
If a fault develops after the first six months you may be able to claim your money back, get it repaired or replaced using the manufacturer’s guarantee or warranty.
This is where the company promises to act if the product it sold to you isn’t up to scratch. They usually last a year but sometimeslonger.
You’ll need to speak to the retailer and bring your proof of purchase with you – either a receipt or bank statement.
If the fault develops outside of the guarantee or warranty period, you still have the right to complain under the Consumer Rights Act up to six years after you purchased the product.
It wants to do this by removing the most wasteful products from the market and replace them with more eco-friendly ones.
Recent figures suggest that extending the lifespan of washing machines by five years would cut emissions by the equivalent of taking half a million cars off the roads annually.
The rules were all agreed upon by all 28 EU governments in January but now a start date has been set.
British firms who want to sell to the EU after Brexit will have to follow the rules.
Chloe Fayole, from the European Environmental Citizens’ Organisation, said Europe’s new measures “should inspire the rest of the world”.
Stephane Arditi, from the European Environment Bureau, described the move as “the kind of innovation that we all need right now.”
Ugo Vallauri, a member of the newly formed Right to Repair campaign in Europe, said that even though it’s a step in the right direction, “we have a lot of work ahead of us.”
And Sian Lewis, from the UK Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances, added: “It is essential that a repaired product remains safe as well as in good working order and this is why the legislation is specifying a professional repairer.”
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