association comment
Rights to redress A
recent consumer survey sheds an interesting light on rights to redress.
As part of its review of consumer law,
the European Commission recently carried out a survey of consumers’ attitudes to the Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive. This is the legislation that is often misquoted as
giving consumers a “two-year guarantee”. In fact, it specifies rights in respect of faulty goods, with two years after their purchase in which to claim redress. UK consumers have six years (five in
Scotland) in which to make a claim, and we can demand a full refund as long as we return the product within 30 days. This right to reject may be extended to six months if a first repair fails to remedy the fault. So this recent survey makes interesting
reading. More than 23,500 consumers were questioned across the whole EU, plus 375 retailers of differing sizes in 15 Member States (including the UK).
replacement rather than a price reduction or termination of the contract, even in countries where the consumer has complete freedom of choice as to which remedy they prefer. One of the questions asked in this survey was what impact a reversed burden of proof of two years would have. Perhaps surprisingly,
AMDEA executive Sian Lewis highlights findings from a consumer attitude survey on the Consumer Sales and Guarantees Directive
In 2015, about 35% of retailers in the EU sold both face-to-face and at a distance. Almost half of the consumers surveyed bought online from traders in their own country, but while some reported having physically shopped abroad, very few had done so online. When asked about reporting faulty goods it appears that 96% of problems are identified within two years of purchase. Shoppers normally report problems immediately, though up to a third may take a week. Even in countries with longer legal guarantee periods only a tiny percentage of defects appeared more than two years after purchase. Half of consumers choose a repair or a
some 60% of retailers suggested that this would not be a big problem for them. But how many of these retailers already
offer their customers the option to return any item within a set timeframe and receive a full refund? And if consumers return faulty products within a week of purchase anyway, a legal right to do so for longer would make little difference. For our industry, where all products are supplied with a commercial guarantee, the key issue is how to determine whether the product actually is faulty before offering a remedy - because a returned washing machine is a second hand product, even if it transpires that the consumer had just misread the instructions and it is actually in full working order. • AMDEA is the UK trade association for
manufacturers of large and small domestic appliances. It has 42 member companies who between them manufacture over 100 brands
Helping indies compete
Retra chief executive Howard Saycell highlights the success of the Scottish Autumn Fair along with other news from the retailer association
S
uch are the vagaries of publishing, by the time you read this we will be still be clearing up after
this year’s retra Annual Industry Conference. With the speakers, exhibitors and sessions we have lined up it should have been a very successful event! We have not been standing still on other member matters in the run up to conference however, and I have two other pieces of very good news. First is that the recent Scottish Autumn Fair at Stirling University was a great success and secondly that we have secured some excellent new rates for members from Hitachi Finance. The new rates from Hitachi really will allow independent retailer members to compete with the big boys by offering attractive finance packages in a simple, convenient way. The Hitachi system works just as well in store as it does on transactional websites, and the new rates allow members to advertise finance offers in the run up to Christmas that are just
20 |
www.innovativeelectricalretailing.co.uk
as good as national retailers – and in some cases even better! The Scottish Autumn Fair once again enabled dealers to see the latest products from both the white and brown goods divisions of several key suppliers. This included Samsung and long-time supporting manufacturers such as Humax, Hoover Candy Baumatic and, of course, Roberts. Domestic Appliance Distributors’ range of
‘Agency’ cookers received a lot of attention. Promising a guaranteed 30% margin, the products gained a lot of interest, particularly from CiH dealers already familiar, and indeed successful, with the ‘Agency Products’ concept. John Reddington’s Big Red Sales has long been a supporter at Scottish Centre events and the multiplicity of wares on offer always interest profit-seeking dealers. Retra members at the event noted that they approved of the fact that, unlike some of the associate manufacturers, Big Red does not cream off direct sales to the public via the internet. BRS showed a number of wares from its brands inclusion Morphy
Richards, Sennheiser and the most recent addition to the portfolio, Dual Turntables. A number of the dealer’s present use
NCompass Retail Software and were pleased to meet Rupert Woolger, the owner of Calculus Solutions. They were particularly interested in the latest mobile enhancement module that integrates with the shop system. Proprietors liked the ability to track staff by GPS and thus record on site delivery times, serial numbers and photographic signatures in one place. The system also provides service staff with access to service histories and parts information. Over 50 retra members took a break from the exhibition to enjoy the now traditional ‘Only in Scotland - Free Lunch’. Chris Kane also spoke of his retiring as the Scottish Centre's Council member. He said: “I would like to thank all our exhibitors for supporting us at Scottish events over many years. I would also thank the dealers who have travelled from all over Scotland.”
October 2016
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36