The matter in summary From 1 January 2024, consumers can demand a new product if new or the same defects arise after one repair attempt, in accordance with changes in the Consumer Purchase Act. Until now, sellers have had two attempts at the same defect. The electronics industry fears that this will lead to a shorter lifespan for more products and more waste. The Consumer Council, on the other hand, believes that the changes will put pressure on the industry to sell more durable products, which will be positive for the environment. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Imagine your washing machine goes on strike. The water is not emptied. A repairman comes and replaces a pump. After a while you find out that it still doesn’t work. The repairman comes again and finds a fault in a hose. Before the New Year, the supplier you bought the machine from could try to correct the defect once more. For purchases after the New Year, you can claim a new machine. Store manager Heidi Myklebust at Power in Stord fears that just one repair attempt will lead to a shorter lifespan of several products. – We should have more attempts so that we don’t end up lifting more products. It’s bound to happen. The appeal period is two or five years. You always have a two-year appeal period (complaint period) when you buy something from a professional seller. For goods which, in normal use, are meant to last much longer, you can complain for five years. Running shoes and children’s toys typically have a two-year appeal period, while furniture and mobile phones have a five-year appeal period (Consumer Purchase Act). You have a two-year appeal period when you buy something from a private person (purchase act). Source: The Consumer Council Store manager Heidi Myklebust is sure that more products will be thrown away when the repair attempts are limited. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news Digital update of the legislation Changes to the Consumer Purchase Act will from 1 January 2024 strengthen the rights of consumers and impose stricter requirements on sellers regarding information and product updates. Today, we buy digital washing machines, refrigerators and cars, and that presents new challenges. An updated piece of legislation is thus in line with technological development, according to the government. Changes in the Consumer Purchase Act The seller’s right to rectify defects has been narrowed. There will now be a rule of one rectification attempt for each item, compared to previously two attempts for each error. The new rules on a rectification attempt apply regardless of whether it is the same deficiency or new deficiencies that arise. It is still the case that several attempts can take place if it is reasonable, the seller does not get more attempts without further ado. Defects that are discovered within two years of the time of purchase are considered to have been present at the time of takeover. So far this has only been six months. It will no longer be possible to make a general assumption that an object is “sold as is”. Instead of, the seller must specifically inform about conditions such as deviations from normal requirements regarding, for example, quality and functionality. It is now the seller who must prove that the defect is immaterial, if the consumer demands to cancel the purchase. Apps that are needed for electronic products to work are now seen as part of the purchase. The consumer has a right to updates, so that both hardware and software will last for at least five years. Manufacturers of electronic products, such as smart watches and TVs, could previously cut updates on older models. The changes apply to purchases made after 1 January 2024. – Won’t fewer remedial attempts be good news for consumers? – It depends on how you look at it. Most of us want to be environmentally friendly. We must have the goods as long as possible. If we then cannot repair the products, they must be replaced, says store manager Heidi Myklebust. According to the store manager, a good part of the goods that could not be repaired come back to the store and end up in containers for recycling. – There will be a lot of throwing, unfortunately. White goods with defects and errors on Power Stord. Some are sold as used goods after repair. Products that are thrown away are recycled. Photo: Eli Bjelland / news – More electrical waste Last year, almost 1.4 million large electrical appliances, such as refrigerators, washing machines and stoves, were sold in Norway. The electronics industry annually has around 140,000 repairs on large white goods, i.e. the repairs that take place at consumers’ homes. There is no record of how many people are repaired twice. The industry nevertheless believes that the legislative change is bad news from an environmental and economic point of view. – I think that some customers will demand a new product where before it was appropriate to repair, says Jan Adelsten Røsholm, who is the managing director of the Electronics industry. – We fear that it will lead to more electrical waste. Even if it is recycled, it is still electrical waste. Greater production of new products will also have an adverse environmental effect. Around 145,000 tonnes of electrical waste is thrown away in Norway every year, and the amounts have remained stable over the past ten years, according to figures from Statistics Norway. All sources of waste are then included. Jan Røsholm in the Electronics Industry says the goal is for customers to have a long and lasting life with the products they buy. He does not think that several trials will prevent it. Photo: Stian Sønstegn Willing to put pressure on the industry The Consumer Council is turning the whole issue on its head. – One of the purposes of the changes in the law is precisely the environment and sustainability. Setting higher requirements for products to be durable is a plus if you think environmentally. The electronics industry must rather prioritize selling products that have even slightly better durability, believes Thomas Iversen, who is a senior legal adviser at the Consumer Council. The Consumer Council receives between 50-60,000 messages and questions a year. Some of them are about errors and defects in the product. – The changes place higher demands on the business community to carry out repairs that actually solve the problem for the consumer. But if you have a washing machine that is now due for repair for the second time, it is not the case that you can cancel and rather ask for a new one. It is precisely the old rules that apply to purchases made before 1 January 2024. Thomas Iversen in the Consumer Council says they get several questions about how many attempts sellers have to repair goods. It has also been up in the consumer complaint committee several times. Photo: Consumer Council
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The shops get fewer chances to correct mistakes – news Vestland
