PRESS RELEASE

SELLER'S GUARANTEE: ANTITRUST AUTHORITY LAUNCHES 7 NEW INVESTIGATIONS INTO ALLEGEDLY UNFAIR COMMERCIAL PRACTICES OF MAJOR CHAIN RETAILERS OF ELECTRONICS AND HOUSEHOLD APPLIANCES
MINI-GUIDE TO CONSUMER RIGHTS NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE AT WWW.AGCM.IT


President Antonio Catricalà's 'operation transparency' continues. Inquiries into Eldo; Expert Italy, Papino Elettrodomestici and Leso Elettrodomestici (Expert brand names); Di Salvo and Della Martira and general large-scale retail chains (Carrefour, Auchan, PAM-Panorama and FINIPER)


The Antitrust Authority launched 7 new investigations into the allegedly unfair commercial practices of 9 retail chains, which include specialists in electronics, computers, technology and household appliances as well as large-scale general retailers.
The proceedings continue the 'operation transparency' declared by Authority President Antonio Cartricalà last August by setting out to determine whether the customers of these companies were duly notified of the existence of product warranties and their distinction from conventional guarantees, whether pay-based or free of charge.
To clarify the basic issues concerning warranties and consumer rights, a brief guide to seller guarantees has recently been published on the Antitrust Authority website - www.agcm.it.
Launched a few weeks ago, the latest proceedings follow on 5 others that concluded with the acceptance of commitments by Mediamarket (Mediaworld brand), Unieuro, SGM Distribuzione (MarcoPoloExpert brand), Euronics and Nova (Euronics brand), DPS Group and DML (Trony brand), GRE and Estendo.
According to reports gathered through the Antitrust Authority call-center, the businesses in question confused their customers through different forms of commercial misconduct, ranging from the incomplete provision of information about the terms of the two-year "conformity" warranty (repair and/or replacement) to refusals to acknowledge the warranty's validity by replacing defective products on request. Several consumers complained of receiving insufficient or misleading information about the conditions and procedures for exercising the right to replacement. Other complaints included the failure to provide time estimates for repairs, unreasonable waits for the return of repaired items and the charging of fees for repair and/or delivery costs even when the products were still under warranty.
This new round of investigations has also uncovered a series of more general consumer difficulties that concern who to contact for assistance: many consumers are unaware that the two-year warranty is only valid when directly processed by the seller. The retailers themselves often refer their customers to manufacturer Service Centers (CAT – Centri di Assistenza Tecnica) under the pretext of receiving faster turnaround times. In reality, however, manufacturer warranties (provided by CAT) are often less generous than retailer warranties in terms of their duration and the types of defects covered.

Rome, 13th November 2010

Warranties for consumer goods