Consumer law - Germany

theshoefairy

I recently purchased a canvas print as a Christmas gift from my-picture.co.uk.

The item arrived late which wouldn't have been a big problem but the canvas itself is very poor quality. The frame is self assembly and the site wasn't very clear about this. The wooden frame is poor quality and doesn't really fit together too well and the print is of poor quality and is too large for the picture, so when framed, it would cut half of the picture off.

I have since been reading about this site on the internet and it has very bad reviews. People have said that they have asked for refunds but they are told that as they are a German company they are not obliged to give a refund.

I have emailed them now and am waiting or a response.

Does anyone know anything about German law and what I could do about this?

Thanks

CynicalScotsman

When did you have it delivered?

You have seven working days from the day after delivery to cancel the item under the Distance Selling Regulations which are european union wide.

Another benefit of being a member state of the EU.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/dist_sell/index_en.htm


EDIT: Just thinking, you don't unfortunately as your item will have been made to your specification.

theshoefairy

It arrived on the 30th Dec and I ordered it on 20th Dec.

theshoefairy

CynicalScotsman wrote: »

When did you have it delivered?

You have seven working days from the day after delivery to cancel the item under the Distance Selling Regulations which are european union wide.

Another benefit of being a member state of the EU.

Source: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cons_int/safe_shop/dist_sell/index_en.htm


EDIT: Just thinking, you don't unfortunately as your item will have been made to your specification.

Thanks for this.

Maybe I could do something about it though as it actually doesn't meet my specifications?

CynicalScotsman

I don't think you would have recourse through DSR as items customised are explicitly excluded. However, EU consumer law is relatively harmonised, so there are some similarities with UK law. It is within 6 months of purchase so its up to the retailer to prove it wasn't faulty at time of delivery. There are a number of different options of redress in German consumer law: Including repair, replacement, rescission(effectively a refund) and a reduced price.

III. Remedies
Section 437 BGB offers the purchaser of a defective good a variety of remedies: § 437 no. 1 BGB grants the right to repeat performance, a notion that includes re- placement and repair, whilst § 437 no. 2 BGB mentions the rights to rescission and reduction of price. In addition to that, the purchaser can claim damages, § 437 no. 3 BGB. In contrast, unlike in contracts of works and services, the purchaser does not have the right to remedy defects himself and then seek compensation for expenses incurred afterwards.60 Although not immediately obvious, the German legislator has maintained the hierarchy of remedies as provided for by Directive 1999/44/EC.61 The system of remedies is now the same for defects in the legal status, § 435 BGB.

Rott, P. (2003). German Sales Law Two Years After the Implementation of Directive 1999/44/EC. German Law Journal . 5 (3), 248.

But remember, you only have these rights if it is faulty, if it turns out not to be faulty and what you have received is the specification and how the item simply is you could be liable for all carriage costs.

Was the item expensive or relatively cheap compared to elsewhere?

squeaky

Hi

From our ReadMe sticky...

When shopping inside the EU, you can find help via the site linked below.

http://www.ukecc.net/

Welcome to ECC United Kingdom

The UK ECC is part of the European Consumer Centre Network, which is made up of 29 centres throughout Europe. Their aim is to provide advice and support to consumers who are shopping cross-border within the internal market.