Warranty periods.

[glsammy]

My Canon 40D has developed two faults and as it is outside the quoted 12 months warranty period, I was resigned to an expensive repair bill. That was until yesterday when I found that all consumer goods have an automatic 24 month warranty, thanks to our friends in the EU!

The directive which gives this information is EU Directive 1999/44EC.

No doubt loads of you were aware of this, but I certainly wasn't. All the restrictive 12 months warranty info we see apparently isn't enforceable.

I'll soon find out if I'm right as I've just sent an email enquiry to Canon to get my camera repaired, quoting this legislation. I'll keep my fingers crossed to see what they say.

[Lancashire Lad]

Nice one Graham.

Thanks for the info - i certainly wasn't aware of that.

Lets hope you get satisfaction.

I'll be watching the thread with interest.

Regards,
Mike.

[Lee70]

Me either Graham,

Thanks for the heads up.

Cheers
Lee

[glsammy]

It didn't take long for their service agents to dump me!

My request has now gone direct to Canon UK.

[Lancashire Lad]

Out of curiosity, I looked up the directive, and as per usual it seems to be a document of ten thousand words, when ten would do.

If anyone cares to see it, Here's a link: -
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cg...model=guichett

A quick read leads me to think that the tail end of item 17 is the crucial statement.

Regards,
Mike.

[glsammy]

There's a slightly more understandable condensation of the due parts here:

Directive 1999/44/EC, May 1999 from the European Parliament stipulates that by 1st January 2002 all member states must have alt

The main parts being:

"The directive calls for
· a guarantee of at least 2 years for new goods (or longer if the Member State wishes) where the seller will undertake without extra charge to reimburse the price paid or to replace and/or repair consumer goods if they do not meet the specifications set out in the guarantee statement or relevant advertising.
· a guarantee of at least one year for used goods (except those sold by a private seller)"

Also:

"If a defect appears during the first six months following purchase the consumer will not have to prove the product was defective at the moment of delivery. The onus will be on the seller to prove the product was without defect. A consumer will have up to two months following the discovery of the fault to inform the seller. If a defect becomes apparent within the two, or one year, period depending on the type of goods, then the consumer has the right to choose a remedy using the following hierarchy. They can

· Demand repair or replacement within a reasonable time and without any significant inconvenience. (Free of charge repair refers to the necessary costs to bring the goods “back to conformity”)"

There's much more, but no point quoting more of it here. In a nutshell it means we've got 2 years warranty on all goods purchased anywhere in the EU.
It'll be interesting to see how Canon respond to this, especially as it's been in force since 2002, yet manufacturers still quote one year warranties..

[Lee70]

That's great news.

It's about time we as consumers got something other than inflated prices due to VAT in this country.

At least joining the EU was good for something then...

[pressld2]

Originally Posted by glsammy

It'll be interesting to see how Canon respond to this, especially as it's been in force since 2002, yet manufacturers still quote one year warranties..

They (not just Canon, all of 'em) have been hoping we wouldn't notice! A few retailers, John Lewis for one, have started using this as a marketing tool, offering a "free 2 year warranty" on various items and neglecting to mention that we all get 2 year warranties wherever we buy from.

I'll be very interested to see if Canon do put up any sort of fight. Nikon seem to be going down the marketing route stating that their cameras have a one year warranty but then adding...

"Cameras distributed by Nikon UK Limited and purchased in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland after September 1st 2007 (and during the duration of the scheme) qualify for a free one year extension to the Nikon Manufacturer's Warranty, if the purchase is registered with Nikon UK Limited within 30 days of purchase.

Any second year warranty claims must be made to Nikon UK Limited or one of its Authorised Repair Centres before the extended warranty expires."

...as if they're doing us a favour!

Dave P.

[glsammy]

Originally Posted by pressld2

They (not just Canon, all of 'em) have been hoping we wouldn't notice! A few retailers, John Lewis for one, have started using this as a marketing tool, offering a "free 2 year warranty" on various items and neglecting to mention that we all get 2 year warranties wherever we buy from.

I'll be very interested to see if Canon do put up any sort of fight. Nikon seem to be going down the marketing route stating that their cameras have a one year warranty but then adding...

"Cameras distributed by Nikon UK Limited and purchased in the United Kingdom or Republic of Ireland after September 1st 2007 (and during the duration of the scheme) qualify for a free one year extension to the Nikon Manufacturer's Warranty, if the purchase is registered with Nikon UK Limited within 30 days of purchase.

Any second year warranty claims must be made to Nikon UK Limited or one of its Authorised Repair Centres before the extended warranty expires."

...as if they're doing us a favour!

Dave P.

Good aren't they?

They can't force you to register with them to get your rights, one of the main point within that directive is that manufacturers cannot make any conditions within their terms that remove the basic rights of buyer. So in reality it makes no difference if you register with them or not.
I did register my camera with Canon, and this camera was one of the few photography items I purchased within the UK, so in theory at least I should be safe.
I've not heard anything from them yet. I'll give them until next week to reply. I've got an incident number so they can't say they haven't received my query.

[Lancashire Lad]

Amost 12 months ago, I bought my Nikon D80 from a well known chain of high street photographic equipment retailers.

Today, I've just received correspondence stating that the manufacturer's warranty is about to expire, and for "only" £49.00 I can have the peace of mind of extending the break-down warranty for a further twelve months.

Surely, since Directive 1999/44/EC has been in force since 2002, manufacturers and retailers must be aware of their legal obligations, and this sort of correspondence is nothing more than a scare mongering, money making exercise, which will offer absolutely nothing over and above what is already entitled.

I was wondering whether this type of moral blackmail, (for that is what I see these extended warranties as), is in fact legally allowed, and whether Trading Standards might have something to say. It is obviously normal practice by many high street retailers, as I have declined several such "offers" over the last few years.

Regards,
Mike.