Today, consumerism is an integral part of everyday life. We are constantly exposed to new products, services and advertisements. Along with this abundance comes new challenges that force consumers to be vigilant.
According to Dainius Antanaitis, an attorney at AVOCAD, knowing one's rights as a consumer allows you to use the market more effectively, avoid scams and seek justice in unfair situations.
Commenting on recent case law, the lawyer recalls the main rules of the legal relationship between a trader and a consumer, which relate to the quality of the goods sold to the consumer.
First, the object sold must be of good quality, i.e. the characteristics of the object must be in conformity with the consumer contract. The fitness for the intended use of the object must not be understood as meaning that it is possible to use the object, even if this entails considerable inconvenience, disturbance of various kinds or additional costs.
Second, if a defect in the quality of the goods becomes apparent, the Buyer only needs to prove the defect itself. However, the existing presumption of the seller's liability for the quality of the goods to be sold obliges the trader (the seller) to prove that the defects in the goods occurred after the delivery of the goods to the buyer, due to the fault of the buyer.
Third, the seller, having information about the condition or characteristics of the thing to be sold which is relevant to the conclusion of the contract and in the exercise of his duty to ensure the quality of the thing, is under a duty of good faith to disclose that information to the buyer, whether or not the buyer requests such information. Failure to disclose that information to the buyer shall be regarded as bad faith on the part of the seller and, if the undisclosed condition or features of the object subsequently come to light, which make the use of the object inconvenient or impair the usefulness of the object, such condition or features shall be regarded as latent defects in the object.
Thus, if the consumer, having purchased the object, discovers defects in the object which, although they allow the object to be used for its intended purpose, cause inconvenience, disturbance or additional costs, it is sufficient for the consumer to provide evidence of the existence of the defects and not to have to prove the reasons for their occurrence, and even if the trader starts to defend that the consumer should have been aware of the fact that the object is being sold with such features, if the consumer was not previously aware of such features, they are considered to be latent defects.
How can the consumer resolve the problem of quality defects in this situation?
If the goods do not meet the quality requirements, the Civil Code gives the consumer the right to demand that:
- the product is repaired or replaced;
- a proportional reduction in the price of the product;
- unilaterally terminate the contract, return the goods and collect the price paid.
Each of these remedies has its own conditions of application. However, the consumer will choose one of these remedies not only on the basis of these conditions, but also on the basis of his needs and wishes.
For example, a consumer decides to buy a specific home because of its location and architectural choices, and then furnishes, integrates appliances and furnishes it according to his needs.
However, the consumer's joy in their new home was overshadowed by the various shortcomings in the quality of the house (e.g. unusually high heat energy losses during the cold season, resulting in higher heating costs, leaking windows, the façade not only not maintaining its aesthetic appearance, but also the possibility of the house's protective function due to the normal forces of nature, etc.).
If the trader refuses or fails to remedy these deficiencies, the alternatives are to reduce the price or terminate the contract and refund the price. Thus, in the event that the consumer does not want to leave his new home and does not want to terminate the contract, he can opt for a price reduction.
In the case-law of the Court of Cassation, this remedy means that if the value of the defective item actually delivered is lower than the value of the quality item, this difference in value constitutes the amount of the price reduction available for the claim. In such a case, the seller should pay the buyer this difference in value.
However, in this context, another remedy is also available, which is provided for in the general provisions of the Civil Code on sale and purchase contracts, which provide that the buyer has the right to claim reimbursement of the buyer's costs incurred by the buyer for the rectification of the defects, if the defects were decided by the buyer to be rectified by the buyer.
It is therefore worth remembering that if a consumer receives a faulty item, he can either ask for a reduction in the price of the item, or for reimbursement of the costs incurred by the consumer in rectifying the faulty quality of the item.