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Pénzügyi fogyasztóvédelmi tanácsadás, 11 megyeszékhelyen ingyenesen, pártatlanul, szakszerűen.
Fundamental rights of consumers
Fundamental rights of consumers
During the act of shopping and the usage of services the average consumer encounters many different concepts of which meaning and essence are not always obvious It is common, that the trader demands something from the consumer in contempt of the law, or neglects the consumer's request he should perform.
Both traders and providers of services have a share in observing the rules of consumer protection and resolving any consumer complaints, as a satisfied customer means earning, and serious financial loss can be caused by wrong-doing.
It is important that during shopping, as a concious consumer we should try to pay attention to act responsibly and to be up on our rights. As a first step it worths to be aware of the fundamental righs of consumers..
The Act 1997. CLV. on consumer protection specifies the following consumer rights:
- The right to safety (consumer protection from life and health-hazardous goods and services)
- Consumers' right to protection of property interest
- Right to information (such as adequate information about the useage of goods, its quality, occuring dangers during useage; the advertising,the commercial and labeling of goods, services shall reflect the real properties)
- The right to education (to get aquainted with rights, obligations and relevant legislation within the confines of consumer’s education)
- The right to enforce the law fastly, efficiently and simply
- The right to represent the interests of consumers
Above all these the following ones are considered as a consumer’s right:
- The right to select,
- The right of appeal
- The right to meet the bare,
- The right to a clean environment.
As according to the orientation of consumers the following information should be placed on-stage :
- The opening hours, changes in it;
- The buyers book – in where the complaints about the work flow of the business, public announcements, suggestions and notifications of consumers can be registered - must be held at clearly visible and easily accessible place in the shops.
- Consumers must be informed about the comlaint forums at a clearly visible place
- The costs of goods must be squarely, easily identifiable and clearly legibly indicated.
- A hungarian User’s Guide should be provided to the products.
The user’s guide – next to the certification - is a part of the purchase information. The User’s Guide includes the necessary conditions and cognitions about the useage, operation, management, durability, availability of the product, and as regard to the certificaton, it provides information about the essential properties, main quality, technical and other characteristics, quality class of the product.
Consumers should recieve a written, hungarian and popular purchase information.
By shopping the shop assistant has to give a receipt, block, upon request, an invoice. If the product due to quality fault is a burgain counter, the receipt must indicate the cause and rate of devaluation. Quality complaint can be made to the part of the discount product which wasn’t affected by the discount, and if the vendor did not indicate the cause of the devaluation, the guarantee is valid to the whole product.
We have to hold the received receipt, block, invoice, because without these documents the trader isn’t obliged to arrange our quality complaint.
By purchase of all durable goods listed in the Annex of Government Decree The 151/2003. (IX.22) - by virtue of the act - a guarantee commitment has started up, and traders without a specific request has to provide the warranty (letter) to the customer.
The warranty card clearly understandable, squarely, in hungarian has to be drafted . It must include:
- Name and address of the distributor,
- The name, type, serial number of the good, and - where it is applicable– the definition of identifying parts.
- The manufacturer’s, and - if the product came from abroad - the importer’s name, address
- Consumers' rights under the warranty period, the date, place and conditions of their enforceability
- The date of purchase or installation.
The warranty does not affect consumer's rights under the law, this means that our guaranteed rights and claim for compensation may be enforced even after the warranty period, the warranty card must allude to this information. The consumer's need for reparation can be validated directly by the repair agent indicated on warranty card by the distributor.
It is possible that in spite of intended use the product fails. If a failure is detected, the product must be returned immediately to the store where purchased or to the service signed on warrant letter, because according to the updated regulation, the consumer decides where to validate warranty claims.
By the announcement of the complaint purchase receipt received by the payment must be provided. If you purchased a product under warranty, you can enforce your warranty claim with your warranty card. It is however important to note that a mistake in the warranty card, if it has filled out inproperly or the lack of it’s presentation does not affect the validity of the commitment, then it’s enough to show up the block as a proof of purchase.
Related to the non-durable consumer goods two year warranty is available to inforce our warranty rights. In case of consumer contracts unless proved otherwise, any lack of conformity that becomes apparent within six months of delivery of the goods shall be presumed to have existed at the time of delivery unless this presumption is incompatible with the nature of the goods or the nature of the lack of conformity. It follows that in case of consumer contracts - for example, by shoe purchase, within six months - the reason for non delivery of consumer's claim has to be proved not by the costumer but by the trader.
That is, the trader must prove that the error has arisen after the sale, if he doesn't want to deliver the consumer' demand.
By the announcement of the consumer's complaint the distributor must drawn up minutes, a copy of which shall be handed over to the consumer and must include the followings:
- The consumer's name and address;
- The name of the good;
- The purchase price;
- The announcement date of the error;
- Description of the error;
- The claim wanted to enforce by the consumer;
- The way of settlement of the complaint.
If the distributor can't express his position in connection with the deliverity of the complaint right by the announcement, the consumer must be informed about it is no later than in three working days.
The so-called. remeed purchase, the „choose an other good instead of it” politics isn't not unknown among hungarian customers, but both essential forms of this practice come up against law.
In the course of settlement of quality complaints it often happens , that a trader returns the bad good just with the condition an other good will be chosen instead of it for the price of it in the same shop . It is very important to know that during the warranty period, our Civil Code opens the door only to repair, replacement, price reduction, and - in case the consumer has the contract rescinded- an opportunity to repay the purchase price.
Of course, in the interest of quick and efficient settlement of a complaint a redeem may occur accepted by the costumer, but the seller can't insist on this solution, if the buyer refuses that..
In the case of non-conformity with the contract,
a) consumers shall, in the first place, be entitled to choose either repair or replacement unless this is impossible or it results in disproportionate expenses on the part of the obligor as compared to the alternative remedy, taking into account the value the goods would have had there been no lack of conformity, the significance of the lack of conformity, and whether the alternative remedy could be completed without significant inconvenience to the consumer;
b) if the consumer is entitled to neither repair nor replacement or if the obligor refuses to provide repair or replacement or is unable to meet the conditions described in Subsection (2), the consumer may require an appropriate reduction of the price or have the contract rescinded. The consumer is not entitled to have the contract rescinded if the lack of conformity is minor.
Any repair or replacement shall be completed within a reasonable time and without any significant inconvenience to the consumer, taking account of the nature of the goods and the purpose for which the consumer required the goods.
If the obligor is unable or unwilling to repair the goods within a reasonable time, the consumer shall be entitled to repair the goods himself or have them repaired by others at the expense of the obligor.
Until repair or replacement is completed, consumers shall be entitled to withhold a proportionate portion of the purchase price of the goods in question.
The so called claims book or buyer's book must be located at a clearly visible and easily accessible place. Customers can register their complaints about the operation of the business, their announcements and notifications into it. It's forbidden to influence or to obstruct the consumer in the practice of this right. The trader must check up the registration according to the rules laid in the special legislation, and he must inform the consumer about his arrengements in thirty days, . The improper usage of the buyers book may results offence in the emergence of the rules related to the protection of the consumer's property interest, in connection with this the consumer can make a complaint by the competent authority of consumer’s protection.