Soon, in addition, other rights will come into force. Among them, for example, if a person wants to buy a refrigerator, before doing so he must be informed of the product’s durable years.
This March 24 came into force the amendment to the Consumer Law that extends the legal warranty period for products from three to six monthsa period in which people They may demand the change of the product that was defective, the refund of the money paid or the repair.
This reform is part of the modifications introduced by Law No. 21,398 and which reinforced the Consumer Law (Law No. 19,496), establishing a series of modifications for the benefit of consumers in different areas.
What companies must comply with
In the case of the legal guarantee, the new regulations establish an extension of the term to exercise the right from three to six months, which implies that people who buy a product from today, Companies may be required to: the change, repair or refund of what was paid when a product turns out to be bad or does not serve the purpose for which it was purchased. This period is counted from the reception of the product. This, without prejudice to the compensation that a consumer could request for the damage caused.
Some products like home appliances They may require a review by the technical service to verify the origin of the fault, but once this procedure has been completed, consumers have the right to exchange, repair or refund the amount paid, at their choice.
It is important to point out, said Sernac, that “while the supplier is carrying out this review, the term to exercise the right of withdrawal is suspended.”
In addition, the new law establishes that companies may not offer consumers the contracting of services, products or policies whose coverage corresponds to the obligations of the legal guarantee or affect your term and options.
Therefore, with the new law, companies cannot charge for the rights of the guaranteenor establish restrictions on the exercise of the six months of legal guarantee, arguing that there is a voluntary guarantee.
Before the entry into force of these new rights, the Sernac maintained that it will be “monitoring compliance by companies, and in case of detecting infractions, it will take the corresponding actions.”
Problems arising from the exercise of the right to guarantee is one of the reasons why most consumers complain to the Service. In fact, during the year 2021, the organization received 37,530 claimswhile so far this 2022, it already has more than 11,100 cases.
The most common problems refer to the refusal on the part of the companies to return the money, followed by not exchanging the product, and not complying with the terms of the voluntary guarantee.
Other rights
In addition, the amendment to the law established that companies must report the useful life of durable products.
For example, if a person wants to buy a refrigerator, before doing so they should be informed that with normal use the appliance will last five or ten years. This right will come into force on the next August 24, 2022.
This regulation also established as mandatory the right of withdrawal in electronic, telephone or catalog purchasesgiving the possibility of regretting the purchase within 10 days of receiving the product, a provision that has been in force since December 24 last.
The reform also included other new rights for consumers in other areas of consumption, for example, at the time of buying a car, establishing the free choice of technical services in the maintenance or the obligation of the automakers to deliver a car to people while the vehicle is under repair for more than five business days. These rights come into force as of April 24.
also established new air passenger rights; new standards in the protection of personal data; new obligations in the financial market; in other aspects.