2015-02-01, 23:37
(2015-02-01, 21:22)z31fanatic Wrote:(2015-02-01, 13:19)noggin Wrote: On the other hand we got a lot more consumer protection... (Distance selling, UK Sale of Goods Act and a lot of the EU regulations are far tougher than in the US.) Sure I'd love to pay less for stuff and have more choice, but I wouldn't want to be regulated the same as the US either. I guess it's a quid-pro-quo kind of situation.And what are these protections you speak of? I am curious.
The UK Sale of Goods Act means that items should be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. This means that if something fails during a period when a reasonable person would expect it to still function, you are entitled to redress (usually refund, replacement or repair). In other words, you are still protected if something fails outside warranty if it should reasonably last longer than the warranty period if made to a satisfactory quality. Everything, pretty much, sold in the UK has a minimum 12 month guarantee. But if you bought a washing machine and it came with a 12 month guarantee, but failed catastrophically in the 13th month, you still have strong legal backing as a washing machine fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality should not fail after 13 months. It's a surprisingly useful bit of legislation...
Of course it doesn't cover you for wear and tear - so if you buy a washing machine and run it constantly for 12 months and it fails that would be different...
Distance selling legislation in the UK mean you have a guaranteed 14 days to return an item bought online or by mail order/telephone should you wish. No questions asked.
My understanding is that the US doesn't have the same degree of consumer purchase protection. I may be wrong - but I heard that there are guarantees as short as 90 days on some products?
