Do you know your real rights in respect of faulty merchandise?  You may not be aware that it is now much more like UK law than most retailers would have you believe. 

 

You can find it all here: http://www.ceaccu.org/ley_garantias_bienes_consumo.htm  It is worth printing a copy to take with you if you have a problem, even if you don’t speak much Spanish, as it is common for the retailer to insist that it is the manufacturer who is responsible and say either ‘we will send it back to the manufacturer for them to look at it’ or 'we will arrange for a tecnico to visit.'

 

Even If you don’t speak enough Spanish to get the gist, it is still worth printing it all off if you are going in to battle, but all you really need to know is that

 

The period of the guarantee is a minimum 2 years

During the first six months you have the right to choose between a new item and repair. They will almost certainly try to get you to accept the repair – be firm if you feel that this is not appropriate.  Clearly it would be unreasonable to insist on a repacement for a minor, easily repaired fault, but if an item has a series of faults or just plain doesn't work properly, then a replacement is more appropriate.

 

Responsibility to resolve any problem now lies with the vendor and it is up to him to sort it out with the manufacturer. This should mean that if you opt for a new item, you should get it without prevarication, and if a repair is appropriate, the sorting out is his responsibility and presumably he should do it quickly.

 

If there is a big demand, I will translate it and post it, but PLEASE don’t try using an on-line translating programme (I will be posting about those another day!)

 

If you meet with resistance, then you need to ask for the hojas (or libro) de reclamaciones. That usually does the trick as these are taken very seriously by the authorities, but it is a bit of a pain because the onus is on you to take your copy to the Consumer people at the Ayuntamiento to register it.  ate.

 

Clued-up retailers find this law to be better rather than worse for them – one told me that she is delighted because she has plenty of power with the suppliers and she much prefers to keep her customer happy with an immediate replacement and sort it out with the supplier later.

 

I only found out about this as a result of an internet search after a frustrating 6 week struggle trying to get a new phone out of Vodafone. The one I bought didn't work from day 1 despite being returned no less than 3 times to Samsung. I printed it off with an accompanying letter setting out the whole story and 2 days later, guess what, new phone!

 

If I have got any of this wrong I am sure Maria can put me right!