Sale of goods, digital content and digital services: Statutory and commercial guarantees
Content
Traders are under an obligation to deliver goods and supply digital content and digital services which conform to what is agreed in the contract, and traders are answerable to consumers or users for any non-conformity that may exist at the time of delivery or supply.
When are the goods, digital content or digital services in conformity with the contract?
‘Conforming to contract’ means the digital content and digital services meet all the following requirements:
- Conform to the description, type of good, quantity and quality and possess the functionality, compatibility, interoperability and other characteristics of the test sample, model or version and those set out in the contract;
- Are fit for the purposes for which goods or digital content or digital services of the same type are normally used and for the specific purposes required by the consumer and for which such use has been acknowledged by the trader;
- Are delivered or supplied together with all their accessories, packaging and instructions that the consumer and user can reasonably expect and also those provided for in the contract;
- Are supplied with updates or updated as stipulated by the contract;
- Possess the quality and features and other characteristics, particularly as regards the durability of the good, the accessibility and continuity of the digital content or digital service normally possessed by goods of the same type and which the consumer or user could reasonably expect.
Who is responsible for conformity?
For contracts for the sale of goods concluded before 1 January 2022, the seller is liable for the conformity of the new products for a period of two years. The parties may agree a period of less than two years for second-hand products, though the agreed period can never be less than one year.
Non-conformities arising in the first six months after product delivery shall be presumed to have been present at the time of delivery.
For contracts concluded from 1 January 2022, the trader is liable for the lack of conformity of the goods, digital content and digital services supplied in a single transaction or in a series of transactions which exists at the time of delivery or supply and becomes apparent within three years of delivery in the case of goods, or two years in the case of digital content or digital services. The parties may agree a period of less than the above for second-hand goods, although the agreed period can never be less than one year following delivery.
Any lack of conformity which becomes apparent within the first two years following delivery of the goods, or in the year following the supply of the digital content or digital service supplied in a single transaction or a series of single transactions shall be presumed to have existed when the goods were delivered or the digital content or digital supply was provided.
When consumers find it impossible or excessively burdensome to refer the non-conformity to the vendor, they can complain to the manufacturer directly.
Who is responsible for conformity?
For contracts for the sale of goods concluded before 1 January 2022, the seller is liable for the conformity of the new products for a period of two years. The parties may agree a period of less than two years for second-hand products, though the agreed period can never be less than one year.
Non-conformities arising in the first six months after product delivery shall be presumed to have been present at the time of delivery.
For contracts concluded from 1 January 2022, the trader is liable for the lack of conformity of the goods, digital content and digital services supplied in a single transaction or in a series of transactions which exists at the time of delivery or supply and becomes apparent within three years of delivery in the case of goods, or two years in the case of digital content or digital services. The parties may agree a period of less than the above for second-hand goods, although the agreed period can never be less than one year following delivery.
Any lack of conformity which becomes apparent within the first two years following delivery of the goods, or in the year following the supply of the digital content or digital service supplied in a single transaction or a series of single transactions shall be presumed to have existed when the goods were delivered or the digital content or digital supply was provided.
When consumers find it impossible or excessively burdensome to refer the non-conformity to the vendor, they can complain to the manufacturer directly.
What is the commercial guarantee?
The commercial guarantee is an additional guarantee which the provider may offer free of charge, or which the consumer may agree to contract.
This legal guarantee must identify:
- A specific statement of the right to legal remedies free of charge.
- The guarantor’s name and address.
- The procedure to be followed in order to implement the commercial guarantee.
- The goods or digital content or digital service to which it applies.
- The terms of the commercial guarantee, including its duration and territorial scope.
Repair and after-sales service
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Right to the availability of spares
Consumers and users of durables are entitled to proper technical service and to the availability of spare parts for a period of ten years from when the manufacture of the product was completed. For goods manufactured before 1 January 2022, the period for ensuring the availability of spare parts will be five years.
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Prices of spares and labour
Invoices must contain a breakdown of the separate items. The price list for spare parts must be publicly available.
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Time limit for collecting products returned for repair
Consumers are allowed a period of one year to collect goods delivered to the trader for repair. When goods were left for repair before 1 January 2022, the collection period will be three years.
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Formal requirements for returning products for repair
The regulations set out the data which the provider must record when an item is returned for repair, and the different forms of recording returns.
Information for each Autonomous Community
Andalucía Aragón Asturias, Principado de Balears, Illes Canarias Cantabria Castilla y León Castilla-La Mancha Cataluña Ciudad de Ceuta Ciudad de Melilla Comunitat Valenciana Extremadura Galicia Madrid, Comunidad de Murcia, Región de Navarra, Comunidad Foral de País Vasco Rioja, La
Information from local authorities
Some municipal councils offer an information service to consumers for them to be able to exercise their rights.
Access to the Local Government Map
to select the relevant municipality.
Legal and/or technical references
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Contracts concluded from 1 January 2022 Articles 114 to 127 bis of Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of 16 November 2007, adopting the recast text of the General Law on the Protection of Consumers and Users and other, supplementary, legislation.
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Contracts for the sale of goods concluded before 1 January 2022. Article 104 to 127 of Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007 of 16 November 2007 adopting the recast text of the General Law on the Protection of Consumers and Users and other supplementary legislation in the version prior to the entry into force on 1 January 2022 of Article 16 of Royal Decree-Law 7/2021 of 27 April 2021 implementing European Union directives on competition, prevention of money laundering, credit institutions, telecommunications, tax measures, prevention and remedying of environmental damage, posting of workers in the provision of transnational services and consumer protection
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Directive (EU) 2019/771 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects concerning the sale of goods, amending Regulation (EU) No 2017/2394 and Directive 2009/22/EC and repealing Directive 1999/44/EC.
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Directive (EU) 2019/770 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2019 on certain aspects concerning contracts for the supply of digital content and digital services.
