- 1 Important legal
notice:
- This document is
intended for information purposes only and does not constitute
official guidance from the Commission on the interpretation of EU
laws or policies.
1. BUY WHAT
YOU WANT, WHERE YOU WANT
Fancy a shopping trip to a
city in another EU country? EU law entitles you to “shop until you drop”
without having to worry about paying customs duty or additional VAT when
you return home. This applies whether you physically go to the other
country to shop or whether you order goods over the Internet, by post or
telephone. In general, the authorities in your country cannot stop you
importing a product which you have lawfully purchased in another EU
country. A few exceptions apply, though, for example to products such as
fire-arms or morally offensive items.
2. IF IT
DOESN’T WORK, SEND IT BACK
What if you buy a new
television set and it immediately breaks down? Under EU law if a product
you buy does not conform to the agreement you made with the seller at the
time of purchase, you can take it back and have it repaired or replaced.
Alternatively, you can ask for a price reduction on another purchase, or a
complete refund of your money. This applies for up to two years after you
take delivery of the product. And for the first six months after delivery,
the burden of proof is on the seller – not the consumer – to prove
that the product sold conformed with the contract of sale. This principle
that the product must “conform with the contract of sale” also
protects you if what you get is not what you agreed to buy. For example,
if what you agreed to buy was antique furniture and what you are sent is
reproduction you can send it back.
3. HIGH
SAFETY STANDARDS FOR FOOD AND OTHER CONSUMER GOODS
Look around your local
supermarket – you will see products from across the whole of Europe. Are
they all safe? Yes, they have to be. The EU has laws to help ensure the
products you buy are safe. Though no system of regulation can guarantee
consumers zero risk, or 100% safety, EU countries have among the highest
safety standards in the world. Food safety is based on the principle that
we need to look at the whole of the “food chain” in order to ensure
safety. EU food safety laws therefore regulate how farmers produce food
(including what chemicals they use when growing plants and what they feed
their animals), how food is processed, what colourings and additives can
be used in it and how it is sold. The EU also has laws regulating the
safety of food imported into the EU from our trading partners in other
parts of the world. The EU’s safety laws on other consumer goods are
also strict. It is a general requirement of EU law that all products sold
in the EU must be safe. If a company discovers it has placed unsafe
products on the market it has a legal duty to inform the authorities in
the EU countries affected. If the product poses a significant danger the
company has to organise a product recall.
4. KNOW
WHAT YOU ARE EATING
How can you find out what’s
in your food? Just look at the information on the package! EU laws on food
labelling enable you to know what you are eating. Full details of the
ingredients used to make a food product must be given on the label, along
with details of any colouring, preservatives, sweeteners and other
chemical additives used. If an ingredient is one to which some consumers
may be allergic – for example, nuts – it must be marked on the label
even if the quantities used are very small. EU food labelling laws
regulate which products can be called “organic” and the use of names
associated with quality products from particular European regions – for
example, if it is labelled Prosciutto di Parma you can be sure the ham
comes from Parma, if it is labelled Kalamata you can be sure the olives
are from Kalamata. EU law also enables you to know if food is genetically
modified (GM) or contains GM ingredients. If it is, then it must be
labelled as genetically modified.
5.
CONTRACTS SHOULD BE FAIR TO CONSUMERS
Have you ever signed a
contract without reading all the small print? What if that small print
says the deposit you just paid is non-refundable – even if the company
fails to deliver on its side of the bargain? What if it says you cannot
cancel the contract unless you pay the company an extortionate amount in
compensation? EU law says these types of unfair contract terms are
prohibited. No matter what contract you sign, and no matter which EU
country you sign it in, EU law protects you from these sorts of abuses.
6. SOMETIMES
CONSUMERS CAN CHANGE THEIR MIND
What if a salesman turns up
unexpectedly at your home and somehow persuades you to sign a contract to
have “double glazing” windows installed, or new carpets, costing
hundreds of euros? EU law protects you against this sort of doorstep
selling. As a general principle, you can cancel such a contract within
seven days. There are a few exceptions though: for example, insurance
contracts and purchases you make costing less than €60. EU law also
protects you, as a consumer, when you buy from mail order, Internet or
telesales companies and other “distance sellers”. Scams such as “inertia
selling” – sending you goods you did not order and then demanding
payment – are banned by EU law. If you buy a product or a service from a
website, mail order or telemarketing company you can cancel the contract,
without giving reasons, within seven working days. For some financial
services you have up to fourteen working days to cancel the
contract.
7. MAKING
IT EASIER TO COMPARE PRICES
How do you compare the price
of two different brands of breakfast cereal when one comes in a 375g box
and the other in a 500g box? EU law requires supermarkets to give you the
“unit price” of products – how much they cost per kilo or per litre
– to help make it easier for you to decide which one is best value for
money. EU law also requires financial services companies to give you
certain information in a standardised way. For example, loan companies and
credit card companies have to tell you the annual percentage rate of
interest you will have to pay – not just what the monthly repayments
are.
8.
CONSUMERS SHOULD NOT BE MISLED
You receive a letter from a
mail order company congratulating you on having won first prize in a
lottery they have organised. It turns out, however, to be no more than a
scam to get you to contact them so that they can try to talk you into
placing an order with them. You have not, in fact, won a prize. Is this
kind of marketing legal? No. Advertising that misleads or deceives
consumers is prohibited under EU law. In addition, when you are dealing
with telesales, mail order or on-line retailers they must be open and
honest with you. EU law requires them to give you full details of who they
are, what they are selling, how much it costs (including taxes and
delivery charges) and how long it will take for them to deliver it. Loan
and credit card companies must, under EU law, give you full details in
writing of any credit agreement you enter into. This must include
information on how much interest you are paying, how long the agreement
will last and how you can cancel it.
9.
PROTECTION WHILE YOU ARE ON YOUR HOLIDAY
What if you go on a package
holiday and the tour operator goes bankrupt? What if the package holiday
brochure promised you a luxury hotel and what you get is a building site?
In both these cases EU law offers you protection. Package tour operators
must have arrangements in place to get you home should they go bankrupt
while you are on holiday. They must also offer you compensation if your
holiday does not correspond to what they promised in their brochure. If
the tour operator tries to put up the price of the holiday, or change the
holiday resort, without your agreement EU law allows you to cancel your
booking. And if you turn up at the airport and find you cannot get on your
flight because the airline or tour operator has overbooked it EU law
entitles you to compensation. While on your holiday – or even when you
are back home – EU law protects you against unscrupulous sellers of
timeshare property schemes. Timeshare schemes offer the right to use an
apartment or villa in a holiday resort for a defined period of time each
year in return for buying a share of the property rights. In the past,
timeshare sellers in some holiday resorts have targeted tourists from
other countries and pressured them into signing expensive contracts they
do not fully understand. EU law now protects you against this. You are
entitled to have a copy of the timeshare brochure – and a translation of
the contract being proposed – in your own language. If you do sign a
contract you have a ten day “cooling off period” during which you can
cancel it without giving reasons. Last, but by no means least, EU law
makes it easier for you to take your furry friends on holiday with you.
Once your veterinarian has issued your cat, dog or ferret with one of the
new “pet passports” your pet can travel with you to any EU
country.
10.
EFFECTIVE REDRESS FOR CROSS-BORDER DISPUTES
The EU sponsors a number of
networks that can give consumers advice and support in bringing complaints
against traders in other EU countries. In each of the EU’s 25 Member
States citizens can get advice, in the national language of that country,
by calling the Commission’s “Europe Direct” information service for
free* on:
00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11*
The European Commission has
offices in the capital cities of all 25 EU Member States, as well as in
some of the major regional cities. These offices can give you advice and
documentation in the language of the country where they are located. You
can find their address on-line at: http://europa.eu.int/comm/represent_en.htm
The Commission’s network
of European Consumer Centres will be progressively extended throughout the
enlarged EU over the next few years. These Centres can advise you about
your rights when you shop across borders. At the moment, the European
Consumer Centre network covers 13 Member States. For contact details for
the existing Centres see: http://europa.eu.int/comm/consumers/map.htm
* This service is free from
any ordinary telephone line in any of the 25 EU Member States. Please
note, though, some mobile telephone operators do not allow access to
Freephone numbers.
You can find online
information about the EU in 20 European languages at:
http://www.europa.eu.int
A set of fact sheets about
your rights in the European Union is available in English, French and
German on the Commission’s “Dialogue with Citizens” website:
http://europa.eu.int/citizensrights/
