Some important articles out of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users in Spain

The exact name of the Law is Royal Legislative Decree 1/2007, of November 16, approving the consolidated text of the General Law for the Defense of Consumers and Users and other complementary laws (TRLGDCU), and we are going to be paying attention here to the following articles included in it: 116, 118, 119 and 120.

Article 116 Conformity of the products with the contract

1. Unless proven otherwise, it will be understood that the products are in accordance with the contract provided that they meet all the requirements that are expressed below, unless due to the circumstances of the case any of them is not applicable:

a) They conform to the description made by the seller and have the qualities of the product that the seller has presented to the consumer and user in the form of a sample or model.

b) They are suitable for the uses to which products of the same type are ordinarily destined.

c) They are suitable for any special use required by the consumer and user when they have informed the seller at the time of signing the contract, provided that the latter has admitted that the product is suitable for said use.

d) Present the usual quality and features of a product of the same type that the consumer and user can reasonably expect, taking into account the nature of the product and, where appropriate, the public statements about the specific characteristics of the products made by the user. seller, the producer or his representative, in particular in advertising or labelling. The seller will not be bound by such public statements if he proves that he was unaware and could not reasonably be expected to have known the statement in question, that said statement had been corrected at the time of conclusion of the contract or that said statement could not influence the decision to buy the product.

2. The lack of conformity resulting from an incorrect installation of the product will be equated to the lack of conformity of the product when the installation is included in the contract of sale or supply regulated in article 115.1 and has been carried out by the seller or under his responsibility, or by the consumer and user when the defective installation is due to an error in the installation instructions.

3. There will be no liability for lack of conformity that the consumer and user were aware of or could not reasonably have ignored at the time of the conclusion of the contract or that originate in materials supplied by the consumer and user.

(Responsibility of the seller and rights of the consumer and user)

Article 118 Responsibility of the seller and rights of the consumer and user

The consumer and user has the right to repair the product, its replacement, a price reduction or the termination of the contract, in accordance with the provisions of this title.

Article 119 Repair and replacement of the product

1. If the product does not conform to the contract, the consumer and user may choose between demanding the repair or replacement of the product, unless one of these two options is objectively impossible or disproportionate. From the moment the consumer and user inform the seller of the chosen option, both parties must abide by it. This decision of the consumer and user is understood without prejudice to the provisions of the following article for cases in which the repair or replacement fails to bring the product into compliance with the contract.

2. The form of sanitation that, compared to the other, imposes unreasonable costs on the seller, taking into account the value that the product would have if there were no lack of conformity, the relevance of the lack of conformity and if the alternative form of sanitation could be carried out without major inconveniences for the consumer and user.

In order to determine whether the costs are unreasonable, the costs for one form of relief must also be significantly higher than the costs for the other form of relief.

Article 120 Legal regime for the repair or replacement of the product

Repair and replacement will conform to the following rules:

a) They will be free for the consumer and user. Said gratuity will include the necessary expenses incurred to correct the lack of conformity of the products with the contract, especially the shipping costs, as well as the costs related to labor and materials.

b) They must be carried out within a reasonable period of time and without major inconveniences for the consumer and user, taking into account the nature of the products and the purpose they had for the consumer and user.

c) The repair suspends the computation of the terms referred to in article 123. The period of suspension will begin from the moment the consumer and user makes the product available to the seller and will end with the delivery to the consumer and user of the product already repaired. During the six months after the delivery of the repaired product, the seller will be liable for the lack of conformity that gave rise to the repair, assuming that it is the same lack of conformity when defects of the same origin as those initially manifested are reproduced in the product.

d) If the repair is completed and the product delivered, it is still not in accordance with the contract, the consumer and user may demand the replacement of the product, unless this option is disproportionate, the price reduction or the resolution of the contract in the terms provided in this chapter.

e) The substitution suspends the terms referred to in article 123 from the exercise of the option by the consumer and user until the delivery of the new product. Article 123.1, second paragraph, shall apply to the substitute product, in any case.

f) If the replacement fails to put the product in accordance with the contract, the consumer and user may demand the repair of the product, unless this option is disproportionate, the price reduction or the termination of the contract in the terms provided in this chapter. .

g) The consumer and user may not demand replacement in the case of non-expendable products, nor in the case of second-hand products.