WARRANTIES FOR CONSUMER GOODS: CONSUMER RIGHTS

1) What a warranty is - The Consumer Code (articles 128 et seq.) provides for conformity warranties to protect consumers who purchase products that turn out to be defective, malfunctioning or unfit for the purposes claimed by the seller or as commonly understood for the particular good.

2) Who to contact to exercise your rights – Consumers may exercise their conformity warranty rights by directly contacting the seller of the good, who is not necessarily the manufacturer.

3) Substance of the warranty - When a non-conformity is discovered, consumers have the right for the retailer to repair or replace the good at no additional cost. If this is impossible, the consumer is entitled to a price reduction or a full refund when they return the defective product to the seller.

4) Duration of the warranty – The warranty lasts two years from the time of delivery and must be honored within two months of the defect's discovery, so be sure to retain proof of purchase (the formal invoice or receipt, which should be photocopied immediately due to the fact that the printing on heat-sensitive paper tends to fade over time). In the absence of evidence to the contrary, which is the burden of the seller to provide, defects discovered within six months of product delivery are assumed to reflect non-conformities that already existed as of the date of delivery.

5) Seller obligations – Sellers are required to: (i) accept the return of defective products in order to determine whether or not the malfunction derives from a non-conformity; (ii) repair or replace such goods in a reasonable amount of time without any charge to the consumer.

6) The difference between warranties and conventional guarantees – Whether pay-based or free of charge, conventional guarantees offered by manufacturers or retailers neither substitute for nor restrict conformity warranties in any way, and may also apply to different elements and/or for different lengths of time. The providers of conventional guarantees are obliged to clarify that such guarantees are offered in addition to the conformity warranty that protects consumers.

7) The powers of the Antitrust Authority – Any retailer or manufacturer behavior that misleads consumers as to the existence or applicability of conformity warranties or obstructs the exercise of such rights may constitute unfair commercial practices, as prohibited and sanctioned by the Consumer Code. In such cases, the Antitrust Authority may intervene to protect consumers by establishing the existence of an infringement, imposing the cessation of unlawful conduct and punishing the responsible parties with fines of up to 500,000 euros. Should the business propose commitments with a positive impact on consumers, the Antitrust Authority may opt to accept these commitments and refrain from the formal establishment of an infraction. It is not, however, empowered to resolve individual disputes.

8)    Who to contact – The Antitrust Authority operates a toll-free number (800166661), Monday-Friday, 10 am-2 pm. Faxes, alternatively, should be sent to fax no. 0039/0685821256 and written letters should be addressed to: Autorità Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato - Piazza Verdi, 6/a - 00198 Rome - Italy, completing the form found in the 'Unfair commercial practices, false advertising and similar' section of the  www.agcm.it website.