Actuality December, 11, 2007

On December, 12, 2007 the new consumer protection law took effect as amended. Changes concern first of all salesmen of technically engineered products, large household appliances, car dealers. Well and,  of course, customers. But if for a customer the law is advantageous, salesmen have the great number of claims.

A customer is not only always right now but also always remains “in the black”. From December, 12 he will be able to return any technically engineered product within 15 days at detection of any defects, not losing in price. And a salesman will be obliged to compensate him the overall purchase cost or to change an unwanted product. Besides, if earlier such procedure was conducted only at recognition of defects as “substantial”, now, even if the bought washing-machine appears too noisy in consumer’s opinion, he can demand a substitution or refund within 15 days.

Besides, refund can be demanded only in that case if the warranty repair was delayed for more than 45 days or if during each warranty year a product was repaired more than 30 days altogether. But it is not all: now the new introduced payment for violation of delivery date will make up 0,5% from the prepayment sum per day.  Earlier by the Civil Code it was possible to demand only payment for money usage (in size of CB discount rate of 10% per year). Dmitry Yanin, chairman of the board of International Confederation of Consumers Association (KonfOP) and one of the amendments’ authors of consumer protection law, emphasizes that if the case comes to trial, a customer will be able not only demand compensating of purchase cost but also recover a penalty in size of 1% from a price for every day of arrear since claim lay.

It is necessary to mark that salesmen of household appliances treated the law amendments rather calmly. As Nadezhda Senyuk, director for public relations of Technosila, declared that large chains already execute most norms written in the law: many take a product back even without defects. Moreover, many agree that introductions don’t contradict “the principles of services” accepted by the large companies of household appliances.

Car dealers are worried. Yurij Solovev, director for sales of Klarus Trading Company of GM dealers, fears that in the near future the number of blackmailers will grow considerably. “It comes that it is possible to return a car, if a glove box closes badly”. In the USA it is possible to return a car within a warranty term by law, but payment for depreciation will be deducted from a customer. And it is right, considers Dmitry Gulin, the president of the Russian car dealers association.

Gulin worries also, that small trading-service centers can bankrupt, in fact their margin is 6–7%, and a car that has left a car dealership and has been registered in the STSI (the State Traffic Safety Inspectorate) loses 10–15% of price. He names such legislation cruel.

There is suchlike in France: a customer is given a week within which he can break a contract but a car must not leave a car dealership.

Tatyana Rusakova, Toyota representative, marked that there are “loopholes” for a producer in the new law. For example, “commodity shortage” is explained as “inadequacy of usually presented demands”, and it is not explained what demands are meant. And such inconcrete statements will give grounds for disputes of customers and salesmen.
Now large producers will play safe and evade some limitations. For example, to state a delivery date with a large margin not to pay a penalty in case of delay.

However, Dmitry Yanin is sure that the new law will indeed act for consumer protection. Soon, probably, there appears a necessity to protect salesmen.