Consumer rights, guarantees relating to the purchase of goods and services and dispute resolution

Guarantees related to the purchase of goods

Legal conformity guarantee

The legal guarantee applies to almost all goods, including any tangible movable object, goods with digital elements (e.g., mobile phones), as well as water, gas, or electricity, when sold in volume or limited quantity.

The legal guarantee period is 2 years, whether you purchase products online, in a store, or by mail order.

For goods with digital elements (smart watches, smartphones, and smart appliances) the legal guarantee can be five years if the goods have an average usage period greater than five years, and the contract provides for the continuous supply of digital content or digital services (for example, regular system updates or software included in the sales contract). If the continuous supply of digital content or services is provided for a period longer than five years, then the guarantee will be valid for that period.

For second-hand products, you can agree with the seller on a guarantee period of less than 2 years. However, the guarantee cannot be less than 1 year.

Commercial guarantee

The commercial guarantee is a commitment assumed by the seller or manufacturer, in addition to the legal guarantee, by which they undertake to reimburse the price paid or to replace, repair, or maintain the goods in any way, in case they do not meet the specifications or any other requirement not related to conformity

If the manufacturer offers you a commercial durability guarantee for certain goods for a certain period, they are directly responsible to you, for the entire period covered by the durability guarantee, for repairing or replacing the goods. The manufacturer may offer you more favorable conditions in the commercial durability guarantee certificate.

The commercial guarantee must be provided to you in writing or on any durable medium. This can be done in the form of the guarantee certificate.

In the case of long-term use products, the guarantee certificate is mandatory, even if no commercial guarantee is offered.

The commercial guarantee certificate is written in clear and intelligible language and contains the following elements:

• a clear statement indicating that the consumer has the right to corrective measures from the seller, at no cost, in case of non-conformity of the goods and that these corrective measures are not affected by the commercial guarantee;
• the name and address of the guarantor;
• the procedure the consumer must follow to obtain the enforcement of the commercial guarantee;
• indication of the goods covered by the commercial guarantee;
• the conditions of the commercial guarantee.

Presumption of lack of conformity

Until proven otherwise, any issue (non-conformity) of the product that occurs within 1 year from delivery is considered to have existed at the time the product was delivered to you.

Seller's liability

The seller is liable to you for any lack of conformity existing at the moment the goods were delivered.

In case of lack of conformity, you have the right to ask the seller to bring the product into conformity by free repair or replacement, price reduction, or contract cancellation. You can choose any of these corrective measures also when the non-conformity of the goods is found shortly after delivery, not exceeding 30 calendar days.

Right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal from a contract is valid only for contracts concluded at a distance or outside commercial premises and can be exercised within a period of 14 calendar days, without needing to justify your decision.

In case of exercising the right of withdrawal, the trader must reimburse the sums paid to you without undue delay, but no later than 14 days from the date you informed them of the decision to withdraw from the contract.

There are some specific exceptions to the right of withdrawal, for example perishable goods, goods which have not been sealed and that cannot be returned for reasons of health or hygiene, and service contracts after the service has been fully performed, when you have given prior consent to start the service immediately and acknowledged that you lose the right of withdrawal when the service is fully provided.

Procedures for the resolution of consumer disputes and compensation

If you have a problem with a trader and it cannot be resolved directly with the trader, you have the following options:

• filing a complaint with the competent authority;
• initiating an alternative dispute resolution procedure.

General procedure regarding the resolution of consumer complaints

If you reside in Romania and have a problem with a trader from Romania, you can address the Regional Consumer Protection Commissariats, structures subordinated to the National Authority for Consumer Protection.

The ways you can contact the structures of the National Authority for Consumer Protection are:

• notification: a form made in writing regarding the lack of conformity of the purchased products/services, without claiming material damages, by which a possible infringement of consumer rights and interests is brought to notice.
• complaint: a form made in writing regarding the lack of conformity of the purchased products/services or other violations of consumer rights and interests and by which material or other claims are requested.

Procedure for resolving cross-border disputes

If you have a problem with a trader from another country in the EU, from Norway, Iceland, or the United Kingdom, you can contact the European Consumer Centre in your country of residence.

The European Consumer Centres can offer you, free of charge, the following services:

• information about the rights you have under European and national legislation;
• information about possible ways to resolve the complaint;
• facilitating an amicable settlement with the foreign trader from whom you purchased goods or services, directly or online;
• redirecting you to a competent body, if the dispute could not be resolved amicably.