82
Business and Money
THE SUNDAY TIMES OF MALTA
I July 7, 2013
Consumer affairs
Five products tested for unsafe features via Joint Action Market Surveillance
Ensuring products on
the market are safe
Odette Vella
Odett Vella is senior information
officer, Office for Consumer
Affairs, Malta Competition and
Consumer Affairs Authority.
Prosafe, which stands for Product
Safety Enforcement Forum of
Europe, was established by market
surveillance officers from various
countries within the European
Economic Area.
For the past seven years, Prosafe
has coordinated a number of joint
actions which focused on specific
consumer products to ensure they
are safe for European consumers.
During these joint actions, participating member states work
together to sample, test and, if necessary, remove dangerous products from the European market.
Malta, through the Technical
Regulations Division within the
Malta Competition and Consumer
Affairs Authority, is an active participant of these joint actions.
Within each joint action, the
participating European countries
work together to investigate the
safety of specific types of product.
This usually involves developing a
sampling plan, drawing up a test
Defective electric
toothbrush
Q: About six months ago, I bought
an electric toothbrush from a local
retail outlet. A few weeks ago, I
noticed it wasn’t charging. I went
back to the seller and asked for an
exchange or refund.
I was told the shop’s policy is
that refunds and exchanges are
only possible when the product
purchased results defective within
30 days from the date of purchase.
Isn’t this illegal since sellers are
bound to give consumers a twoyear guarantee? Furthermore, on
the product’s packaging it is clearly
stated that the electric toothbrush
carries a three-year warranty.
When I pointed this out, I was
told to send an e-mail to the manufacturer of the item in Germany.
Isn’t this against the law? Shouldn’t
the seller be responsible for the
exchange or refund?
A: According to the Consumer
Affairs Act, a defective product
should be repaired or replaced free
of charge. The seller is responsible
for providing you with a solution.
If neither repair nor replacement
are possible solutions, or may
cause you a significant inconve-
protocol, often based on the
applicable voluntary standards
and having the products tested.
The participating countries then
implement corrective action as
necessary. This approach has
proven to be enormously successful in promoting the establishment
and widespread use of best practice in Europe. The last Joint
Action undertaken by Prosafe
members, Joint Action 2010,
which officially came to a close last
April, brought together 21 European countries to sample and test
five consumer products.
Malta, through the MCCA, was
leading this action and participated very actively in the various
product groups. These were: children’s fancy dress costumes; food
imitation products; ladders; laser
pointers; and visibility clothing
and accessories.
This joint action is partly
financed by the European Commission.
Children’s fancy
dress costumes
Out of 237 products sampled, 64
items were non-compliant, mostly
due to a lack of warnings about the
fabric’s flammability.
Food imitation
products
In this category, 379 products were
inspected: 60 cosmetics, 254 decorative items, 43 toys and 22 other
nience, then you may ask for your
money back.
If the seller refuses to provide
you with one of the above remedies, you may file a complaint with
the Office for Consumer Affairs
within the Malta Competition and
Consumer Affairs Authority. The
legal remedies are available to
consumers for two years from the
date of delivery of the product purchased.
As to the commercial guarantee
given to you when you bought the
electric toothbrush, you can use it if
this provides you with more benefits
than the law. If, however, you feel it
is inconvenient for you or claiming
a remedy under the commercial
guarantee will turn out to be complicated, you may opt not to use it
and instead ask for a solution as stipulated in the Consumer Affairs Act.
Wooden canopy
not up to standard
Q: Less than six months ago, I
agreed with a local trader to construct and install a wooden canopy
in my verandah. When choosing
the wood I was verbally assured
that the marine plywood used for
the roofing would last for years.
products. Only 113 products were
suspected as being potentially
dangerous and hence sent to a lab
for tests. Eighty-four of these products failed the safety test. Malta
took an active part in this product
group and sent 15 samples to the
Netherlands for testing in an
accredited lab.
Laser pointers
A total of 167 samples of laser
pointers were taken: 74 per cent
were class 3, which are not fit to be
sold to consumers; 95 per cent of
these were not correctly labelled.
Malta also took an active part in
this product group and sent eight
samples to Austria.
Ladders
Of the 38 ladders tested, 24 presented risks, the majority due to
inadequate strength. Though not
participating directly in this task,
Malta still managed to forward two
samples of ladders for testing.
Visibility clothing
and accessories
Out of the 135 products inspected,
39 samples were tested. These
included 20 pieces of clothing and
19 accessories. Only nine items
failed the tests. Seven pieces of
clothing failed the retro-reflective
performance test and two accessories failed the photometric test.
But, after only a few months from
when the canopy was installed, I
noticed the top layer of the roof is
already bloating up, exposing the
under layers.
What are my legal rights in this
situation?
A: Guarantees should be given
in writing. Even though verbal
agreements and guarantees are
legally binding, should a problem
crop up and the trader denies having given such a guarantee, it is
basically the consumer’s word
against that of the trader.
However, since the wooden
canopy has been installed less
than two years ago, legally you
have rights.
If the work done was not up to
standard, you may request that it
is either fixed, and therefore
brought into conformity with what
you initially agreed on with the
trader, or replaced.
If neither repair nor replacement are possible solutions, you
may request part or full refund.
If you do not manage to reach
an amicable understanding with
the seller, you may file a complaint with the Office for Consumer Affairs within the Malta
Competition and Consumer
Affairs Authority.
These results are based on samples of the products from the markets in the participating countries.
As in any routine market surveillance activity, the results represent
the targeted efforts authorities
undertake to identify unsafe products. The products sampled were
tested at accredited laboratories.
The tests focused on those safety
requirements that have the largest
impact on consumer safety.
Following sampling and testing,
member states participating in the
joint action took the appropriate
enforcement actions. The results
of the Joint Action have also made
a significant impact on the vast
majority of Rapex (EU rapid alert
system) notifications. In fact,
clothing and textiles were mostly
reported under Rapex during 2012.
The joint actions helped in
improving the enforcement work
carried out by the authorities in EU
countries. The European Commission states this improvement is
reflected in the 26 per cent rise in
Rapex alerts when compared with
2011 figures.
[email protected]
The information provided in this
article was obtained from the Joint
Action 2010 newsletter, published
by Prosafe on June 3.
Weekly consumer advice
■ Commercial guarantees should be given in writing not just
verbally.
■ The terms and conditions of commercial guarantees must be carefully read and adhered to by consumers.
■ Commercial guarantees cannot take away or diminish consumers’
legal rights.
■ If a product results defective within two years from the date of purchase, consumers may request a free remedy from the seller.
Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority,
Office for Consumer Affairs
Mizzi House, National Road, Blata l-Bajda HMR 9010
Freephone: 8007 4400, Tel: 2395 2000
General enquiries: [email protected]
Consumer complaints: [email protected]
Website: www.mccaa.org.mt
Office hours for the public: Monday to Friday from 9am to noon
European Consumer Centre Malta
(For complaints against traders in another EU member state)
47A, South Street, Valletta VLT 1101
Tel: 2122 1901. E-mail: [email protected]
Office hours for the public:
Monday to Friday from 8.30am to 1pm
The information published in this page is intended for information
purposes only. Any legal claim or action taken in the event of a dispute
should be based solely on the legal texts concerned. For more information, call the Office for Consumer Affairs at the Malta Competition
and Consumer Affairs Authority on Freephone 8007 4400.