The EU does enforce a "2-year warranty", but it's not what you think. (Speaking as a German:) When you want to replace a broken product under the mandated warranty, then:
- In the first 6 months after purchase, the merchant must replace the product unless they can prove the defect was not present at purchase.
- After 6 months, the burden of proof reverses, and the customer must prove that the defect in question was already present at purchase.
In practice, whatever party has the burden of proof usually doesn't bother. So in effect, "6-month warranty" is a much more realistic description of this 2-year warranty.
(The fine print: Many vendors offer their own voluntary warranty on top of the mandated one. And I don't know if the rules are different in other EU countries.)
> In practice, whatever party has the burden of proof usually doesn't bother.
In practice, I've never had to prove anything within 2 years of purchase. Might be a difference between Germany and other EU countries, but somehow I doubt that.
This is probably how it is across the EU. Why antagonize your customers unnecessarily by forcing them to jump through hoops when your product fails in less than 2 years? That just leads to bad PR and reduced customer satisfaction and thus lower trust and sales.
They benefit in the perceived sense of reliability of a 2 year warranty. Why buy a product if it's going to fail in 6 months and you can't get it replaced, when the competitor is more likely to treat you fairly.
- In the first 6 months after purchase, the merchant must replace the product unless they can prove the defect was not present at purchase.
- After 6 months, the burden of proof reverses, and the customer must prove that the defect in question was already present at purchase.
In practice, whatever party has the burden of proof usually doesn't bother. So in effect, "6-month warranty" is a much more realistic description of this 2-year warranty.
(The fine print: Many vendors offer their own voluntary warranty on top of the mandated one. And I don't know if the rules are different in other EU countries.)