Do you plan to order a used product? Then it's up to you not only to read the reviews available for the e-shop, but also to consider whether to buy the goods from the entrepreneur or from a private person. "In the case of the purchase of used goods from the entrepreneur, you are much more protected as buyers and you can complain about the goods in almost the same way and with the same enforceability as when you buy new goods," explains Lukáš Zelený, head of the legal department of consumer organization dTest. And he adds, "If you buy goods from a private person, you are also responsible for defects, but there is no time limit for settling the claim. If the seller does not recognize his responsibility, you will have to claim the claim in court. "
If you choose to buy used goods from a businessman, the following rules apply. Each seller is required to inform you that the goods have already been used. He also has to warn you of defects in the merchandise and the amount of wear and tear, how long and how it was used. For example, if you are buying a used car, you should, in addition to the date of purchase, also be given a mileage information by the previous owner as this affects the wear rate of individual parts of the car. In other cases, the estimate of wear and future life may be more difficult. For example, when buying a kitchen appliance, you only have to focus on product material, its design or price.
And how about any defects in used goods? "Definitions in the language of the law are any discrepancies between the true properties of goods with declared or fairly expected characteristics. Therefore, the deficiencies that you are aware of as a buyer or which result from the degree of wear and tear of the goods, that is the time and method of their use, are not considered to be defective, " says Lukas Zeleny. If you buy a year old notebook whose battery will drain a third faster than new ones, it's a standard performance cutback that will be confirmed by most experts in the industry. However, if the battery has a zero capacity, it would be a feature you could not expect, and therefore a fault, which you can ask the seller to remove.
Reclaiming the defect of the used goods as well as the defect of the new goods. However, the seller has the opportunity to contractually shorten his liability for defects and thus also the time limit for claiming. "Nevertheless, this reduction can never exceed half of the statutory time, ie 12 months," says Green.
The law determines the ways in which the seller is obliged to remedy any defect. This is a repair that does not reduce the value of the goods in any way, exchange for the same brand new perfect piece, withdrawal from the purchase contract or discount if the defect does not prevent further use. In the case of second-hand goods, however, it is not quite possible for the seller to obtain a completely different wear piece. Thus, in this case, the law confers on the buyer the right to a reasonable discount on the price.
Source: tz dTest.cz
