Does apple have to provide 2 year warranties in Europe?

[dpope]

Hi,

I've read on several forums that in the EU there is a law that all laptops and mobile phones must have a two year warranty. Apple Europe still quotes only 1 year on the basic warranty as on the Dutch site (where I got my laptop):

http://www.apple.com/nl/support/products/proplan.html

Does anyone know the exact reference to the law which requires companies to provide 2 year warranties? Has anyone contacted apple to ask them to change this on their website or to check if they'll provide two year of coverage? Are some EU people interested in sending apple europe's corporate people a petition citing this law? I have no legal background but maybe if someone does they can draft a suitably phrased version of the letter.

AppleCare in Europe is exorbatant (considering the machines are already very expensive) and I'm about to travel to the US. I was going to check if I can buy AppleCare there but somehow I doubt they will sell me cheap US apple care for a European laptop. Does anyone know anything about this or has anyone tried it? Please give me any info if so. Then I remembered this two year thing and decided to look into it. If I'm garaunteed two years of protection then I'm not sure its worth shelling out 400 euros for the last year so it would be very good (for me) to sort this out ASAP (since my first year warranty ends soon).

thanks

 

[dpope]

Hmmm... this article seems to undercut the claim of necassary two year warranties. Does anybody with a legal background know how this might apply here:

http://www.gkh-law.com/content.asp?page=articles&article=Minimum_Warranty_Requirements

 

[Macky-Mac]

Hmmm... this article seems to undercut the claim of necassary two year warranties. Does anybody with a legal background know how this might apply here:

http://www.gkh-law.com/content.asp?page=articles&article=Minimum_Warranty_Requirements

EU Directive 1999/44 is indeed the thing that most people incorrectly thought was requiring a two year warranty. Unfortunately, that's not true. The info at your link gives a fairly good review of the benefits and limits of the Directive.

 

[klex]

Some EU countries have their own consumer protection laws which require 2 year warrant. For example, Denmark has such a law.

 

[dpope]

Some EU countries have their own consumer protection laws which require 2 year warrant. For example, Denmark has such a law.

Thanks for the info. Any idea if this is true in Holland?

 

[Kamera RAWr]

This is also true in Iceland. iPod also have 2 year warranties as well

 

[CalBoy]

EU Directive 1999/44 is indeed the thing that most people incorrectly thought was requiring a two year warranty. Unfortunately, that's not true. The info at your link gives a fairly good review of the benefits and limits of the Directive.

Yes, but it offers nearly the same benefits as a warranty. The only issue is proving a defect is present after the sixth month. Other than that, it seems you have an additional one year of "warranty" service prodvided by law.

 

[gnasher729]

Yes, but it offers nearly the same benefits as a warranty. The only issue is proving a defect is present after the sixth month. Other than that, it seems you have an additional one year of "warranty" service prodvided by law.

A manufacturer has to fix problems for two years if they were caused by a defect in the original product at the time you received it. So if you got a Mac with a perfectly good keyboard, but the keyboard doesn't survive you typing 12 hours a day at high speed, then it is not covered if it breaks down after 18 months. On the other hand, if your Mac breaks down because some soldering was faulty already when you got the Mac, but it takes 18 months to turn into a defect that stops the Mac from working, that is covered. But you have to prove it - good luck.

 

[Dreadnought]

Thanks for the info. Any idea if this is true in Holland?

In Holland it's only a year for the normal warranty.

 

[Macky-Mac]

A manufacturer has to fix problems for two years if they were caused by a defect in the original product at the time you received it. So if you got a Mac with a perfectly good keyboard, but the keyboard doesn't survive you typing 12 hours a day at high speed, then it is not covered if it breaks down after 18 months. On the other hand, if your Mac breaks down because some soldering was faulty already when you got the Mac, but it takes 18 months to turn into a defect that stops the Mac from working, that is covered. But you have to prove it - good luck.

In your example, that keyboard wouldn't even be covered if it broke down after 7 months! (Fortunately Apple's warranty would still cover it.)

Beyond 6 months, proving that a defect existed at the time the computer was purchased is the buyer's obligation which could be both technically difficult and expensive.

 

[CmdrLaForge]

Most companies in Europe now give a 2 year warranty. Apple doesn't. But the law still applies.

 

[killerrobot]

Apple has been fighting the EU forever and I think everything is still up in the air.

I'd believe Apple's 1 year claim that they put on their website over anything the EU has said - tried to make law - just to be on the safe side of things.

 

[macmahon70]

Yes it has!

The law is clear and there is no ambiguity. The EU directive of 1999 introduces a 2 year warranty for every consumer good, even a lighter!
I can confirm because I work for the EU Commission and I know how the legal framework works.
Let me explain: a directive has an indirect legal effect, meaning that the 27 Member States have an obligation to apply it within a certain timeframe which was 2004. So all MS have applied this de minimis rule, meaning that a State is free to choose to enforce a warranty beyond 2 years time.
Why is Apple insisting on this one year warranty? Why is Apple EU legal team not enforcing this law?
Having said it that is difficult (but not impossible) to enforce this law by Apple resellers.
So in case of refusal, consumers may buy a PC (which most manufacturers have no issue with the 2 years and warranty) or they call their national consumer association who will force Apple to accept the repair.
One thing is clear: Apple has to change his warranty conditions in the Europe!
How to do it is another question: a petition? an email to Steve Jobs? take Apple to court?

 

[iStudentUK]

The law is clear and there is no ambiguity. The EU directive of 1999 introduces a 2 year warranty for every consumer good, even a lighter!
I can confirm because I work for the EU Commission and I know how the legal framework works.
Let me explain: a directive has an indirect legal effect, meaning that the 27 Member States have an obligation to apply it within a certain timeframe which was 2004. So all MS have applied this de minimis rule, meaning that a State is free to choose to enforce a warranty beyond 2 years time.
Why is Apple insisting on this one year warranty? Why is Apple EU legal team not enforcing this law?
Having said it that is difficult (but not impossible) to enforce this law by Apple resellers.
So in case of refusal, consumers may buy a PC (which most manufacturers have no issue with the 2 years and warranty) or they call their national consumer association who will force Apple to accept the repair.
One thing is clear: Apple has to change his warranty conditions in the Europe!
How to do it is another question: a petition? an email to Steve Jobs? take Apple to court?

Sorry for dragging up an old thread, but I wanted to address this in case anyone else stumbles on this. The above post is, I'm afraid, quite wrong. Normally I don't like to completely dismiss advice, but here I feel I have to. I'm not a lawyer, but I do know enough about consumer rights to know this is wrong.

To explain how this directive effects the law would be quite long (so I'll only do so if somebody really wants to know!) so I will summarise very briefly-

Apple does not have to change its warranty conditions in Europe- you know that little clause we always see that says "This does not effect your statutory rights"? Well this directive helps form part of those rights. This EU directive does not create an automatic two year warranty in the usual sense of the word. This directive will have been incorporated into the law in each member state of the EU, and this is what should be used. (For those in the UK this is likely to be the Sale of Goods Act 1979)