New EU labels aim to clarify shoppers’ repair and guarantee rights

{'type': 'paragraph', 'text': 'The “Gewährleistungslabel” points to the statutory guarantee: consumers have legal rights for at least two years and may claim a free repair or replacement when a covered defect occurs.'}

{'type': 'paragraph', 'text': 'The second mark, GARAN, concerns a manufacturer’s voluntary commercial guarantee lasting more than two years. It is required when the guarantee covers the whole product and costs consumers nothing extra. The mark is designed to show how long the manufacturer promises the product will work; free repair or replacement applies to failures covered by the guarantee.'}

{'type': 'paragraph', 'text': 'Both labels will have a common design throughout the EU so shoppers can recognise them in stores and online. The system applies to consumer goods such as washing machines and smartphones and is intended to make protections easier to identify when buying goods. Source: dpa / Tagesspiegel.'}