Extended consumer rights for repair
Products are often discarded although they can be repaired. This results in 35 million tons of waste, 30 million tons of resources and 261 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions in the EU per year. It is estimated that consumers could save a whopping 12 billion € per year if they repair instead of replace defect products.
Money and environment: both very good reasons to promote repair. Still repair is often a hassle, and something new is so easily bought online. That is why the EU wants to make repair easier and the Right 2 Repair Directive is the outcome of that.
The Right to Repair Directive (EU) 2024/1799 was published on 10 July 2024 and introduces a new ‘right to repair’ for consumers, both within and after the legal guarantee period. The directive includes:
- A European Repair Information Form which consumers will be able to request from any repairer, bringing transparency to repair conditions, time to finish the works and price, and make it easier for consumers to compare repair offers (in Annex I of the Directive)
- A right for consumers to claim repair to producers, for certain products that shall be repairable under EU law, like a mobile phone or washing machine (see Annex II). This will ensure that consumers always have someone to turn to when they want to repair their products, as well as encourage producers to develop more sustainable business models.
- A producers’ obligation to inform consumers about the above mentioned repairable products.
- An online matchmaking repair platform to connect consumers with repairers and sellers of refurbished goods in their area. The platform helps consumers to find attractive offers, and boosts visibility for repairers.
- A European quality standard for repair services will be developed to help consumers identify repairers who commit to a higher quality. This ‘easy repair’ standard will be open to all repairers across the EU willing to commit to minimum quality standards, for example based on duration, or availability of products.
An extension of 12 months of the liability period of the seller after the repair of a product, as an incentive for consumers.
