Consumer market study on the functioning of legal and commercial guarantees for consumers in the EU : Final report

This study about legal and commercial guarantees, funded by the European Union in the frame of the EU Consumer Programme (2014-2020), looks at the extent to which sellers are aware of, and comply with, relevant EU legislation; the way in which legal and commercial guarantees are communicated to consumers; and the extent to which consumers are aware of their rights and are willing to make use of them. The study also seeks to provide a better understanding of the way consumers perceive commercial guarantees and their impact on purchasing decisions. The study covers all EU Member States, Iceland and Norway. Between September 2014 and August 2015, the following activities were carried out: a regulatory review of the implementation of the Consumer Sales Directive; consultations with retailers, manufacturers, consumer bodies, ECC-net, ADR bodies and enforcement authorities; an online consumer survey measuring consumers’ experience with legal and commercial guarantees; an online behavioural experiment consisting of a choice and willingness-to-pay experiment as well as a comprehension test; a mystery shopping exercise replicating consumers’ experiences when it comes to seeking information regarding legal and commercial guarantees, and executing their rights; and a price collection exercise recording commercial guarantee prices for four different consumer good categories.