After only a few boat rides the consumer noticed the boat had sprung a leak and took the boat to the retailer's representative in Slovenia. After a period of ten days the consumer had been informed that the boat could not be repaired and was advised to contact the general importer of the product (Fred Bobek d.o.o.). The boat was repaired at the general importer's repair shop. But unsuccessfully, since the boat deflated after only 18 hours. After that the consumer decided to contact our centre.
Our centre (with the help of the European Consumer Centre in Germany) contacted the german retailer, demanding a new boat be given to the consumer since the boat was apparently irrepairable. Initially the retailer denied all responsibility stating that the consumer had failed to obtain documentation proving the product was indeed defective and that the condition of the product was not a result of physical damage.The consumer acted on the centre's advice to acquire a written letter of proof that the product had indeed been defective and that the state of the product was not a result of misuse. With this letter the consumer again contacted the company's slovenian representative and demanded the boat to be repaired. By the end of December of last year the boatmaker decided to mend the product so our consumer sent them the 50 kg boat via express mail. Upon recieving the product the company recognised that the boat is irrepairable. And so, 6 months after the consumer first experienced problems with the product, it was replaced with a new one. The company also reimbursed the consumer for his postal expenses.
