Refund of purchase price after unsuccessful repairs

A Slovenian consumer requested a refund of the purchase price for a wood chipper that stopped working after being repaired several times. After the first unsuccessful repair, the consumer informed the seller of his withdrawal from the contract and requested a refund. Nevertheless, the seller had the product repaired again, but the consumer refused to accept it, as he had explicitly requested a refund, not another repair. Under the Consumer Protection Act, the consumer has the right to request a repair, replacement, or refund if the product does not perform as expected. Since the repair did not solve the problem, the consumer was entitled to withdraw from the contract and receive a refund.

As the seller insisted on a repair instead of granting the consumer a refund, and the consumer refused to accept the product and persisted with his request, the communication stalled, and the consumer contacted ECC Slovenia for help. After examining the case, ECC Slovenia lawyers determined that the consumer was entitled to a full refund of the purchase price under the law.

ECC Slovenia, together with its German counterparts, successfully intervened with the seller, who after two interventions refunded the entire purchase price to the consumer. This case points to the importance of exercising consumer rights and to the efficiency of EU cross-border mechanisms in consumer dispute resolution within the EU.

Photo: depositphotos