European Consumer Center FinlandCommercial warranties: are they worth the money?

The ECC-Net deals with a large number of cross-border consu- mer complaints each year. Out of the 80 272 contacts from consumers received by the ECC-Net in 2013, 32 522 were actual complaints1 (anincreaseof9%comparedto20122).Between 1/4 and 1/3 of these complaints concerned guarantee is- sues (the product or service turned out to be defective, did not conform to the order or caused damage). 
Although a substantial number of guarantee- and non- conformity-related complaints reported by the ECCs involve service contracts, especially in the transport sector (36% of all complaints are in this sector with 80% of those related to passenger transport by air), this report only covers guarantees for goods as the main legal rules for guarantees do not cover service contracts which are regulated by specific legislation3 . Hence, this report deals exclusively with business-to-consumer situations and focuses on consumer goods (there is however limited reference to real estate, which in most countries is covered by specific or supplementary legal guarantees).

The publication can be found here.