Right of return, cancellation and more – consumer rights at a glance

What rights do consumers have?

Fundamental to fair trade in Germany and the EU are consumer protection rights, which outline your rights as a customer. In addition to the purchase of goods and services, consumer rights also include, for example, price transparency in energy supply and much more. Furniture such as, for example, are also considered goods Office chairs and Desks referred to.

Right of withdrawal: For online and take-out sales, you have the right to cancel a purchase within 14 days of receiving the goods without giving any reason. For partial deliveries, the arrival of the last part counts as the start of the cancellation period; for services, the time is the date of the signed purchase contract. 

Warranty: If an item purchased is defective, you have a two-year warranty claim against the seller. Within the first six months after purchase, it is usually assumed that the defect was already present when the item was purchased. There are various claims that can be made within the warranty. This includes supplementary performance, withdrawal from the purchase contract and a reduction in the purchase price. However, when you can assert which right depends on various factors. The warranty here is not the same as the guarantee. In contrast to the warranty, the guarantee is a voluntary service on the part of the seller

Payment security: Your payments for goods purchased online must be secure. An online retailer may only store your credit card details if you have expressly agreed to this. 

Data protection: Entrepreneurs must inform you about what personal data is stored and used. In addition to the right to information, authorization and deletion of data, you will also find further content in the GDPR. This expanded data protection law has been uniform throughout Europe since 2018.

Cancellation, returns and what else you should know

You've probably noticed that under consumer rights, neither returns, exchanges nor guarantees are listed as consumer rights. This is because these are not mandatory and the seller offers them voluntarily. The warranty law and the guarantee are often confused, but they are completely different. As already mentioned, the warranty is legally binding and refers to whether the goods are free of defects on the day of purchase until the end of the warranty period. The guarantee is future-related and completely voluntary on the part of the seller. At buerostuhl24, some products even have a guarantee of up to four years. In addition to the guarantee, the exchange is a voluntary service on the part of the seller and is quite similar to the cancellation. If you would like to exchange an item after the cancellation period has expired, this is only possible as a goodwill gesture on the part of the retailer.

The withdrawal was essentially introduced to allow the consumer to examine the purchased product at his leisure. It should go without saying that the goods are treated with care during testing. This allows the retailer to resell them after they have actually been revoked. An example: The jeans can be tried on at home just like in the store, with underwear and for about as long as you would stand in a changing room. It is forbidden to wear jeans to the office for a working day; nor to find out whether it remains comfortable even when sitting for long periods of time. If the customer cancels the purchase of trousers that have obviously been worn, they still have to pay for them. For sensitive products that could be damaged by being returned, consumer advocates recommend taking photos of the product before packing - in order to be able to prove in case of doubt that the goods were packaged and sent properly.

For products ordered online, the cancellation must be declared in writing by letter, email, fax or telephone. Online retailers offer a corresponding form on their homepage. It is also best to ask the retailer to confirm the cancellation before the goods are posted. The customer has been responsible for shipping since June 2014; In many cases, however, retailers voluntarily cover the shipping costs and issue return slips in advance for this purpose.

Who can exercise consumer rights?

In principle, all private individuals can exercise consumer rights. But there are also exceptions to consumer rights. For example, there is no right of cancellation between two private individuals or between two companies. If you are self-employed or a freelancer who concludes a purchase contract exclusively for private purposes, such as grocery shopping for your family, you are also considered a consumer to this extent. In such cases, self-employed people and freelancers can also make use of consumer rights.

When does consumer protection apply and what else should you pay attention to?

As soon as you purchase a good or service, you have consumer rights that are intended to protect you, for example, from fraud and injustice. Consumer protection is also active when concluding contracts and distance selling contracts. Distance selling contracts are sales contracts that are concluded using means of distance communication, e.g. B. via an online shop, written or verbal catalog orders, app purchases or telephone orders. In the case of distance selling contracts, you as the buyer must note that this must be expressly declared when revoking the contract. The dosage form does not matter, but the written form is recommended for reasons of evidence. However, you do not have to give a reason for the revocation.

There are also goods for which there is no right of withdrawal. This includes perishable goods such as food and products that were made or personalized at your own request.

Online ordering: ensure delivery at a specific time

In order to find out whether an item will be delivered by a certain date, it is worth making sure that a delivery date is communicated when ordering. Incidentally, this is mandatory information in online trading, so as a customer you should be careful if this is missing in an online shop. If it happens that the retailer has not delivered the item by the agreed date, the customer has the right to cancel his order and demand a refund. If there is a binding promise that the goods are guaranteed to be delivered by a certain date, claims for damages can even come into consideration - an issue that is particularly relevant at Christmas. Many online retailers offer delivery guarantees during the Christmas season. If the goods do not arrive on time and the customer has to rush to buy a replacement product that may be more expensive, they can pass on the costs to the seller.
Since disputes are always unpleasant, it is worth clarifying a few key details before ordering in order to minimize possible problems:

• Is the retailer’s imprint correctly stated?
• Where is it based?
• Can he be reached by phone?
• Can you find reviews of your business somewhere on the Internet or does it have seals of approval such as “Trusted Shops”, “s@fer Shopping” or “EHI Verified Online Shop”. The homepage www.internet-guetesiegel.de provides a helpful overview.

Is there a difference between buying from the store next door and buying online?

In contrast to distance selling, there is no obligation to take back the goods in a store. This happens purely as a goodwill gesture on the part of the dealer. This so-called cancellation period has nothing to do with warranty or guarantee - even items without defects can be returned within two weeks. The cancellation period begins at the moment the customer receives the goods; the dealer must properly inform the customer about this beforehand. If he does not do this, the deadline is extended to one year and 14 days.

When it comes to gifts, a dilemma arises: on the one hand, the giver naturally wants to get the gift in good time, but on the other hand, of course, he doesn't want to deprive the recipient of the opportunity to exchange the gift. Since the giver is the one who receives the goods, time runs from the moment he holds it in his hands - and not when he has handed it over. Here it is worth contacting the seller to discuss the matter. Many retailers, especially online shops, like to be accommodating. In the run-up to Christmas, many providers extend their return periods on their own initiative. In such a case, it is worth taking a screenshot of the relevant offer - so that you have evidence to hand in the event of a dispute. Excluded from the statutory cancellation period are items that were made according to the customer's ideas, as already explained in the previous section.