In the future, manufacturers should be responsible for the service life

The German minister wants to oblige manufacturers to provide information about the shelf life of their products. This manufacturer’s warranty commitment is intended to enhance competition for durable products.

Grandma’s vacuum cleaner has been doing its job for what seems like an eternity, while not everyone in their house can last that long. There is always a broken part that is difficult to replace, or the damage is so great that it is no longer feasible to repair. But how is it recognized whether a device is particularly stable. For German Environment Minister Steffi Lemke, there is a simple solution: in the future, manufacturers should be obligated to provide information about the service life of their products – and also be responsible for it.

“If a defect occurs during the indicated service period, a warranty condition occurs and the product must be repaired,” a ministry spokesman told Berlin’s Tagspiegel newspaper on Monday. However, manufacturers must also be able to specify a “zero year” if they do not want to bear the warranty.

The ministry emphasized that such a guarantee would have benefits for consumers. “This commitment to the alleged manufacturer’s warranty will be in addition to legal warranty claims against the seller and fuel competition for durable products and is another tool to strengthen consumers’ rights to information and repairs,” the ministry explained.

She added that Lemke wants to work for such regulation at the level of the European Union. In addition, a nationwide examination is being conducted as to whether the warranty for durable goods can be extended beyond the two years in effect today, the newspaper’s spokesperson said.

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