Clipping of news on Brazilian Culture, Law and Citizenship
11/07/2012
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.
Decisions of the Supreme Court and courts of civil law that helps consumers create to defend their rights
RIO - After more than ten years with the same TV tube, Egidio Amadeu Loriato decided to buy a new device, more modern. Opted for a Samsung plasma TV. To the surprise of the consumer, with little more than a year of use the device malfunctioned and did not care anymore. Egidio and hundreds of other consumers who have been the sites of complaints reporting the same problem, according to research done by judge Flávio Citro Vieira de Mello, head of the 2nd Special Civil Court of Rio, became victims of the worst fault that a product may pose : the so-called latent defect, which may appear at any time during the product's life, it is difficult to identify and even more of the companies recognize and take responsibility for the repairs.
It happened with Loriato. When you first connect to the manufacturer, the company suggested that the problem was in the making, it should be replaced. It was what he did. However, the TV continued without working. Technical assistance, the report condemned the plate and fix the budget stood at over $ 800, roughly the amount paid by the unit a year earlier.
- I will not pay this bill. The television will be there (on tour) to solve Samsung attend to my request - says Loriato.
According to consumers, the company refuses to bear the cost of repair because the factory warranty of 12 months, had expired. However, the Code of Consumer Protection provides in paragraph 3 of Article 26, which in the case of latent defects the consumer has 90 days from the appearance of the defect - called the statutory limitation period for durable goods - to complain.
- With this type of defect, regardless of the warranty had expired or not, the consumer has 90 days to make a complaint, and the onus lies with the manufacturer or supplier, that to escape to afford repairs, must prove that the product left the factory without the defect - said the lawyer expert in Consumer Protection, Melissa Areal.
- The hidden manufacturing defect when found, frustrates the consumer and their expected lifetime of the product. Therefore, the manufacturer beyond the contractual warranty period, from the discovery of the problem - complements Vieira de Mello.
From January 1 to September 30 of this year reached the National System of Consumer Protection (Sindec,) of the Ministry of Justice, 7324 complaints against Samsung. Of these, 994, corresponding to 13.6% of the total, are related to problems with group products such as televisions, DVD players and camcorders. In the Court of Rio proceed through against the company over 800 processes. However, the court did not specify how many of these actions are related to televisions that showed defects after the factory warranty.
The company was contacted for comment but did not return the contacts of the story.
Judge Vieira de Mello explains that it is common practice for companies contabilizarem 90 days of the statutory limitation period within 12 months of factory warranty, which is incorrect, given that the three months to complaint should only start counting from the emergence of latent defect. According to Citro, to bring such problems to court, it is likely that the consumer guarantees their right.
- If the consumer play in Google "Samsung TV" shows hundreds of complaints. He must bring them together in a kind of dossier, and thus showing that his case is not isolated, proving the likelihood, there will be reversal of the burden, and the company is that you must prove that the product did not come with factory default - directs the magistrate.
Supreme Court rules in favor of consumer
Recently, a decision of the Superior Court of Justice (STJ) has opened a valuable precedent for consumers. The 4th Panel of ministers decided unanimously that the client can reclaim the hidden defect of a product throughout the product lifecycle. This is what experts call a legal guarantee. The case tried by the Supreme Court involved a company catarinense machinery and equipment and a customer who bought a tractor for R$ 43,900. In just three years of use, the machine had a problem and needed to be repaired.
With the guarantee of eight months (or thousand hours of use) expired, the company wanted to charge R$ 6.800 for the repairs. However, in testimony, the technician who did the repair and a company official claimed that the life of the tractor is at least 12 years.
With the understanding that "it matters little that he has exteriorized after the expiry of the contractual guarantee provided within what was expected to be the life of the durable good," the minister Luis Felipe Solomon, rapporteur of the case canceled collection.
The ministers of the 4th Panel also determined that the store will reimburse the consumer for as long as the machine was unavailable for use due to maintenance.
Source: The Globe
Our news are removed entirely from the sites of our partners. For this reason, we can not change their content even in cases of typos
This article was translated by an automatic translation system, and was therefore not reviewed by people.