Yes, they do. Any T’s & C’s that a consumer signs up to under EU law forms a legally binding contract with the other party (supplier, manufacturer, or whomever). These are called ‘standard form contracts’ and are the standard terms of business that the supplier, manufacturer, etc operates to. As a consumer, if you want the service or the product then you have to sign up to the company’s T’s & C’s. Unlike other forms of one-off or bespoke contract there is no room for negotiation by the consumer, which of course puts them at a disadvantage. This is why consumer law exists - to help level the playing field. Consumer law is enshrined in statute and will take precedence over any T’s & C’s where there is either a conflict of terms or where the T’s & C’s are silent on any aspect that is covered by the consumer protection law. Clauses in consumer protection laws are implied into the T’s & C’s - so its as though they were there in the T’s & C’s written in black and white. These are called implied contract terms. So, for example, if the T’s &C’s say you only get a 7 day warranty, but a consumer protection law says it is 6 months, then the consumer protection law (i.e. a statute, which takes precedence) overrides what is written in the T’s & C’s.
No, not necessarily. For example, If the T’s & C’s say that opening or dismantling a phone or other product voids the warranty and there is nothing in the consumer protection law that says otherwise then that provision in the T’s and C’s stands - you will void your warranty and the supplier, etc then has no obligation to repair or replace.
Again, not necessarily. Products sold and protected under consumer law are either sold ‘by example’ or ‘by specification’. If a product is sold by specification then it must meet that specification. For example, if the specification says it has 8Mb memory, an OLED screen, supports 4G calling, etc then it must have or do all of those things at the time the order was placed - otherwise the supplier is in breach and potentially liable under EU misrepresentation laws as well. The normal course of action here would be a complete refund, along with any expenses that the consumer incurred in purchasing the product. However, it would be normal to give the supplier a fixed timescale, say 21 days, to remedy the problem in one way or another first.
If the product is sold by example then it has to reasonably do all the things, and have all the features, as a typical example was advertised to do/have. For a modern smartphone that would be things like make/receive calls, browse the internet, run apps, do email, calendar, etc. If the example is a specific example of the product being purchased, then that is the reference example. If it is just an example of a similar product then it becomes more difficult. If the purchased product does not do/have these things that the example has/does then the remedies are the same as for a product sold by specification.
No it isn’t. If you knowingly make a false claim, and that false claim ends up costing the supplier or company money money then they can claim damages from you under the misrepresentation laws - this can either be fraudulent misrepresentation, or negligent misrepresentation. If it is innocent misrepresentation then the supplier, company will have a harder time claiming damages.
And, before anyone asks, yes, I am a lawyer - specialising in contract and tort law (the law of ‘wrongs’).
