Consumer sales

This chapter examines the area of consumer sales contracts from a number of perspectives. To begin, there will be an initial overview of the Directive, covering its scope, the requirement that goods must be in conformity with the contract, remedies for non-conformities and guarantees. The chapter discusses the relevant provisions which supplement those of the Consumer Sales Directive (CSD) and the Consumer Rights Directive. As the CSD is a minimum harmonisation directive, Member States are free to extend its provisions to other types of supply contracts. However, the Consumer Sales Directive includes a provision to the effect that certain contracts involving the supply of goods should be included within the notion of a contract for the sale of consumer goods. The reluctance towards the introduction of direct producer liability, and perhaps even network liability, stands out as a major missed opportunity for providing European Union (EU)-level rules that could support consumers seeking to participate in cross-border shopping.