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The Directive no. 1999/44/EC on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees, aims at harmonizing national laws as regards the regulation of the commercial guarantee, which makes a seller liable for defects existing at the moment of the delivery of goods and showing within two years.

Article 1 of the Directive defines as vendor any natural or legal person who, under a contract, sells consumer goods in the course of their trade, business or profession.

With judgment of 9th November 2016 (C-149/15, Wathelet), the European Court of Justice has offered an extensive interpretation of the aforementioned article, in that it has made the Directive applicable also when a trader presents themselves as a vendor of a consumer good and, in so doing, gives a consumer the false impression that they are acting as the seller-owner of the good.

In the case under scrutiny, a garage, acting as an intermediary, had sold a defective vehicle, whose owner was a private individual, to another private individual.

The Court has explained that the Directive aims at ensuring a uniform level of consumer protection. The vendor is obliged to deliver goods to the consumer which are in conformity with the contract of sale and, in the event of a lack of conformity, to repair or replace them.

The Court has then stated that, where a consumer has not been duly informed about the ownership of a good, it will be the intermediary to be held liable for defects. Presenting themselves without saying to the consumer that the owner of the good is a different person, the intermediary gives the consumer a false impression. Such a conclusion does not depend on whether the intermediary is remunerated for acting as intermediary. What really matters is that the intermediary has given the consumer the false impression to be acting as the seller-owner of the good.