Consumer Rights in Israel: Refund Policies

Many who make Aliyah do not realise that they have rights! Rights are available on many fronts. Most notably every person living in Israel has consumer rights. There is a terrific site available for those wanting to know their rights as a consumer. It is in Hebrew with an English version to it (The Israel Consumer Counsil.) The Hebrew (המועצה הישראלית לצרכנות) is especially beneficial when it comes to searching for something you're wondering about. You best be clear on the exact words that will describe the situation you are seeking.

Today's blog post is a winner! That's because one of the rights many are not aware of is being show up here clearly for those who have wondered about it! The law was instituted on the 14 December 2010 - and it's all about refund policies!

The famous question asked by all is, "If I purchase an item and within a short period of time realise it is not what I want, am I entitled to a refund?" The best example to give is when purchasing a faulty item which clearly doesn't work. One can also extend this to purchasing something, arriving home, and realising it's just not what one thought it was. At this point, one has not used the item, it is still in its original packaging and clearly shows that one has not in any intentional (or even unintentional) way broken it (which would bring the blame upon the consumer naturally.)

So here's the deal: You see a fancy looking landline phone you'd like. You purchase it. You plug it in at home, and the quality is simply awful! First point - learning your lesson not to judge a book by its cover! Second point: It doesn't matter what the salesman thinks of the phone - especially when he believes it's the best, nobody else has had problems with it, he uses it himself and is especially not prepared to test it out in the store to show you just how badly it does actually work! The salesman - after all, wants nothing more than to make his sale and walk away with his profit. He's not really interested in you owning a great phone (don't be fooled!) 

Third point - you need a different phone after all! You take the phone back. It's all still brand new. The owner of the store / salesman now looks at it and refuses to refund you.

Rule 1: He may not do this. You mention this to him, so he reluctantly offers you a credit. Rule 2: He may not do this either! In fact, if you have paid cash, he MUST reimburse you cash - no arguments! If you paid on a credit card, he MUST refund you on the SAME credit card. It's really simple! Don't ever let another store trick you into accepting a credit (which you may never use or want - as has actually happened to yours truly. Years later, the ink used on the credit slip even rubbed off!!!)

That's what is great about the consumer rights site. A brief look in at the law shows this up clearly:

קניתי מוצר בחנות והתחרטתי
?האם ניתן לבצע ביטול עסקה ולקבל את כספי חזרה

ב- 14/12/10 יכנסו לתוקף תקנות הגנת הצרכן (ביטול עסקה), המקנות לצרכן את הזכות לבטל עסקאות מסוימות באופן חד צדדי וללא סיבה כלשהי, ולקבל את כספו חזרה.

מדובר בזכות חרטה החלה על עסקאות "צרכניות", השונה מהזכויות האחרות הקובעות בחוק הגנת הצרכן כגון: זכות להתנתק מעסקה מתמשכת, זכות לבטל עסקה בשל הטעיה או ניצול מצוקה, זכות לבטל עסקת מכר מרחוק או עסקה ברוכלות.

מדובר בזכות חרטה ולא בזכות הביטול מכוח חוקים אחרים, שחלים על כל סוגי עסקאות – צרכניות ולא צרכניות : לדוגמה הזכות לבטל עסקה בשל הפרה מהותית של ההסכם, הזכות להחזיר מוצר ולקבל השבה מלאה במקרה של פגם במוצר