We have been hearing about the Hamon Law for some time, named after the minister associated with consumer affairs, Benoit Hamon. The idea behind this law is enticing: to make life easier for consumers in certain areas where they could still feel wronged, by stimulating competition for example. But ultimately, what does this Hamon law really correspond to? What are the main benefits expected for the consumer? A brief overview through 5 key measures of this Hamon Law.
The first axis of progress of this famous Hamon Law was long awaited. It concerns the insurance of your vehicles and your home insurance. Until now, it was only possible to terminate them on the anniversary date of their subscription. Which was impractical and for example forced you to postpone your change of insurer for a year if you missed the right slot!
The error is now fixed. You will be able to compete more easily by canceling your auto and home insurance contracts when you see fit, once the first year has passed . Remember that you can save several hundred euros by changing insurers, I can attest to that!
The actual implementation should occur next November, put yourself a reminder to think about it! 🙂
Here, the modification is more discreet but presents a certain interest because of the explosion in the number of purchases on the internet. Until now, you had a period of 7 days to retract after spending on the internet . This period has now been doubled to 14 days, enough to take more time to check that the product is suitable for the intended use.
Note also that this new withdrawal period is also valid for sales after telephone or door-to-door canvassing. It is always good to know.
This change came into effect in mid-June, so all your future purchases on the internet are affected by this extension of the withdrawal period.
Through the Hamon Law, another deadline is extended. This is the guarantee on the items you buy. For lack of conformity in the event that the said article broke down, the duration of the guarantee was 6 months. This warranty will soon be increased to 2 years . Enough to quietly stop subscribing to insurance that is often sold for a fortune by our seller friends!
Another change in this same area is planned. It concerns the availability of spare parts. In some time, the duration of availability of the latter will have to be communicated to the consumer during his purchase.
The change from a 6 month warranty to 2 years is important and will be a significant and relevant step forward for the consumer. However, you will have to be patient. Indeed, the measure will not be effective until the end of the first quarter of 2016! 🙁
This other measure brought by the Hamon Law can be interesting for budding investors. It concerns death and other insurance that you must back against your mortgage when it is taken out. Until now, even if it was possible since the Lagarde law to go through an insurance delegation, the bank from which you borrowed often required you, or almost, to take out insurance for your loan with them. It was even sometimes an argument in the negotiation of your rate!
With the Hamon law, the situation changes slightly. It is now possible for you to change insurance after the start of the loan and this throughout the first year following the date of granting of the latter. In this case, the new insurance taken out must, however, at least offer the same guarantees as the insurance in place until then. I remind you for all intents and purposes that going through an insurance delegation can easily save you several thousand euros , or even more depending on the amount borrowed.
This change has been effective since the end of July, notice to future investors and those who plan to acquire their main residence soon!
Last important measure carried by the Hamon law, the possibility of having recourse to group actions , following the example of what has been practiced for a long time in the United States, under the term Class Actions . A notable difference however: only material damages will be likely to allow a group action with a consumer association, excluding de facto moral damages (probably to avoid controversy…) and bodily damages.
The measure is not yet effective but should be in the last quarter of 2014.
In my opinion, these are 5 key measures of this Hamon law. In particular, they should bring a bit of a breath of fresh air to certain sectors that are not very competitive. The consumer will also feel less alone thanks to the implementation of possible group actions. To sum up, a little change for the good of consumers that we are! But for some of the measures, still a few too long months to wait…
Were you aware of all these new measures? Do you think they will benefit consumers?