What does the law say in Scotland?

Your useful article about ending repeated-repair cycles mentions the view of The Law Commission of England and Wales. What about the situation in Scotland? It would be useful to know for the five million or so people up here.
Gert Ronberg

We apologise to our readers in Scotland for not mentioning the Scottish Law Commission in that issue. We usually pair the Commissions, although Scottish law does have some major differences to law in England and Wales. These advisory bodies keep laws under review and suggest reforms to government.

In 2009 they met to discuss consumer law when the European Union was trying to push through much weaker protection under a Consumer Rights Directive.
As part of their discussions they looked at the issue of customers being forced to put up with repeated repairs for faulty goods. They both concluded it was unfair on consumers to have to have inherently faulty goods repeatedly repaired.

So in most cases if a second repair is needed then the customer should have the right to seek other redress, such as demanding a replacement or a pro rata refund.

However, the guidance they give, while helpful for us when trying to see if a person’s case has merit, it is not legal precedent. So far nothing concrete has been put into English or Scottish law regarding repeat repairs.