EU situation should be looked at by everyone

> Sorry, but this couldn't be right. One of them have to be responsible. Like in retail: supermarket may be selling under their own name and then would be responsible, or may provide space for others to put their booth and then these others would be responsible, but someone have to be liable, or else why have the whole charade of a law if no one is responsible for anything?

Sorry, but this is the "it's not my fault" fallacy. It's what frauds and conmen like to do - "it's your fault for falling for a scam". What if it's NOBODY'S fault? Certainly the moral position is quite clear - if you are actively benefiting, then you have to warranty what you're doing. And for the most part, the law agrees. If you're benefiting from actions that injure someone else, then you're responsible.

That's why it's "follow the contract". That's why when I purchase a car from a dealer it's the DEALER who is liable for EVERYTHING. That's why the DEALER will have a CONTRACT with Volkswagen to indemnify the dealer for faults in Volkswagen's products.

I dunno about the law where you live, but that's why, when we have a recall for faults, it's the DEALER who fixes everything. It may well be Volkswagen that actually pays for it, but that's between the dealer and Volkswagen - nothing to do with me! And that's why manufacturers don't like recalls - because it's the CONTRACT between them and the dealer that says they pay for it. How else would UK law get a German manufacturer to fix defects in cars (not in this case, but in others) made in the Far East? They push all the responsibility on the guy SELLING the PRODUCT, and expect them to cover their backs with contracts. And if those contracts are straw, then that's the dealer's tough luck.

As for your example of manufacturers setting up little dealerships and letting them go under - well we have "evasion" regulations. If the purpose of setting up the dealership is to let it go bust and evade liability, English law certainly will "pierce the veil" and say "this dealership is a fraud. For the purposes of the law it never existed and its supplier is on the hook instead". Actually invoking that may be tricky, but that's what the law says, that's how the law deals with it. The law doesn't say "the manufacturer is responsible", it says "the manufacturer is fraudulently dodging responsibility". J Random Hacker quite clearly isn't setting up legal shell distributors with the intention of evading responsibility, fraud clearly isn't on the table ... the customer is getting EXACTLY what he (didn't) paid for. (Likewise with J Random Forge - there's nothing that could remotely be described as fraudulent.)

Cheers,
Wol