Guarantees

February 28, 2024

Free of charge, 2-year guarantee (legal guarantee) for all goods

Under EU rules you always have the right to a minimum 2-year guarantee at no cost, regardless of whether you bought your goods online, in a shop or by mail order.

This 2-year guarantee is your minimum right. National rules in your country may give you extra protection: however, any deviation from EU rules must always be in the consumer’s best interest.

If goods you bought anywhere in the EU turn out to be faulty or do not look or work as advertised, the seller must repair or replace them free of charge or give you a price reduction or a full refund.

As a general rule, you will only be able to ask for a partial or full refund when it is not possible to repair or replace the goods.

You might not be entitled to a refund if the problem is minor, such as a scratch on a CD case.

How to get goods repaired, replaced or refunded?

The 2-year guarantee period starts as soon as you receive your goods.

  • In some EU countries you must inform the seller within 2 months of discovering a fault, otherwise you may lose your right to the guarantee.
  • Within 6 months of receiving the goods, you need to show the trader that the goods are faulty or not as advertised.
  • After 6 months, in most EU countries, you need to prove that the defect already existed on receipt of the goods – for example, by showing that it is due to the poor quality of the materials used.

The trader always has to provide a solution. In some EU countries you also have the right to request a remedy from the producer.

 

Additional guarantees (commercial guarantees, warranties)

Shops or producers will often offer you an additional commercial guarantee (also referred to as a warranty), either included in the price of the product or at an extra cost.

This can give you better protection but can never replace or reduce the minimum 2-year guarantee, which you always have under EU rules.

Similarly, if a shop sells you a new product more cheaply on a ‘no guarantee’ basis, this only means that you don’t have any additional protection. You always have the right to a 2-year guarantee free of charge if the product turns out to be faulty or not as advertised.

You can read more about your rights in guarantee directive

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