Any acquired equipment will ever break. In case the breakdown occurred within the warranty period, we look at the situation with optimism - after all, the seller has certain warranty obligations in relation to us, the buyers. That is, we are obliged to eliminate the breakdown for free or, at worst, return the money paid. And we, armed with a warranty card and a check for the purchased goods, are in a hurry to seek justice in the store.
But not so simple. Under the law on the protection of our consumer rights with you, which has now become fashionable to quote at every step, we may require a free repair, replacement of a warranty product or a refund. At the same time, the seller cannot insist on repair (that is, impose it on us) by law. But in practice, in the vast majority of cases, you and I will be sent to a service center. We are going there in the hope of free repair, but it gradually turns out that this is unlikely to be achieved. Nobody is in a hurry to fulfill warranty obligations. The "specialists" of this institution will do everything to not recognize our case as a guarantee and offer repairs at our expense.
Why is this happening? The fact is that in addition to their own service workshops, which are available at every major household appliance store, there are so-called authorized service centers. Manufacturers and suppliers of equipment, as a rule, are in no hurry to open their own services (this is a troublesome and unprofitable business), but enter into agreements with existing workshops that this service will officially repair the goods of this company. Such a service is called authorized. Under an agreement with the manufacturer or supplier, the service undertakes to repair warranty products of this manufacturer at its own expense. The same periodically compensates the service for the cost of purchasing spare parts and the actual repair work.
But in practice, the manufacturing company very tightly controls the legitimacy of such a repair, free of charge for us. It is worth the representative of the company to prove that the case is not a guarantee - and all repair costs will remain unpaid service. According to statistics, from 5 to 10% of all repairs are not recognized as warranty. Therefore, in order to insure against a possible loss of money, such services do everything possible to nullify the seller’s warranty in relation to the goods we bought. Most often, for this, they try to prove to us that the failure occurred through our fault due to careless handling or deliberate damage. Any scratch on the case (we are not talking about more serious defects) may become an occasion to forget about all warranty obligations. And even if the equipment really has traces of attempts to self-repair, the matter is completely lost - then we will be refused on completely legitimate grounds.
Repair at their own expense, offered to the majority of those who applied, is comparable in value to the purchase of a new thing. Due to the fabulous amounts of repairs, the service is trying to offset its costs for unpaid warranty repairs. And to ensure the warranty of the store to customers is not in its interests, it is easier to "hang" this headache on the consumer.
What should we do? It is best not to deal with service centers at all. Warranty equipment broke through not our fault - we go to the store and demand to return the money to us. Or replace with another quality product. If the seller refuses us and sends to the service, his requirements are illegal. We arm ourselves with the "Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights" (Article 18) and write a complaint, force the seller to sign a second copy. Refuses - send by registered letter, not forgetting to make an inventory of the attachment. A letter must be sent with a receipt of receipt. The guarantee obligation for the purchased goods includes the seller’s obligation to conduct an independent examination within ten days and find out the reasons for the breakdown. Then he must either pay the money or justify the refusal. If the response is delayed, in addition, we have the right to “tear away” the penalty (one percent of the cost of the goods per day), and if there is no answer, you can contact the Federal Service for Supervision of Consumer Rights Protection and Human Rights or the court. But most often the store returns the money without bringing the case to court.
The seller has the opportunity to intentionally damage the thing taken for examination and reduce to zero all the claims of the buyer. To avoid this, it is better to contact an outside center for an independent examination. If the buyer is correct, the costs of the examination will be withheld from the seller. You can also insist on a free examination at an authorized service center (such a service is required to be provided there by law).