By purchasing equipment or some other goods, the buyer gets the opportunity to guarantee their service for a certain time. Let us further consider the subtleties of its provision, as well as a list of those cases that are considered to be warranty.
Normative regulation
Anyone should understand that issues related to servicing warranty cases are regulated by certain norms of the legislation of the Russian Federation. Among the acts that contain them, the Law on Consumer Rights Protection, art. 5 of which states that for any product sold on the territory of the Russian Federation, a period must be established during which warranty service of the object can be carried out.
In addition to the indicated normative act, some features of the implementation of this type of service are governed by the provisions of the Civil Code.
About the terms of free warranty service
All the features of calculating the periods of warranty service are prescribed in Art. 5 Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights". So, based on the provisions presented in it, any seller must:
- determine the period during which the use of the sold product will be safe;
- establish a period during which he undertakes to fulfill all obligations for warranty service of the goods;
- establish the expiration date for goods for which short-term use is made.
It is worth noting that for different types of goods, the indicated dates can be measured not only in days, but also in other indicators: meters, kilometers and in other units.
Current legislation categorically prohibits the sale of products without warranty service for them or in case of expiration.
Practice shows that some modern manufacturers assume warranty obligations in case of problems in the operation of goods at the end of the warranty period. Such an obligation is referred to as additional.
The concept
When considering the procedure for providing warranty service, it is worth determining what exactly is called a case serviced on a surety basis.
Cases falling under such a service are all the facts of the formation of defects of any of the components included in the structure of the equipment. The warranty cases include all those situations that are not included in the following list of types of damage resulting from:
- mechanical shock or accident;
- insect management;
- exposure to fire;
- typical household wear;
- use of equipment with intentional exceeding of permissible loads specified in the instructions;
- power surges;
- use of materials or consumables not provided for by the manufacturer of the goods, as well as prohibited by them for use;
- the use of non-original spare parts.
What is a warranty case? The entire list of such situations is presented in the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" (Article 19). Moreover, it indicates those options in which the current situation will not be attributed to a number of guarantees (Article 21 of the same law).
The timing
The legislator determines that the guarantee cannot be extended to those goods that have obvious defects and shortcomings, and also do not meet quality standards for certain parameters.
Based on the provisions of modern legislation, the period during which free warranty service can be provided cannot be less than two years for those products that are considered technically complex; for everyone else, it is only 6 months. This means that if the seller has established a warranty period shorter than that specified by law, then in case of product breakdown during the period provided by the legislator, the buyer has every right to contact him with claims regarding the quality of the goods, and the manufacturer, in turn, is obliged to provide repair of products, moreover, on a free basis.
Documentation
When purchasing any warranty product, the buyer must leave the check received with him. It is he who is the main document confirming the fact of acquiring products in this store, on a certain day.
The second document confirming the possibility of replacing the goods under warranty is a special coupon, which is filled out for each purchase separately. It is worth noting that not every store wants to issue this document, but it is worthwhile to understand that without its availability, the customer will be able to apply only to the store where the object was purchased, but not to a specialized service center.
Next, we consider the main options for warranty cases (by law), in the presence of which the buyer has the right to contact the manufacturer to provide service under warranty conditions.
About Phones
The main warranty situations when buying a phone include the following:
- dysfunctional Bluetooth and Wi-Fi;
- lack of charge.
It is worth noting that when you try to take the opportunity to repair your phone for free under a warranty case, you will need to prove that the device was not hit, dropped, and was not flooded with water. Moreover, in this situation, it is important that the consumer does not interfere with the phone software.
About shoes
As for the possibility of exchange, it is available only in respect of new, unworn shoes and only within 14 days from the date of purchase. In this situation, to complete the return of goods (under the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights"), you need to have not only a check, but also a box, company labels and other accessories. The reason for the return in such a situation may be the fact that the shoes did not fit in size, color, texture, etc.
As for the cases of replacement of shoes under the guarantee, it can be made with:
- spoilage of the sole;
- line breaks;
- hole formation;
- discharge of paint.
About car warranty
As for warranty cases for cars, they can be presented as part of the failure of components before the expiration of the deadlines set by the manufacturer. However, it is worth noting that in this case, the defect should be formed due to improper production.
There are certain cases that are recognized as non-warranty. These primarily include the use of substandard fuel and unskilled maintenance.
How to use the guarantee
In case of replacement of a warranty product or the need for repair, the buyer must write two copies of the letter addressed to the store in which the purchase was made. Its content should indicate the date of purchase of the facility, as well as any malfunctions and defects found. In addition, the content should indicate the desired compensation measures (repair of the product, its exchange, money back, etc.). A warranty card and a copy of the check issued in the store should be attached to the written letters.
The collected package of documents should be taken to the store in which the purchase was made, or to a service center serving this type of goods, located in the immediate vicinity.
When submitting documents, one duplicate letter must be returned to the service center, and the second (signed and stamped by the receiving party) must be kept.
Warranty Period
Particular attention should be paid to those periods during which all warranty cases must be handled. So, if there is a need for a refund, the application must be considered within 10 days. In the event that the specified period has been violated, a penalty is imposed on the perpetrator in the amount of 1% of the total amount.
According to the law "On Protection of Consumer Rights", the return of goods for the exchange of goods can be processed no later than 7 days from the receipt of the application for this action. In some cases, the manufacturer may order additional examinations to establish the true causes of defects and breakdowns. In this situation, the review period may be extended to 20 days.
In case of warranty repair cases, the application requirements can be satisfied within 45 days.
Timing Calculation Procedure
The established procedure for calculating the terms for providing a guarantee for goods is defined in Art. 471 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. Its content says that the warranty period starts from the moment the goods are transferred to the buyer - he is indicated in the receipt for the product. In the event that for some reason the buyer does not have the physical ability to use the goods until a certain point after the purchase (for example, in the case of his purchase in the online store), then the start of counting is considered to be the time when this opportunity appears for him .
In the event that the seller has replaced a certain product as part of the warranty service, the new deadline should be equal to that which was provided to the goods purchased before it.
What does not apply
Consumers should pay attention to the list of cases that are not covered by the warranty. Among these situations is, first of all, improper operation of the goods, as a result of which the breakdown occurs through the fault of the consumer himself. In this case, the buyer still has the opportunity to demand repair of the broken product, but only at his own expense - this type of guarantee is not considered free.
Practicing lawyers note that even if the goods are purchased with visible defects, but the buyer decides to fix them on their own, in this situation the seller has every right to refuse the upcoming fulfillment of warranty obligations. Practice shows that in some situations, due to small defects or malfunctions, the seller intentionally reduces the cost of the goods, while simultaneously registering his refusal to provide warranty service in respect of him. In this situation, it is believed that the buyer was informed in advance that the object has certain defects, as a result of which he is deprived of the right to free repair and claims for replacement of the product.
When may be refused
Special attention should be paid to the fact that in some cases the seller has the right to refuse to provide warranty service for a particular product. These situations include cases where:
- parts similar to native were mounted in the product;
- there are traces of extraneous interference in the product (any professional master can recognize that an unauthorized opening of the object was carried out, which is associated with the presence of a multi-level degree of protection for any branded products);
- during the operation of the facility were used the wrong consumables that are indicated by the manufacturer, as well as low-quality products;
- the import of equipment into the territory of the Russian Federation was carried out illegally;
- the serial number is not readable or completely missing.
Any buyer should remember that goods classified as complex can be exchanged within 14 days from the date of purchase. After this period, you can only make repairs.
In cases where warranty service cannot be provided, the customer has the right to put forward a demand for a written refusal to do so, as well as an explanation of the true reasons for the breakdown of the goods, which must also be made in writing.