Guarantees - perennial issue

During my travels I am often approached by people who ask me questions on various consumer issues. However, of interest to many consumers is guarantees, an issue which we need to explain regularly.

Firstly, a particularly confusing factor is the fact that there are two types of guarantees: legal and commercial.

The legal guarantee is compulsory and is valid for two years. On the other hand, the commercial one is not compulsory and, unlike the legal guarantee, the validity period and conditions of the commercial guarantee are determined by the trader.

Unfortunately, there are traders who offer a commercial guarantee valid for six months, misleading consumers into believing that it is the only guarantee. However, when the commercial guarantee expires after six months, the legal one is still valid for another 18 months.

Conformity is another confusing issue, meaning that the item in question should perform its functions correctly. About performance, if a lack of conformity is detected within the first six months after an item is delivered, the fault is presumed to have existed at the time of delivery unless proven otherwise.

After this six-month period consumers are still protected against hidden defects in goods. The trader can be held liable for lack of conformity for up to two years from the date of delivery. However, after the initial six months, it is up to the consumer to prove that lack of conformity existed at the time of delivery.

There are many traders who conveniently choose to misinterpret this issue, taking advantage of the confusing scenario. However, I must stress once again that after six months customers are covered for another 18 months.