What is the law regarding warranty in the UK?

_random_user_name

Hi

Someone I know in the UK bought a £1400 product from Amazon UK, 18 months later it has now developed a fault and is unusable, what are his rights regarding warranty?

I know a bit about the Consumer Rights Act 2015 where he has upto 6 years to make a claim on a product with the onus on him to provide evidence about the products quality/state because it's after 6 months from purchase, but some people are saying he has an automatic 2 year warranty, like when we were in the EU and like the rest of the EU still has.

I don't agree with this, I thought after Brexit we got rid of the automatic 2 year warranty.

Amazon are saying contact the manufacturer, the manufacturer (who are located in China) are saying there is only a 1 year warranty from them.

So who is right?

theonlywayisup

A warranty is not a right.  When it is given, then it is explicitly at the terms and conditions of the provider.

You do not have 'six years to make a claim' but rather the statute of limitation is six years in the UK. UK legislation only applies when purchasing from a UK seller. 

_random_user_name

theonlywayisup said:

A warranty is not a right.  When it is given, then it is explicitly at the terms and conditions of the provider.

You do not have 'six years to make a claim' but rather the statute of limitation is six years in the UK. UK legislation only applies when purchasing from a UK seller. 

Correct me if i'm wrong but in the EU the 2 year warranty is a "right" as all goods sales in the EU come with minimum 2 years warranty, correct? Some people are saying as we were a member of the EU this still applies to us? I don't think so.

theonlywayisup

_random_user_name said:

theonlywayisup said:

A warranty is not a right.  When it is given, then it is explicitly at the terms and conditions of the provider.

You do not have 'six years to make a claim' but rather the statute of limitation is six years in the UK. UK legislation only applies when purchasing from a UK seller. 

Correct me if i'm wrong but in the EU the 2 year warranty is a "right" as all goods sales in the EU come with minimum 2 years warranty, correct? Some people are saying as we were a member of the EU this still applies to us? I don't think so.

There is no 'right' to a warranty in the UK.  A warranty is a pledge by the manufacturer (usually) to repair/replace goods within a set period of time, providing the person claiming has followed the terms and conditions of the warranty. 

user1977

_random_user_name said:

some people are saying he has an automatic 2 year warranty, like when we were in the EU and like the rest of the EU still has.

I thought after Brexit we got rid of the automatic 2 year warranty.

So who is right?

1. Those people are wrong, because that 2 year warranty never existed in the first place. It was an EU directive which was already covered by the existing UK consumer rights laws.

2. You're wrong, because Brexit didn't change anything.

Undervalued

_random_user_name said:

Hi

Someone I know in the UK bought a £1400 product from Amazon UK, 18 months later it has now developed a fault and is unusable, what are his rights regarding warranty?

I know a bit about the Consumer Rights Act 2015 where he has upto 6 years to make a claim on a product with the onus on him to provide evidence about the products quality/state because it's after 6 months from purchase, but some people are saying he has an automatic 2 year warranty, like when we were in the EU and like the rest of the EU still has.

I don't agree with this, I thought after Brexit we got rid of the automatic 2 year warranty.

Amazon are saying contact the manufacturer, the manufacturer (who are located in China) are saying there is only a 1 year warranty from them.

So who is right?

Sorry but you are misunderstanding the concept.

There is no legal right to a warranty from the manufacturer. They may offer one on certain terms and conditions. If they do they must honour it and you can pursue them through the courts if they don't.

Otherwise your legal rights are against the seller, not the manufacturer, unless they are one and the same because you bought direct.

The law expects a product to last a reasonable period of time. How long that is depends on a number of factors and can in some circumstances be many years. If the item fails after six months or more the onus is on you to prove that it was due to a manufacturing defect. The usual way of doing this is by getting an expert report. If the report is in your favour then normally the seller will have to reimburse your for the cost of the report in addition to dealing with the fault. If they offer a refund they can deduct a reasonable amount for the amount of trouble free use you have had from the item before it failed. For example, if the average life of the item was five years but it failed after one year they could deduct 20%.

jon81uk

The EU "warrenty" is basically the same as our consumer rights.
Only difference this site sets out is the assumption that the fault was there from day one is a year, not the six months it is in UK law. After teh first year the consumer may need to prove the fault was there from day one, same as after six months in UK law.
Guarantees, cancelling and returning your purchases - Your Europe (europa.eu)

_random_user_name

theonlywayisup said:

_random_user_name said:

theonlywayisup said:

A warranty is not a right.  When it is given, then it is explicitly at the terms and conditions of the provider.

You do not have 'six years to make a claim' but rather the statute of limitation is six years in the UK. UK legislation only applies when purchasing from a UK seller. 

Correct me if i'm wrong but in the EU the 2 year warranty is a "right" as all goods sales in the EU come with minimum 2 years warranty, correct? Some people are saying as we were a member of the EU this still applies to us? I don't think so.

There is no 'right' to a warranty in the UK.  A warranty is a pledge by the manufacturer (usually) to repair/replace goods within a set period of time, providing the person claiming has followed the terms and conditions of the warranty. 

user1977 said:

_random_user_name said:

some people are saying he has an automatic 2 year warranty, like when we were in the EU and like the rest of the EU still has.

I thought after Brexit we got rid of the automatic 2 year warranty.

So who is right?

1. Those people are wrong, because that 2 year warranty never existed in the first place. It was an EU directive which was already covered by the existing UK consumer rights laws.

2. You're wrong, because Brexit didn't change anything.

Undervalued said:

_random_user_name said:

Hi

Someone I know in the UK bought a £1400 product from Amazon UK, 18 months later it has now developed a fault and is unusable, what are his rights regarding warranty?

I know a bit about the Consumer Rights Act 2015 where he has upto 6 years to make a claim on a product with the onus on him to provide evidence about the products quality/state because it's after 6 months from purchase, but some people are saying he has an automatic 2 year warranty, like when we were in the EU and like the rest of the EU still has.

I don't agree with this, I thought after Brexit we got rid of the automatic 2 year warranty.

Amazon are saying contact the manufacturer, the manufacturer (who are located in China) are saying there is only a 1 year warranty from them.

So who is right?

Sorry but you are misunderstanding the concept.

There is no legal right to a warranty from the manufacturer. They may offer one on certain terms and conditions. If they do they must honour it and you can pursue them through the courts if they don't.

Otherwise your legal rights are against the seller, not the manufacturer, unless they are one and the same because you bought direct.

The law expects a product to last a reasonable period of time. How long that is depends on a number of factors and can in some circumstances be many years. If the item fails after six months or more the onus is on you to prove that it was due to a manufacturing defect. The usual way of doing this is by getting an expert report. If the report is in your favour then normally the seller will have to reimburse your for the cost of the report in addition to dealing with the fault. If they offer a refund they can deduct a reasonable amount for the amount of trouble free use you have had from the item before it failed. For example, if the average life of the item was five years but it failed after one year they could deduct 20%.

Excellent info and advice, thanks all

DullGreyGuy

_random_user_name said:

theonlywayisup said:

A warranty is not a right.  When it is given, then it is explicitly at the terms and conditions of the provider.

You do not have 'six years to make a claim' but rather the statute of limitation is six years in the UK. UK legislation only applies when purchasing from a UK seller. 

Correct me if i'm wrong but in the EU the 2 year warranty is a "right" as all goods sales in the EU come with minimum 2 years warranty, correct? Some people are saying as we were a member of the EU this still applies to us? I don't think so.

Like many people you are misunderstanding how EU worked/works... the EU creates directives that are effectively minimum standards. Individual states must then legislate to make those directives laws within their own countries however there are many times where a member state may already have existing laws that meet or exceed those requirements and as such no changes occur.

Whilst there was an EU directive for a minimum 2 year warranty it was deemed the SoGA and subsequently CRA already provided greater protection and therefore no changes were made.

Manufacturers and retailers are free to offer warranties above and beyond the requirements of the CRA but they arent obliged to and they're in addition to your statutory rights

the_lunatic_is_in_my_head

The EU does indeed mandate a 2 year "warranty" but confusion typically arises due to the use of language, here a warranty often means an additional type of cover, typically from the manufacturer, in addition to consumer rights.

When the EU says goods should come with a 2 year warranty this means they should conform to the contract for that period (at a minimum) in the manner laid out in the Consumer Rights Directive with the consumer being entitled to specific remedies should they not conform. 

This is covered by the Consumer Rights Act so that is the thing to look at to find out what your rights are. 

If the person you know has a chat with Amazon they may offer a return for a refund, I recently had an issue with a product purchased last Feb, the page says it has a 2 year warranty and there was an option on the order page to chat with Amazon for technical support, they simply said the item could be returned for a refund with a collection at no cost. 

If Amazon aren't offering this for the product in question and you have some details on the item and issue I'm sure someone will advise the best way to try and get it sored  

theonlywayisup

I think if I were your friend then I would look at trying to convince Amazon again - in the nicest possible way - that they may want to offer some recompense/solution.