Extension of the warranty period after repair under warranty

• Warranty repair period under the consumer protection law
• Maximum repair period under warranty
• Violation of the warranty repair period
• How to correctly calculate the warranty repair period
• Is the store obligated to provide a replacement during warranty repairs?
• Extension of the warranty period after repair

Any product we purchase has a warranty. And as you know, the original right to establish a warranty period for a product belongs to its manufacturer; also, in the absence of a manufacturer’s warranty, it can be provided directly by the seller, who can also provide an additional warranty on the product.

Thus, the seller, manufacturer, as well as an authorized organization or importer are responsible for the quality of the product during the warranty period, and are obliged to correct defects identified during this period free of charge.

The absence of a factory or seller's warranty for a product does not mean that it is impossible to make claims in the event of a breakdown. If neither the manufacturer nor the seller has established a warranty period for the product, then you should be guided by the provisions of the law (Clause 1, Article 19 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights) regarding the maximum two-year period for making claims regarding the quality of the product.

Failure to comply with the terms of repair work under warranty entails quite serious consequences for the seller or manufacturer, including termination of the contract for the purchase of goods, with the application of other sanctions provided for by legislation on the protection of consumer rights.

The question of violation of the warranty repair period for a product is widespread among consumers, and in this article we will try to answer most of the questions related to this.

Also, our consumer rights protection specialists are ready to answer any of your questions by phone or in person, and provide qualified legal assistance in resolving the most complex disputes in the field of consumer rights protection.

Consumer disputes are one of the highest priority areas in the work of lawyers.

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Warranty repair period under the consumer protection law

What is the warranty repair period under the consumer protection law?

If during the warranty period a defect is identified in the product (breakdown, manufacturing defect, etc.), then the consumer is given the legal right to present to the seller, manufacturer, authorized organization or importer one of the requirements listed in Art. 18 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, at your choice.

One of the alternatives is the consumer’s requirement to carry out free elimination of product defects that were discovered during the warranty period, that is, for warranty repair of the product.

Warranty repairs assume that they are free of charge, that is, all costs associated with the repairs are borne by the seller (manufacturer, importer).

As a general rule, the period during which a product must be repaired under warranty is determined by an agreement between the manufacturer (seller, importer, authorized organization) and the consumer, that is, it is specified in the documents drawn up when accepting the product for warranty repair .

If the warranty repair period is not agreed upon with the consumer, then one should be guided by Article 20 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, according to which the manufacturer, seller, importer or authorized organization is obliged to eliminate defects in the product immediately , that is, this period should be minimal. Of course, you need to take into account the characteristics of the product, the nature of the malfunction or breakdown, and other circumstances in order to correctly calculate the time objectively required for repairs. The period for correcting product defects under warranty is legally limited; read more about this below.

Replacement of goods with a similar one under a warranty service agreement

Sometimes defects in a product are discovered only after some time. For this reason, the product ceases to perform its intended functions. The product may be returned to the seller within a certain period. Most often, this situation occurs in the first days of its use. Complete the procedure for returning the purchased product at any time during the warranty period.

At the same time, observe several important conditions. First of all, it is necessary to prove that the defect did not arise through the fault of the buyer. If the cause of the breakdown or defect is due to an accident, then the responsibility on the selling side is completely relieved.

To understand the situation, you need to submit the item for examination. The buyer is allowed to be present during the inspection. Dispute the results if they are not true. This can be done at an independent examination center.

There is a group of products that are technically complex - cars, TVs, PCs, household appliances, etc. When returning and exchanging such goods, other rules comply with the law.

For example, one should distinguish between simple and significant shortcomings in these products. The latest defects cannot be corrected, or repairs will require a lot of time.

Return difficult technical goods back to the store if:

• repair work on the product took more than a month;
• the statutory deadlines for eliminating the defect were violated.

Who to contact to return products that are under warranty

Please remember that the product must first be returned under warranty to the retail center where it was purchased. Sometimes the store closes during the warranty period. In this case, contact the organization that is the authorized person of the structure.

We are talking about a service center or another retail outlet. The option of contacting the manufacturer itself is not excluded. It can be found at the address located on the product packaging or documentation.

Maximum repair period under warranty

The law limits the time for warranty repairs, namely, paragraph 1 of Article 20 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” clearly states: “The period for eliminating product defects, determined in writing by agreement of the parties, cannot exceed forty-five days.”

Thus, the law provides for a deadline for warranty repairs of goods, and accordingly, if this period is exceeded, the contractor will bear the liability provided for by law, read more about which below.

The manufacturer or seller cannot extend the warranty repair period arbitrarily unilaterally, or extend it citing certain oral agreements with the consumer.
An increase in the 45-day warranty repair period for a product is possible only by written agreement of the parties.
The parties may extend the period of warranty repairs if during the repair work it becomes clear that they cannot be completed on time, however, the law does not oblige the consumer to do this, only granting him such a right.

In addition, the timing of warranty work cannot be affected by the lack of spare parts for its implementation. This is due to the fact that in order to ensure the possibility of repair and maintenance of the product throughout its entire service life, the manufacturer legally obliged to produce and supply spare parts to repair and maintenance organizations for the product produced by him not only during the period of its production, but also after discontinuation of a product during its service life, and if the service life is not established by the manufacturer, then spare parts must be available for 10 years from the date of transfer of the product to the consumer.

Thus, the manufacturer or seller cannot rely on the lack of spare parts or parts as justification for delaying warranty repairs.

The seller's arguments about the violation of the repair period by the service center will also be untenable , since the seller (manufacturer), and not the service center, is legally responsible for such a violation.

If the period for repair work under warranty is agreed upon between the seller and the consumer and is less than 45 days, then you should be guided by exactly the period specified in the repair documents. Violation of this period also entails legal consequences for the seller (manufacturer), and in this case the seller does not have the right to refer to the 45-day maximum repair period.

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Useful recommendations: When submitting a product for warranty repair, carefully ensure that the acceptance of the product is properly completed. Everything must be documented, no verbal agreements, otherwise it will subsequently be impossible to prove a violation of the repair deadlines. The document confirming the transfer of the goods for warranty repair (transfer and acceptance certificate, work order, etc.) must be as informative as possible; it must indicate the date the goods were accepted for warranty repairs, information about the defect declared by the consumer, the condition of the goods (working /non-working), the most complete description of the product, any visible defects and other details, as well as the repair period, if agreed upon between the parties.

If the seller doubts that the case is covered by warranty and announces his intention to check the quality of the product, the consumer has the right to be present and ensure that the seller is not able to carry out any unwanted manipulations with the product.

Also, the consumer has the right to be present when the seller conducts an examination to determine the causes of the malfunction (breakage) of the product.
In this case, it is undesirable to leave the goods to the seller until the examination is carried out, and present it directly to the expert on the appointed date and time. This will also protect the consumer from possible unfair actions of the seller in relation to the goods. Attention: After warranty work is carried out, the seller (manufacturer) must provide the consumer in writing with all information about the work performed ; the relevant document must indicate:

• Date of consumer request for warranty repairs
• Date of receipt of goods for repair
• Information about the defect or breakdown reported by the consumer
• Information about how the repair was carried out and what spare parts and/or components were used
• Date of actual completion of warranty repairs
• Date of delivery of the product to the consumer after repair.

Features of extending the warranty period after repair work: what needs to be done

First of all, the warranty only applies to items that have been repaired under the warranty, not when the person has done the work themselves. To obtain an extension, you need to follow this procedure:

1. First step. The flaw was discovered and the user contacted the seller to fix the problem. The procedure does not end with an oral appeal - you need to write a special statement, indicating the requirements and listing the detected shortcomings. From the moment the seller receives an application from the buyer, the current warranty is suspended.
2. Second step. Contact the service center. The representative of the center gives the person who contacts a document indicating the date of sending the goods for repair and the approximate period when the problem will be fixed.
3. Step three. Returning the repaired product to the consumer. After this, the client is given a document that, in addition to the date of contacting the service center, indicates which breakdowns were corrected, which spare parts were used and the date when the device was transferred to its owner.

As soon as the product reaches the user, the warranty begins to apply again.

Violation of the warranty repair period

What to do if the warranty repair lasts more than 45 days , or the repair period specified in the documents when accepting the goods for repair has been violated.

What are the consequences of violating the warranty repair period for the seller?

The law protects consumers from such violations as follows:

1) Violation of the warranty repair period for a product entails for the manufacturer (seller, importer, authorized organization) the consequences provided for in Article 23 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights” - payment to the consumer of a penalty in the amount of 1 percent of the price of the product for each day of delay.

The penalty is calculated for the entire period of delay, starting from the day following the day of expiration of the warranty repair period until the day of actual delivery of the goods to the consumer.

As you can see, the liability for violating this deadline is quite serious, because, for example, if we are talking about an expensive product (a car, large household appliances, etc.), then the penalty will be significant, since it will be calculated based on the full cost of the product. Of course, the amount of the penalty can be reduced by the court upon a justified application of the defendant, and even then it can be very noticeable for the person who violated the obligations to the consumer.

Please note that although the repairs are carried out by the service center, the seller is responsible for violating the warranty repair period.

2) If the consumer’s request for warranty repair of the product is not fulfilled within the period established by law, the consumer is vested with the rights provided for in Article 18 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”, namely, the consumer may demand :

• Replacing a product with another product of the same model
• Replacing a product with a product of a different brand with a corresponding recalculation of its price
• Reducing the purchase price of goods
• Termination of the purchase and sale agreement and return of money paid
• Immediate free elimination of product defects
• Reimbursement of costs for repairing goods on your own or with the involvement of third parties
• Full compensation for losses

If any of the listed requirements can be presented to the seller or an authorized organization, or an authorized individual entrepreneur, then only some of them can be presented to the manufacturer or importer, namely:

• About replacing a product with a product of a similar brand
• About immediate free repairs
• On reimbursement of costs for repairs carried out on our own or with the involvement of third parties

Technically complex goods (car, telephone, household appliances, electronics, etc.) can also be returned or exchanged if the warranty repair period is violated.

Violation of the deadlines for eliminating the defects of a technically complex product is a sufficient and independent basis for the return or exchange of such a product (paragraph 10, paragraph 1, article 18 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”. Read more about the return of a technically complex product here .

What you need to consider when presenting claims to the seller or manufacturer related to violation of the warranty repair period:

1)If, in connection with a violation of the repair period under warranty, the consumer intends to present to the seller or manufacturer one of the demands listed in Article 18 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, then this should be done immediately after accepting the goods from repair, or before receiving it. If, after accepting the product from warranty repair, despite the violation of the repair period, the consumer will use the product for its intended purpose for a long time, and after that makes a demand for the return or replacement of the product, the court may reject such a demand, regarding the consumer’s actions as agreement with the period and method carrying out warranty repairs of goods.

In this case, it would be more logical and correct to file a claim to collect a penalty from the seller for violating the warranty repair period.

2)Consumer claims related to violation of the warranty repair period may be rejected by the court if the seller proves that the consumer evaded receiving the goods after warranty work was carried out, for example, the seller notified the consumer in writing about the completion of the repair, but the consumer evaded receiving the notification, or received him, did not pick up the goods from repair. Of course, in this case the penalty for violation of the repair period will not be collected.

Who sets the warranty period and why is it needed?

The guarantee is given for items that will be used for a long time, but for other items an expiration date is given. However, the duration of the warranty depends on the product. For example, if the warranty period for a car can last several years, then for clothing it is only a couple of weeks or months. This is why it is important to consider whether the warranty can be extended after certain warranty obligations have already been met.

Since the warranty varies for different items, many buyers are interested in who sets the warranty periods in question. As a rule, they can be installed by the following persons:

• manufacturers;
• sellers.

True, in most cases it is the manufacturers who provide a guarantee for their products, taking into account many factors. But the seller can establish a warranty only if the manufacturer does not specify one.

The warranty period is set to protect consumers from defective items if they come onto the market. Thus, the manufacturer must produce products of sufficient quality so as not to work at a loss, constantly replacing one product with another or repairing breakdowns.

How to calculate the warranty repair period

In order to correctly determine whether the 45-day warranty repair period has been violated, it should be calculated correctly, that is, you need to understand from what day the warranty repair period is calculated.

This period begins to flow from the day following the day the consumer contacts the seller (manufacturer) with a request for warranty repairs, and ends on the day the consumer receives the repaired product from the service center.

The warranty repair period for the product cannot be suspended or interrupted . The repair period cannot be affected by such circumstances as checking the quality of the product by the seller or conducting an examination to determine the causes of its malfunction.

Under any circumstances, the seller (manufacturer) assumes the consequences of violating the warranty period for repairing the product, since they are obliged to correctly calculate the time required to carry out a quality check of the product or examination, and if as a result a warranty case is established, then the time for warranty repairs , and with all this within 45 days.

Calculation of the warranty extension period

The time during which the product was repaired is added to the total duration of the warranty period. The number of customer requests for troubleshooting is not limited, so all periods are summed up. The rule also applies to cases where repairs were carried out in different calendar years under the same warranty.

The period for eliminating defects begins from the moment the buyer applies and ends on the day the repaired product is issued. It should be understood that the repair time, according to paragraph 1 of Art. 20 ZPPP, cannot exceed 45 days. For violation of this deadline, the seller is obliged to pay a penalty in the amount of 1% of the cost of the goods for each day of delay (Clause 1, Article 23 of the PZPP).

The procedure for calculating the final warranty period, taking into account the considered nuances, is easier to consider using an example. Let's say that on January 1, 2021, a phone was purchased with a 2-year warranty. From March 3 to March 13, 2021 and from June 5 to June 30, 2018, it was under repair by the seller. As a result, the warranty period will end not on December 31, 2021, but on February 6, 2021, since the periods during which the buyer could not use the product were 11 and 26 days, respectively (i.e. 37 days in total).

Is the store obligated to provide a replacement during warranty repairs?

In certain cases, the law provides for the provision of a similar product for the period of warranty repair, that is, the seller (manufacturer...) is obliged to provide the consumer for use for the entire period of warranty repair and completely free of charge with a product that has the same consumer properties (Clause 2 of Article 20 of the Law of the Russian Federation “ On the protection of consumer rights").

However, for this to happen the following conditions must exist:

• The product belongs to durable goods
• The product is not included in the list of durable goods that are not subject to this rule
• The consumer submitted a written request to provide him with a similar product for the duration of the repair.

If the above conditions are met, the consumer must be provided with a similar product for free use within three days from the date of presentation of the corresponding demand.

But all three of these conditions must exist. For example, in the absence of a consumer’s application to provide him with a replacement during repairs, the seller or service center is not obliged to do this on his own, that is, on his own initiative, but if there is a corresponding application from the consumer, they cannot refuse to issue such a replacement; this would be illegal.

For failure to comply with the requirement to provide a replacement during the warranty repair of the product, and even in the event of a three-day delay in providing the consumer with a similar product during the repair, the seller (manufacturer) is liable in the form of paying a penalty to the consumer in the amount of one percent of the price of the product for each day of delay.

Regulatory regulation

The Consumer Rights Protection Law is aimed at defending the interests of purchasers of goods from different consumer groups. Art. 20 The PPA is entirely devoted to resolving the legal aspects that arise between the seller, manufacturer and consumer of goods.

The main point of this article is to cover the topic of warranty and post-warranty repairs; in particular, it stipulates the obligation of the seller of the product to accept the defective item for repair under the warranty card. Moreover, the maximum allowable time for eliminating breakdowns is set at 45 days, but it can be reduced if it is a minor defect in the product.

But it often happens that after repair work, a thing breaks down again and needs to be repaired. This point is covered in paragraph 3 of Art. 20 of the Law, which talks about extending the warranty period taking into account those days when the consumer did not use the item because it was being serviced.

In total, the new period will be calculated from the moment the goods are received from the warranty workshop, but it cannot exceed the time established by the manufacturer of the goods. That is, if a product has a 1-year warranty, and the item was under repair for 30 days, then the next countdown will be 330 days (360-30).

Although some workshops simply make a note on the warranty repair coupon about the number of days required to fix the faulty item.

When transferring the item to the consumer, the responsible person indicates in the accompanying document:

• Dates of receipt and delivery of goods after repair.
• List of defects eliminated.
• Materials used, spare parts and parts.
• Artist's signature.

All these priorities are established by the Federal Law of October 25, 2007, No. 234. If a long-term warranty is issued for a product, then during this period the buyer has the right to contact a service workshop to troubleshoot problems in the performance of complex equipment or perform an inspection for preventive purposes. breakdowns.

Extension of the warranty period after repair

Also, do not forget that the law provides for an extension of the warranty period after repairs.

The warranty period is extended for the duration of the warranty repair, that is, for the entire period when the product is not used and cannot be used for its intended purpose due to an identified defect.

This period begins on the day the consumer submits a claim for warranty repairs and ends on the day the product is received from repair.

If you have any questions on this topic, call and get advice from a practicing lawyer specifically for your situation.

Start date of the warranty period

The start dates for calculating the warranty period are specified in paragraph 2 of Article 19 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights. They depend on some related factors:

1. The warranty period begins to apply from the moment the item is handed over to the consumer, unless other conditions are provided for in the contract.
2. If it is not possible to determine the moment of purchase, then the warranty period begins from the moment of its manufacture..
3. The warranty period for seasonal items begins with the onset of the corresponding season (for example, when purchasing a snow scooter in the fall, the warranty period will begin to expire at the onset of winter). The onset of the season depends on the climatic conditions of the region where the buyer is located. If you purchase a seasonal item during that season, the warranty begins to count at the time of purchase.
4. When selling a product by mail, the warranty period begins on the day the consumer receives the product . The same rule applies if the moment of purchase and sale and the moment of receiving the item do not coincide.
5. If it is not possible to use the purchased item due to circumstances depending on the seller (for example, installation or connection), the warranty period is suspended until these problems are resolved.
6. If it is impossible to determine the delivery, installation or connection time of the product, then the warranty begins to apply from the moment the purchase and sale agreement is concluded.

Paragraph 3 of Article 19 also states that the warranty period for components or related products for a product is accrued in the same way as for the main product.

How to calculate the deadline

• To establish the true warranty period after returning an item from service, you should pay attention to the date of delivery and purchase.
• If an item has a long-term warranty, it will be extended for the period during which the item was actually absent from the purchaser of the item.
• If a broken part is replaced with a new unit, it will be covered by the same warranty period as the entire equipment model (including the repair period).

Please pay attention! If the warranty service center does not have the physical ability to repair the product within the time limits established by law (referring to the lack of spare parts or the necessary specialist), and offers to increase the time for repairs, then this can be regarded as a violation of consumer rights.

Protection of rights

If, when contacting the seller or manufacturer of the product, he insists that the breakdown occurred due to incorrect actions of the buyer, and this does not qualify as a warranty case, then you should proceed in the following sequence:

• Submit a written claim in 2 copies with a receipt stamp.
• Order an independent examination of defects.
• Contact the judicial authority for the protection of your consumer rights, attach to the claim all documents accompanying the purchase, a certificate of examination and its results.

In most cases, the courts side with the injured buyer and recover not only the cost of the product, but also legal costs, as well as penalties and fines for the forced period of inability to use the purchased item.

How and by whom should the warranty card be filled out? Is it possible to extend the warranty period, how long can the examination of a broken product last? All these questions were answered by the video below: