The product breaks during the warranty period: procedure, consumer rights and seller responsibilities, repair periods, laws

Durable items are usually provided with a warranty from the seller (manufacturer). This is stated in the contract or a special check. However, despite the availability of documentation, the manufacturer is in no hurry to comply with consumer rights in the event of a product failure under warranty. The relationship between buyer and seller is determined by many subtleties and rules. Most of the rules are contained in Federal Law No. 2300-1 of 02/07/1992.

Legislation

Citizens need to understand the legal intricacies in order to insist on replacing a broken item. The rights of the consumer during warranty repairs include the opportunity to receive:

the service is free;
replacement for the duration of the work;
penalty in case of violation of legal deadlines.

An ordinary person does not always know that the legislation of the Russian Federation protects his rights. Standards have been introduced into the legal field, based on which the buyer can deal with an unscrupulous supplier. These are prescribed in Federal Law No. 2300-1. Namely:

The obligations of the supplier are described in the fifth article of this act. These include:
withdrawal from sale of goods whose shelf life has expired;
The time for filing claims against the supplier in various situations is described in Article 19. Thus, the law gives a citizen the right to demand an answer if a guarantee is established for a thing, as well as in the absence of one (within reasonable limits).

What is a replacement stock of goods?

Replacement fund of goods is a reserve in which goods of substitution value are stored. That is, when handing over, for example, equipment for repair, the consumer can count on being provided with an item with identical consumer properties. In order to take this product and provide it to the buyer during warranty repairs, the seller turns to the replacement fund to find the item he needs.

For your information

So, if the estimated repair period for a product under warranty exceeds 7 days, in accordance with the provisions of Art. 21 of the Law on ZPP, the consumer has the right to demand a replacement. In the accounting department of an enterprise, when creating a PF, certain entries are made. The first of them is Dt10Kt41. And the fact of transfer of goods from the PF to the consumer is recorded by the entry Dt10Kt10.

Subtleties of interaction between buyer and seller

There are points that need to be paid special attention to. The fact is that large companies directly use legislative norms to their advantage. The job of a citizen is to identify the trick at the stage of acquiring expensive property. The main points are as follows:

Claims regarding the quality of the purchase can only be made if the defect is not reflected in the contract (description);
The buyer has several alternative options to remedy the defects:
return of spent funds;
reimbursement of money that a citizen will spend to bring the property into working condition;
replacement of unusable property.

Therefore, when investing serious funds, it is necessary to carefully read the papers: contracts, warranty cards, and the like.

Types of goods and supplier guarantees

In the legal field, things sold are divided into certain groups. They are:

ordinary;
durable;
technically complex.

As a rule, ordinary purchases cannot be repaired. They are replaced if defects are detected. It's a different story with complex property. The legislator identified items consisting of many complex elements. Often the components are produced by different companies. Due to this, technically complex products cannot be replaced or returned:

if the breakdown is not considered significant;
detected in the first fifteen days.

About application deadlines

The legislator has established periods when the buyer can make claims for defects. Compliance with the deadlines leads to repair work at the expense of the manufacturer. Thus, Article 19 of the law provides the following periods:

warranty, specified in the sales contract or coupon;
two years beyond the warranty period;
service life period;
up to ten years, if the service life of the item is not established.

To whom is the claim sent?

The law gave the citizen the right to choose the addressee of claims. The latter can be sent:

to the seller;
to the importer (if things are brought from another country);
to the manufacturer.

Technically complex - what are they?

The Government of the Russian Federation has approved a register of goods classified as technically complex (No. 924 dated November 10, 2011). Thus, the normative act lists the following items:

computers and televisions;
navigation equipment;
vehicles, including specialized ones;
ships;
aircraft;
electrified tools;
watch;
refrigerators and other household appliances;
snowmobiles with an engine based on the internal combustion principle;
other.

By another resolution, the Government approved a list of items that are not subject to temporary replacement under warranty. These include, in particular:

vehicles of various types, including motorcycles;
pieces of furniture;
consumer electronics;
electrical household equipment for cooking;
weapon.

When a manufacturer has the right to refuse a consumer

The legal framework describes non-warranty cases. Such will be recognized if the breakdown occurred for the following reasons:

improper operation not provided for in the instructions;
careless attitude towards the purchase (blows, falls, etc.);
exposure of a thing to elements or substances for which it is not designed (fire, water, chemically active ingredients, etc.);
improper transportation (without taking precautions).

When do they have the right to refuse to provide a replacement product?

Government Decree No. 55 of January 19, 1998 contains a list of durable goods that cannot be replaced (at least the service center is not obliged to provide the consumer with analogues instead):

vehicles, whether cars, motorcycles, boat accessories, boats and yachts, trailers, etc.;
interior items;
weapons, in particular firearms;
electrical household appliances equipped with heat treatment capabilities (toasters);
toiletries.

Please note
Despite such legislative provisions, some automobile and other service centers take into account consumer requirements and provide replacement product items, however, they are not required to do this during warranty repairs.

Instructions for the consumer

When contacting a seller, a person is faced with two essentially different situations:

recognition of the validity of the requirements;
refusal to accept the purchase under warranty.

It follows from this that it is necessary to create two alternative action instructions. These are listed below.

What to do if the supplier admits a defect

This situation is most favorable for the buyer. However, formalities must still be observed. The following needs to be done:

Come to the store with the defective purchase, receipt and other documentation;
Write a claim in two copies. Give one to the company representative, ask him to sign the second one and provide the following information:
position, surname and initials;
Give away the damaged item. Such an operation is accompanied by the drawing up of an act. The document states:
details, including serial number;
date of operation;
parties, that is, the buyer and the representative of the company;
detailed description of the product, including: appearance;
the presence or absence of damage;
traces of use;
A separate action is checking the quality of the item. As a rule, this is done in the presence of a citizen. You should not agree to a delayed inspection. If the representative insists, then the item is packed. The data from the act is indicated on the box;
Requirement for replacement during the period of repair work. This is possible if the product is not included in the list of exceptions (described above).

How long will the repair take?

The legislator provided that the manufacturer would need a certain time to correct the defect. This could be:

up to 45 days in general;
immediately if possible.

If the seller failed to cope with the situation and delayed the deadline without agreement, then a penalty will be charged. It is 1% per day of the cost of the goods.

Procedure in case of refusal to recognize a warranty claim

The interaction begins with the same steps described above. You must come to the store and submit a written complaint. If a representative of the company does not agree to accept it, then the person will have to order an examination of the product. There are situations when the supplier himself turns to a specialist. The next step is to transmit the expert's opinion to the manufacturer. The latter can accept the goods and the claim, proven by a specialist, or refuse. If the store agrees with the fact that it sold a defective item, then the costs of the expert should be demanded from it. Otherwise you will have to go to court.

Going to court

Before filing a claim, you need to send another demand to the store with an offer to conduct an expert assessment at the expense of the supplier. The results could be like this:

refusal (must be saved);
lack of reaction.

The statement of claim describes in detail the course of interaction with the sellers. You should also attach copies of all saved papers, starting with the receipt and passport of the goods, ending with the response to the request for an examination.

If the court makes a positive decision, the following actions should be taken:

Receive a resolution;
Take it to the Bailiff Service.

Civil servants will do the rest. An unscrupulous supplier will pay the person the funds lost in vain.

Can I return the vacuum cleaner after use?

At the request of the seller and at his expense, the consumer must return the defective product. Contact the Seller with a written complaint, reflecting your requirement.

The seller, in case of a dispute, can send the goods for examination, you have the right to challenge its result, you have the right to be present at the examination. Refunds must be made within 10 days (Art.

22 of the Law). If the Seller does not satisfy the claim, you have the right to go to court on the basis of Art. 17 of the Law. If you simply decide to exchange (return) a product that has no defect, but it does not suit you, then you may be rightfully refused.

Based on Art. 25 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”: 1. The consumer has the right to exchange a non-food product of proper quality for a similar product from the seller from whom this product was purchased, if the specified product does not fit in shape, dimensions, style, color, size

Carrying out repairs yourself

An alternative way to correct the defect is to contact a repair specialist. Naturally, the latter’s services are paid. They can be presented for payment to an unscrupulous seller. But for this, formalities must be observed. They are:

You can carry out the correction: independently;
with the involvement of a specialist (legal entity, individual, individual entrepreneur);

The following expenses are paid:

for the purchase of components and replacement units;

for the work of a specialist (you need to conclude an official contract).

Possible difficulties

Stores often require that a citizen seek repair services from companies with which they have an agreement. Their services are more expensive than those of an independent specialist. Compensation should be sought;
Before starting independent work, you need to get the supplier to acknowledge the warranty situation. Otherwise, expenses will not be reimbursed;
Warranty service often leads to the appearance of other defects. These should be reflected in the property transfer and acceptance certificate. It is also possible to use a new breakdown to request a refund.

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Why file a claim for a refund?

If the terms of the contract are violated, the organization is obliged to send a corresponding notification to the partner. To do this, you will need to draw up a letter of claim for the return of funds, a sample of which you can download below. If the parties cannot agree, it will be quite difficult to prove in court that the claim procedure was followed.

Please note that compliance with the claim procedure is required if a company requires funds from a counterparty. For example, the return of an advance or payment for goods, work or services, the demand for penalties, penalties, fines, the requirement to pay the costs of eliminating deficiencies, etc.

The main purpose of the document is to notify the business partner of disagreement with the current state of affairs, demand that all identified shortcomings be eliminated and offer to resolve the dispute peacefully, that is, in a pre-trial manner.

Arbitrage practice

If we analyze court proceedings in these disputes, practice shows that penalties imposed on individual entrepreneurs rarely exceed 1,000 rubles. In addition, the guilty parties often try to find justification for their actions. Refusing to pay a penalty, they rely on the fact that the product is in service for 20-30 days awaiting parts, while repairs under warranty last 2-3 days. It turns out that the company is not at all obliged to provide an analogue product, since the repair period is less than 7 days. Therefore, many controversial situations arise.

Fine to a store for not providing replacement goods

If a company that has an obligation to provide a similar product for the warranty period has not fulfilled it, or has not fulfilled it in full, it is obliged to pay a penalty in the amount of 1% of the price of the device being repaired per day. If the company rejects this requirement, the consumer retains the right to file a claim in court, and a photocopied version of the act must be attached to the application.

If administrative proceedings are initiated in the case, in accordance with Art. 14.15 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation (it regulates situations related to violations of the sale of certain types of commodity items) and Federal Law No. 55 of January 19, 1998, a fine will be imposed. The size is a maximum of 30,000 rubles. for legal entities and 1-3 tr. for individual entrepreneurs.

Nuances

The main point of concern to consumers is the functionality of the provided analogue during the warranty repair. In the case of technology, for example, sellers often provide consumers with goods of lower quality (for example, a NOKIA feature phone in exchange for a Sony smartphone). On the one hand, the properties of the provided product item are similar, on the other hand, with NOKIA you can only send messages and make calls. If the buyer disagrees with the seller’s position, he has the right to appeal this action and demand the provision of an identical model.

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