All about the phone warranty: consumer rights and how to return a gadget for repair; can they refuse?

The warranty on the phone is valid for a strictly limited time, its duration is determined by the legislative norms of the Russian Federation.

It is difficult for a modern person to imagine life without a mobile phone. This gadget allows you to always be in touch, take photos and videos in any mode, easily access the Internet, manage accounts online and has many other useful functions.

Mobile phones have a mandatory warranty period, which allows the consumer to return them to the store or have free service or repair of faults that are of factory origin.

Cell phone warranty

The purchase of a mobile phone should be approached with maximum responsibility. The consumer should know several important aspects directly related to this type of gadget. The main rule is that cell phones are included in the List of technically complex goods that cannot be returned within 14 days. The consumer cannot return a working device to the store based on the fact that it does not fit in size, color or characteristics. For this reason, all nuances should be considered before purchasing. There are still loopholes in this restriction; the buyer will be able to return the purchased high-quality mobile phone, provided that he proves that the information received from the seller about the properties of the phone is incorrect or that he is silent about significant points that run counter to the person’s original goal. Proving this fact is difficult and time-consuming, so it is better to protect yourself from such moments.

When you make a mobile purchase, the manufacturer's warranty begins to apply. It is counted from the date of purchase, which is confirmed by a receipt or issued warranty card. In most cases, manufacturers provide a year of warranty service, less often two. During this time, the owner of the gadget can make claims based on identified defects and demand replacement of the device or free repair.

Application Form

Providing the owner with a replacement for the period of repair of the main device is made only after he submits an application.
Until the paper is provided to the seller, a similar product will not be provided. Retail outlets often take advantage of citizens’ ignorance of the law, keeping silent about the possibility of getting another cell phone during warranty repairs.

The application is submitted on paper. It must contain the following information:

1. Data from the manager of the retail outlet carrying out repair work.
2. Personal details of the applicant.
3. Description of the circumstances (when the product was delivered to the store, what model and brand of the phone being repaired).
4. Description of requirements. A replacement should be requested during the repair period. It would be useful to refer to the current legislative acts that provide a citizen with the right to receive a replacement (Articles 20 and 21 of the Law of the Russian Federation).
5. Client signature and date of submission.

Attention! In the demanding part, you can also demand payment of a penalty if the retail outlet does not have a similar product - one percent of the price of the phone being repaired (Article 23).

The application is drawn up in two copies. Each sample must bear the signature of the organization or authorized individual entrepreneur responsible for the work. Documentation can be avoided if the repair is carried out as a result of filing a claim. The replacement requirement can be written down in this paper.

Buying a low-quality product

The warranty period allows the buyer to contact the seller or manufacturer with claims for a defective product. You should focus not only on the deadlines indicated in the documentation for the product, but also on legal norms. The Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights” No. 2300-1 establishes a warranty period for goods of two years. If the manufacturer has provided a shorter period and after its expiration the owner discovers a manufacturing defect, the buyer also has the right to claim satisfaction of his claims.

In accordance with Article 18 of the PZPP, a buyer who has purchased a defective product may:

1. Return the gadget and get the money paid for it back.
2. Demand partial compensation of the cost.
3. Exchange for an identical product.
4. Replace it with a mobile phone of another model and/or manufacturer.
5. Claim for warranty phone repairs.

Each claim has its own limitations and requires compliance with mandatory conditions.

Exchange of goods

Replacing a phone if it detects factory defects is the most commonly practiced solution to the problem. Most cell phone manufacturers not only do not prevent such a replacement, but also promote it. The exchange is convenient for the seller, as it allows him to keep the proceeds. The manufacturer, having received back the defective product, can correct the defects found in it and sell it for a new one. This should also theoretically be convenient for the buyer, because it allows him to get a new gadget at his disposal almost instantly.

By law, a defective product can be exchanged for:

1. Identical in model, color, parameters.
2. Other from this class of goods.

The monetary difference arising during the exchange is compensated by the consumer when the original cost is exceeded, and by the seller when it decreases.

Refund

Getting your money back for a technically complex product, such as a mobile phone, is not realistic in all cases.

You can exchange a defective mobile phone for money if the defect is discovered within the first 14 days. Subsequently, you can initiate the return of the gadget and receive the full amount back only if the following conditions are met:

1. Significant product defects have been identified.
2. The seller was unable to repair the damage within the legally required time frame.
3. The total repair periods for one warranty year exceed 30 calendar days, which violates the buyer’s rights.

Any of the listed conditions allows you to terminate the sales contract unilaterally and demand a refund even if the goods were purchased on credit.

The seller, of course, is not interested in returning money for the goods to the buyer, so most of the procedure for protecting his own rights and guarantees falls on his shoulders.

Warranty period - definition by law

According to Art. 470 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, the seller undertakes to transfer to the buyer goods that meet the requirements specified in the sales contract.

During a certain period, designated by the warranty, in case of detection of defects in the product, the seller undertakes to satisfy the buyer’s requirements established by Art. 18 and art. 29 ZoPP.

Who installs

The warranty period is determined by the manufacturer, seller or legislation. Information about the period of time during which the buyer can make claims regarding the quality of goods is communicated to him without fail.

How much is

The warranty period depends on the type of product and manufacturer, for phones it is usually 1 year. If the warranty period is not established, the consumer has the right to make claims within 2 years from the date of receipt of the goods (clause 2, part 1, article 19 of the Law of the Russian Federation).

It is important to take into account that the calculation of the warranty period begins only after the phone falls into the hands of the buyer (clause 2, part 2, article 19 of the RPP). For example, if you purchased a phone from an online store and it is sent to you by mail, the calculation begins not from the date indicated on the receipt, but from the day the parcel was received.

Return or exchange procedure

Any mobile phone can break. Even Apple is guilty of an ever-increasing number of defective products. This fact should not frighten the consumer; knowing your rights, it is easy to demand compensation for damage. By law, you can give a broken phone either to the store where it was purchased, or directly to the manufacturer. In most cases, resorting to the second type of return is quite difficult, so you should proceed according to this scheme:

1. Come to the store and tell the seller about the problems that have arisen.
2. The administration of a retail facility often accommodates customers halfway and helps carry out the procedure for returning the device. If this does not happen, then the claim is drawn up by the owner of the equipment independently using samples that are easy to find on the Internet and, in particular, on this site.
3. Hand over the application to the store manager and receive from him written evidence of acceptance of the claim. It is also practiced to send an application by mail, and a receipt for a registered letter will prove that the application actually took place.

The seller is obliged not only to consider, but also to respond to the application. The exchange of goods is carried out in a short time, and in the absence of the required model, no later than 30 days from the date of filing the claim. Refunds must be made within 10 calendar days.

Time frame for repairs and elimination of deficiencies

General information about the timing of repairs, as well as the main points in this case, can be obtained from the Law “On the Protection of Consumer Rights”. Having carefully studied its articles, you can understand that the period for repairing household appliances should be a minimum number of days from the date of filing the application and not exceed 45 days. By the way, most unscrupulous service centers know this number well, and therefore indicate it even for the most minor breakdowns.

The consumer has the right to cross out this number, which will indicate his unwillingness to wait so long, and he needs repairs as soon as possible. Also, engineers from the service center can be reminded of the possibility of conducting an independent examination, then in 80% of cases the work is accelerated significantly, and the consumer quickly receives his device. By the way, if the period specified in the warranty card is violated by the service, then for each day of delay it undertakes to pay a penalty to the consumer. This fact is stated in the Law, and therefore the consumer has the right to demand fulfillment and receive 1% of the cost of the phone for each day of delay.

Phone breakdown

A cell phone breakdown does not always allow the owner to count on its return or exchange. Moreover, his store may even refuse to repair it. The main advantage that the seller tries to use when making claims from the buyer is the wording of the Law. Article 18 states that technically complex goods are subject to return or exchange only if a significant defect is detected. This term refers to the fact that the identified defect cannot be eliminated or when repairing it, certain properties of the gadget will be lost. That is why often when a mobile phone fails, you can only count on repairs.

Damages that occur as a result of improper use are repaired at the expense of the consumer. Therefore, cracks, chips, dents on the body or glass of the gadget are clear signs that the non-working condition was acquired due to poor handling, and not through the fault of the manufacturer. Such defects will not be covered by the warranty.

What phone number should the retail outlet provide?

The legislator regulates not only the process of providing a replacement product, but also what exactly it should be.
This aspect is controlled by the second paragraph of the twentieth article of the PZPP. In accordance with it, the citizen must be provided with another similar durable product. A similar device means a telephone that has the same basic consumer properties (that is, those that are characteristic of the product submitted for repair). Consumer properties are the characteristics of a product that appear during its operation and ensure the satisfaction of the citizen’s needs.

Accordingly, the retail outlet is obliged to provide a replacement. However, the replacement does not necessarily have to be a mobile phone of the same model and brand as the device sent for repair. That is, the replacement must match the original in functionality, but not necessarily in appearance and cost.

It should be noted that the citizen himself can specify in the application the requirements for the replacement provided, indicating exactly what functions the device should perform.

However, you should not specify characteristics that the phone sent in for repair does not have. A new phone is provided free of charge.

We advise you to read the article “Consumer rights to refuse goods before receiving them.”

Here you can find out how you can return money to your card from your phone.

Warranty repair conditions

Warranty repairs of mobile phones are carried out strictly within the period specified in the documents in specialized service centers. In the Russian Federation, almost identical conditions apply for all gadgets sold. Having purchased a phone of a certain brand, you should familiarize yourself with the addresses of services that provide warranty service. You can come to any of them with questions about repairs, regardless of where the gadget was purchased.

For service, the buyer must have a receipt of purchase and a warranty card for the equipment. By law, when handing over a mobile phone for repair, the seller is obliged to give it another device in exchange for performing all the necessary functions while the gadget is absent.

Warranty repairs do not apply to phone components, such as a headset, case, or batteries.

How to submit a request for an analogue?

IMPORTANT
A verbal request for a substitution is not enough. In order to count on using a similar product during warranty repairs, the consumer must fill out an application and ensure that it is transferred to the customer service center together with the faulty item.

The design follows the classic template:

• first there is a “header” indicating the contact information of the applicant and recipient;
• then the name of the paper is displayed, it looks approximately as follows: “Application for the provision of a similar product for the period of warranty repair”;
• after this, the main part is drawn up, which indicates a request for delivery of an analogue for the entire period of repair activities under warranty;
• It is not necessary to make references to legislative provisions in this document, but in order to enhance the weight of their own appeal, the consumer can refer to Art. 20. the law on sexually transmitted diseases;
• then the word “please” is indicated, after which all the requirements of the declaring party are indicated in the list format (an important role is played by the mention of the issuance of a replacement product item within a three-day time period);
• upon completion of the paper, a date and signature are placed on it, since without these details it simply does not have legal value.

At the final stage, the service center employee is assigned the obligation to assign a number to this document and certify it with a signature.

Returning goods after repair

You should not repair phones that are under warranty yourself, in places not intended for this purpose. Such treatment may void the warranty period.

If the gadget was repaired by the seller, then upon receipt you should:

1. Make sure the defect has been corrected.
2. Receive a certificate of repairs performed, with the service dates indicated in it and the cause of the breakdown.

It happens that the initial elimination of deficiencies does not solve the problem, or as a result of repairs other defects and malfunctions begin to emerge. In this case, the consumer can return the device for re-repair, and if the period of previous repairs exceeded 30 days in one year, then for a refund or replacement of the phone with a new product.

Actions are considered justified only if there is documentary evidence of the repairs performed and the timing of its duration.

Repair procedure

Any interaction with the seller is documented, so the client writes an application for warranty service. It is given to the manager or salesperson on duty. The client must have his own copy with him. A mark of receipt is placed on it (date, signature, seal, incoming number).

The second stage is the transfer of the device. The smartphone or other device is transferred to the seller along with the application. The action is formalized by an act. The form is free, but it must indicate when and from whom the item was accepted and who received it. The act lists identification data (number), external defects, and identified defects. The seller must include in the document a phrase with which he recognizes the case as a warranty and undertakes to organize troubleshooting.

The third stage is checking the device. If a phone is broken under warranty, the store has the right to test the phone before sending it to the service center. The procedure is carried out immediately or after an agreed period. The buyer should be careful: the device must be packaged and sealed. The signatures of the parties are affixed to the seal. This option excludes the seller’s fraud (for example, imitation of a flood or fall, which excludes repairs).

Subsequent opening of the sealed package is possible only in the presence of the buyer. The fact is documented, and the store’s client puts his signature.

The fourth stage is the requirement to provide a replacement device. It is submitted in writing and is granted or rejected within three days. You cannot ask for the replacement of goods intended for personal use (toothbrushes, hair dryers), cooking devices, cars, furniture and weapons.

Actions in case of repair failure

Refusal of warranty service may or may not have justified reasons. The seller has the right to refuse the consumer if:

1. There is no evidence that the product was purchased from this store.
2. There are obvious signs on the device that the owner dropped it or drowned it.
3. There are traces of self-remediation of problems, and it does not matter who made them.
4. The product was not used according to the instructions and contrary to its properties.

In other cases, the store must accept a mobile phone. However, an unjustified refusal is not a reason to forget about your rights. The consumer has the right to file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor or even the court. The owner of a defective phone is also recommended to initiate an independent examination, which will give an official conclusion on the cause of the breakdown. Subsequently, these expenses can be reimbursed at the expense of the seller.

When is an examination scheduled?

An examination is carried out when the seller and buyer cannot agree on the cause of the defect (clause 3, part 5, article 1 of the Law of the Russian Federation). In this case, the seller, at his own expense, organizes an inspection of the goods with mandatory notification of the consumer about the place and time of its conduct.

The examination is carried out by an independent organization that has the appropriate license and accreditation.

If, according to the results of the inspection, the defect arose due to the fault of the buyer, the latter is obliged to reimburse the costs to the store. In case of disagreement with the results of the examination, they are challenged in court.

Also, the buyer can independently order an examination at his own expense, but is also obliged to notify the store about the date and time of its conduct. If the presence of a manufacturing defect is proven, the costs of inspection will be reimbursed by the seller.