Types of consumer warranties

A warranty will protect you from problems with the goods or services you buy.

Depending on the type of warranty, it could be a protection that:

• You are legally entitled to access
• You can choose to buy
• A business offers in addition to your automatic legal protections.

Each of these protections is a promise that a business will fix certain problems. This will be your remedy.

Always keep your receipts, invoices and warranty documents in a safe place. These will be your proof of purchase for the goods or services if you need a remedy.

Consumer guarantees

Consumer guarantees protect your rights whenever you buy goods and services. Businesses cannot deny them—they are your legal rights.

If goods or services fail to meet a consumer guarantee, the business must remedy the problem. This will usually be as a refund, repair, exchange or repeat service. Consumer guarantees apply for the reasonable life of the product, even if other forms of warranty have run out.

Express warranties

Businesses must honour any promise they make about their goods or services. These might be spoken or written claims.

These include:

• Whether the goods or services are of high quality
• What state they are in, and how long this will last
• Whether they are in good condition, and how long they will stay like that
• Whether they do their job properly, and for how long
• What specific characteristics they have, and how long these will last.

Making a claim

You must meet the conditions outlined in the warranty. If you don’t, you may void the warranty. These conditions might include:

• Claim limits
• Excess fees
• Contact procedure
• Claim procedure
• Restrictions on choice of repairer.