Legal guarantees of conformity, commercial warranty, warranty against hidden defects, contractual guarantees… What are the differences between all these guarantees? Which guarantees are mandatory? Optional? When do they apply? Let’s find out…

There are two categories of warranty :

• Legal warranties, which cannot be waived.
• Commercial warranties, whether free of charge or not, freely granted by the professional, which are contractual in nature.

EU legislation specifies that the seller must offer the consumer a warranty of at least two years (legal warranty) to protect against goods that are defective or do not look or work as advertised.

(Verified on January 12, 2024 – Directorate of Legal and Administrative Information)
When you purchase a product or a digital service, it must meet the expected use and the description provided by the seller. If a defect exists at the time the product or service is delivered, you can invoke the legal guarantees of conformity<. The defect must appear within from the delivery of the product, whether it is new, second-hand, refurbished, or a digital service. In case of a dispute, you can first contact a mediator and, if unsuccessful, take legal action.

Important notes

• The legal guarantees of conformity only applies to contracts between a non-professional buyer (i.e. an individual or an association) and a professional seller.
• It does not apply to:
• Second-hand goods sold at public auctions
• Goods sold by a private individual or a judicial officer
• Pets
• Free digital content or services, even if delivered on a physical medium (e.g., USB stick, CD)

If, during the guarantees period, the product sold is defective or does not appear or function as advertised, the seller is liable. In some countries, responsibility may also lie with the manufacturer or importer.

The seller is legally bound by any public statements made about his products, particularly in advertising or labelling.
f he is a retailer, a customer may claim compensation under the legal guarantee provided by European legislation if the product :

• Does not correspond to the description given.
• Has qualities different from those of the model advertised or presented to the customer.
• Is not suitable for the normal or specific intended use required by the customer and accepted by the seller.
• Does not possess the quality or performance customary for a product of the same type.
• Has not been properly installed, either by the seller or by the consumer, due to incomplete instructions.

If the seller has informed the consumer, at the time of sale, that the product presents quality problems, the consumer will not be able to claim compensation for this particular defect.

• Product repair.
• Replacement of the product.
• Price reduction.
• Cancellation of the contract and full refund (in some countries, the sales contract cannot be cancelled in the event of a minor defect, such as a scratch on a CD box).

In most European countries, there is a “hierarchy of remedies”. This means that the customer must first ask for the product to be repaired, or replaced if repair is not a viable solution (e.g., too costly). The seller must do this within a reasonable timeframe and without major inconvenience to the customer.

• Is impossible.
• Would be too costly, given the nature of the product or defect.
• Would cause too much inconvenience to the customer.
• Cannot be carried out by the seller within a reasonable period of time.

RESIMARMO guarantees its products in accordance with European legislation, that is to say for two years.