Garancija

The guarantee is - along with the warranty - the basis for a complaint. It is a voluntary declaration concerning the quality of goods made by the trader, i.e. the guarantor*. It is regulated by the provisions of the Civil Code. It is worth remembering that the lack of a guarantee document does not in any way limit the buyer's rights under the guarantee - however, difficulties may arise in determining the scope of its contents.

* Note: The seller may or may not be the guarantor. This should be specified in the guarantee statement. If it is not, the guarantee may be deemed to have been given by the trader who made the statement.

A guarantee is, in other words, an obligation of the guarantor towards the buyer to replace, repair or accept an item (and refund money) that does not meet the characteristics specified in the guarantee document, the description or even the advertisement. In doing so, it must be remembered that the guarantor voluntarily and individually defines its obligations. It may therefore provide for various exclusions, within the scope of which the buyer will have no rights.

What is the guarantee?

The guarantee shall be provided by including a statement to this effect in the guarantee document, in the description of the offer, or in the advertising of the goods.

The content of the guarantee should be formulated in a clear and comprehensible form. In particular, it should contain such information as:

• name and address of the guarantor
• duration and territorial scope of guarantee protection
• the rights to be exercised in the event of a defect;
• the statement "The guarantee does not exclude, limit or suspend the buyer's rights under the warranty regulations for defects of the goods sold".

It is worth remembering that promises made in an advertisement are treated equally to those in a guarantee statement.

As a rule, new items offered by traders are covered by a guarantee, but it is the guarantor who decides whether or not to give the buyer a guarantee on his product. It also decides what its content and scope will be, for example:

• what will be the number of repairs
• the conditions under which the item can be replaced
• whether service addresses will be given.

Duration of the guarantee

If the guarantee statement does not specify a period of protection, it is assumed to be 2 years - starting from the day the goods were delivered to the buyer. However, the guarantor can specify the duration of the guarantee, so it can last for e.g. one or five years or be granted for life.

If the guarantor has replaced the defective product with a new one or has carried out substantial repairs, the guarantee period shall start over again from the delivery of the replaced or repaired item to the customer. If a single part belonging to the goods complained of is replaced, the guarantee period runs from the beginning of the guarantee period in respect of that part.

The guarantor must perform his obligations (e.g. repair or replace the goods) within the time specified in the guarantee statement. If this time is not specified, he should do so immediately, but no later than 14 days from the day the buyer delivers the goods to him.

Guarantee vs. warranty

The rights granted under the guarantee are independent of the rights indicated under the warranty. This means that if the buyer's claims are not accepted under one of the indicated bases, the buyer has the right to assert claims under the other available basis - e.g. if a complaint under the guarantee is not accepted, the buyer may file a complaint under the warranty.

How to make a guarantee claim?

There are no single rules for making a guarantee claim - everything is decided by the terms of the guarantee document. In other words, since the guarantee is provided by the guarantor and does so voluntarily, the guarantor also decides on the terms of the guarantee.