Guarantees and warranties

What do guarantees and warranties mean when buying goods?

When you buy goods, you may be offered a guarantee or a warranty. Guarantees and warranties may offer additional assurances from the retailer and manufacturer, but they do not replace or change your consumer rights under Irish law.

Your consumer rights apply regardless of any guarantee or warranty. The Consumer Rights Act 2022 and other Irish legislation protect you when buying goods and services. Businesses must ensure goods are of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. If something goes wrong through no fault of your own, you may be entitled to a repair, replacement, refund or price reduction.

The business should offer a repair, replacement or refund whether you have a guarantee or warranty or not, even if the guarantee or warranty has expired. Find more information in our faulty goods section.

What is a guarantee?

A guarantee is a promise from a business or manufacturer to repair or replace an item if something goes wrong within a set period of time. Guarantees are usually provided free of charge and often apply to household products like electrical appliances and furniture. You often need to register directly with the manufacturer for your guarantee. If you sell or give the product to someone else, the guarantee usually remains valid for the set period.

What is a warranty?

A warranty (or extended warranty) comes at an extra cost and acts as a sort of insurance policy. Benefits of having a warranty may include paying some of the cost of a repair if the product breaks. Warranties may also offer extra cover for accidental damage. A warranty is completely optional. You should carefully check what the warranty covers and whether you really need to buy it. Warranties do not replace your statutory consumer rights. Under Irish consumer rights law, you have a short-term right to a refund within 30 days. You can also be entitled to a repair, replacement or refund if a fault arises for up to six years after your purchase.

Warranties are optional and do not replace your statutory consumer rights when purchasing goods or services from a business in Ireland. Under Irish consumer rights law, you have the right to a full refund, replacement or repair within 30 days of an issue occurring, through no fault of the consumer, and up to 6 years for a business to repair or replace the product, should an issue arise outside of normal wear and tear and the issue is not through the fault of the consumer. 

What should you check if offered a guarantee or warranty?

Read the terms and conditions carefully to:

• Find out if and how you need to activate it – you may need to register the item with the manufacturer before any guarantee or warranty is valid
• Check exactly what parts and labour costs it covers
• Confirm who is responsible for honouring it, e.g., the seller, the manufacturer or a third party
• If a cost applies, consider if the cost of the warranty is worth it – for instance, how much it is compared to the cost of the item and how much you would be charged for repairs, if the issue is your fault.

Warranties are optional and can be expensive. Don't feel pressured into buying one.

Next steps to resolve your consumer rights issue

• Contact the business informally first, explain the problem and try to work it out.
• Keep a record of all contact and communications in case you need to escalate your complaint later.
• If the problem is not resolved, make a formal written complaint to the business. You can use the CCPC complaint letter templates which outline your consumer rights to help you.
• If you paid by card, you may have the option to request a chargeback from your bank or financial services provider.
• If your claim is for €2,000 or less, you can use the small claims procedure.
• If the problem is not easily resolved, we encourage you to also report the business to the CCPC. Your report will inform our advocacy and enforcement activities.
• For more guidance, please visit our how to resolve an issue section.