Warranty, Guarantee or Your Legal Rights? What's the Difference in the UK
Updated
What to do now
- Work out how long ago you bought it. Details for step 1
- Under 6 months: go to the retailer, under your legal rights. Details for step 2
- Still within the manufacturer's guarantee: contact the manufacturer with proof of purchase. Details for step 3
- Guarantee over? Check for an extended warranty, or go to the retailer if it should have lasted longer. Details for step 4
- Don't accept "that's the manufacturer's problem" from a shop. Details for step 5
"Is it still under warranty?" is usually the first question when something breaks. But in the UK, three different kinds of protection can apply to the same product, and they come from different people, cost different amounts and cover different things. Knowing which is which tells you who to go to.
The three kinds of cover
1. Your legal rights
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, anything you buy from a business must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. These rights come automatically and for free, they're against the retailer you paid, and nobody can take them away. Our guide to your rights at 30 days, 6 months and 6 years explains them in detail.
2. The manufacturer's guarantee (often called a warranty)
Most products come with a promise from the manufacturer to repair or replace them if they go wrong within a set time, often one or two years. It's free, it comes with the product, and it's run by the manufacturer, not the shop.
3. An extended warranty
Extra cover you pay for, offered by the retailer, the manufacturer or a separate company, often when you buy. It usually runs for a few years and many are a form of insurance. See are extended warranties worth it?
"Warranty" or "guarantee"?
In everyday use the words are interchangeable. A manufacturer might call the same free cover a "guarantee" or a "warranty". What matters isn't the name but who's offering it, whether you paid for it, and its terms.
Side by side
| Legal rights | Manufacturer's guarantee | Extended warranty | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who you claim from | The retailer | The manufacturer | Whoever sold or runs it |
| Cost | Free, automatic | Free with the product | You pay for it |
| How long | A reasonable lifespan; claims within 6 years (5 in Scotland) | A fixed term, often 1–2 years | A fixed term, often 2–5 years |
| What it covers | Faults present when you got it | Faults within the term, on its terms | Whatever its terms say |
A guarantee can't take away your rights
A free manufacturer's guarantee is legally binding: the law treats it as a promise the manufacturer must keep. It has to be written in plain language and give the manufacturer's name and address, how long it lasts and where it applies, and it mustn't suggest your legal rights are reduced. They aren't.
So a shop can't refuse to help because "it's under the manufacturer's warranty". You can choose to go to the retailer under your legal rights, to the manufacturer under the guarantee, or both, whichever is easier.
Which should you use?
- In the first 30 days: go to the retailer. You can reject a faulty item for a full refund.
- Up to 6 months: the retailer is usually best. The fault is presumed to have been there from the start.
- After 6 months, within the guarantee: the manufacturer's guarantee is often easier, because you don't have to prove the fault was there from the start.
- After the guarantee has ended: an extended warranty if you have one, or the retailer under your legal rights if the product hasn't lasted as long as it reasonably should.
Keep track of each one
A single product can have all three at once: legal rights from the day you buy it, a manufacturer's guarantee for the first year or two, and an extended warranty that starts when that ends. Each runs out at a different time, and each needs the purchase date and proof of purchase. Writing down when each one ends, and keeping the receipt with them, is what lets you use the right one when something breaks.
This guide is general information about the law in the United Kingdom, not legal advice for your situation. For help with a particular problem, contact Citizens Advice (England and Wales), Advice Direct Scotland or Consumerline (Northern Ireland).