Legal and commercial guarantees

There are two types of guarantee - legal and commercial. While the legal guarantee is obligatory, the commercial one is not. Moreover, the legal guarantee is valid for two years, while the validity period of the commercial guarantee is determined by the trader.

There are traders who offer a commercial guarantee valid for a year. After a year they mislead consumers into believing that after two years they are no longer covered by a guarantee. However, the legal guarantee is still valid for another year.

The legal guarantee protects the consumer against latent defects on purchase. Claims made within the first six months after purchase under a legal guarantee are considered to have already existed on the date of purchase, unless the seller can prove otherwise. Thereafter, it is up to the consumer to prove that the defect 'was there' and did not occur due to misuse or any other reason.