Q: A year-and-a-half ago I bought a washing machine with a two-year parts and labour warranty. Recently, a fault in the machine’s rubber occurred and when I contacted the company about it, I was told that rubber parts are not covered by the warranty. If I am not mistaken, the two-year legal guarantee gives me the right to claim a free remedy even though faults related to rubber are excluded in the commercial guarantee.

When the technician came to arrange the fault, he said that the seller will not be taking responsibility because, according to him, the tear in the rubber was caused by an object put in the washing machine.

Am I legally entitled to free repair or not?

A: The legal guarantee gives consumers the right to claim a free remedy when the goods purchased turn out to be defective or do not show the quality and performance that are normal in goods of the same type. In your particular case, this means that if the quality of the rubber was not up to standard and that is why why it tore, then since the legal guarantee does not exclude parts made of rubber, you are entitled to claim free repair under this legal protection.

If, however, the tear in the rubber has been caused by an object which should not have been put in the washing machine, or through other kind of misuse, then legally you are not entitled to free repair.

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