Guarantee

When you purchase products in Denmark, you might find that a guarantee comes with the product that you purchase. There will often be a manufacturer's guarantee from the manufacturer, but some sellers may also offer a guarantee, for example on a second-hand car.

A guarantee is not the same as the 2-year legal warranty which you have vis-à-vis the seller under Danish law. A guarantee is something more which you receive in addition to the legal warranty and can be issued by either the seller or the manufacturer. For example, there could be a 5-year guarantee on your new watch, so you can make a complaint about a fault on the watch for 5 years.

The company is free to decide whether or not to offer you a guarantee. Therefore, the company itself largely determines the conditions of the guarantee, for example how long the guarantee lasts and what faults it covers.

The guarantee does not replace the statutory 2-year legal warranty. Therefore, if a fault on the product appears in the first 2 years after purchase, first of all check whether the fault is covered by the legal warranty.

• 2-year legal warranty – the public consumer portal, forbrug.dk

It is not always the case that you will be offered a guarantee on the product. The company is free to decide whether or not to offer you a guarantee and in that case the terms which will apply to it.

However, under the Danish Sale of Goods Act you will always have a 2-year legal warranty if a fault occurs on a product which you purchased in Denmark.

• 2-year legal warranty – the public consumer portal, forbrug.dk

The company is free to decide whether or not to offer you a guarantee and therefore itself largely determines the terms of the guarantee. This can be, for example, how long the guarantee is to run and whether it is to cover the entire product or only parts thereof.

If there is a fault on the product which is covered by the guarantee, you should contact the company which provided the guarantee. It is always the guarantee provider who has to prove that what you are making a complaint about is not covered by the guarantee. You merely have to prove that there is something wrong with the product.

If the fault on the product occurs within 2 years after the purchase, first check whether the fault is covered by the statutory 2-year legal warranty which applies in Denmark. Contact the seller who sold you the product.

The company is free to decide whether or not to offer you a guarantee. Therefore, it itself largely determines the terms of the guarantee, for example, how long the guarantee is to run.

The guarantee provider itself determines the terms of the guarantee, including how long it is to last. It therefore varies greatly from guarantee to guarantee.

When you shop in Denmark, you should typically not have to pay extra for the guarantee. However, some guarantee providers require that you, for example, register the product to obtain the guarantee.   

Some sellers also offer you the opportunity of purchasing additional insurance. The insurance will often have a longer duration than the 2-year legal warranty or the guarantee which there may be on the product. It will also often cover more damage than the legal warranty and any guarantee do.

You have the right to obtain the guarantee in writing, for example in the form of a guarantee certificate. The guarantee must be written in Danish if the product has been marketed in Danish.

The guarantee certificate must state how long the guarantee runs, what it covers and what terms apply to it. This can be, for example, servicing which must be carried out, or other maintenance.

If you do not receive any information on what the guarantee covers, you may demand that that product works as it should with normal use for as long as the guarantee is valid.

If there is a fault on the product, and you and the seller are unable to agree on a solution to the problem, you may proceed with a complaint case.  

In Denmark there is a public consumer complaints system which consists of the Centre for Complaint Resolution and the Consumer Complaints Board. They handle complaints in a large number of areas where there is no approved appeal board.

• The Danish Marketing Practices Act (PDF)

• Guarantee – the public consumer portal, forbrug.dk