Under EU rules, a seller must repair, replace, or give you a full or partial refund if something you buy turns out to be faulty or doesn’t look or work as advertised. You always have the right to a minimum 2-year guarantee, at no cost. However, national rules in your country may give you extra protection.

You can return any purchase within 14 days without justification (see 14-day cooling-off period). After 14 days, you can usually only ask for a partial or full refund if it’s not possible to repair or replace the goods. Please note that you might not be entitled to a refund if the problem is minor (such as a scratch on a CD case).

Extra protection

Shops or manufacturers might offer you an additional commercial guarantee (also known as a “warranty“). This can give you better protection but can never replace or reduce the minimum 2-year guarantee. The conditions should be laid down clearly in the commercial guarantee, and if they are less advantageous than the conditions that were advertised by the seller, the more advantageous ones apply.

If you buy a product or service online, you have the right to return it within 14 days of delivery without providing any justification. For service contracts, the cooling off period expires 14 days after the day the contract was agreed. If the cooling-off period expires on a non-working day, your deadline is extended until the next working day. This is called the right of withdrawal.

Exceptions

Please note: the 14-day cooling-off period doesn’t apply to

  • plane and train tickets, as well as concert tickets, hotel bookings, car rental reservations and catering services for specific dates
  • goods and drinks delivered to you by regular delivery – for example a milk delivery
  • goods made to order or clearly personalised – such as a tailor-made suit
  • sealed audio, video or computer software, such as DVDs, that you have unsealed
  • online digital content, if you have already started downloading or streaming it and you agreed that you would lose your right of withdrawal by starting the performance
  • goods bought from a private individual rather than a company/trader
  • urgent repairs and maintenance contracts – if you call a plumber to repair a leaking shower, you can’t cancel the work once you have agreed on the price of the service

How to get goods repaired, replaced or refunded

The 2-year guarantee period starts as soon as you receive your goods. If a defect becomes apparent within 1 year of delivery, you don’t have to prove it existed at the time of delivery. It is assumed that it did unless the seller can prove otherwise. You can ask the seller to repair or replace the product, give you a price reduction, or give you your money back if repair or replacement is not possible.

In some EU countries, this period may be 2 years.

Second-hand goods

Second–hand goods that you buy from a seller are also covered by the minimum 2-year guarantee. In some EU countries, you can agree with the seller on a guarantee period of less than 2 years. However, it must be no shorter than 1 year. This should be made clear at the time of purchase. Goods bought from private individuals are not covered.

Products that require software to function

Special rules apply when you buy digital content like videos, music, and software apps, such as

  • a video game that you download once
  • weekly links to a news website for which you pay a subscription fee
  • continuous supply of cloud storage.

These rules also apply when you provide your personal data in exchange for the content or service. This includes photos and social media posts that were processed with your consent.

You always have the right to a minimum 2-year guarantee if the digital content or service turns out to be faulty, not as advertised or not working as expected. If the supplier can’t fix the content or service within a reasonable time, free of charge and without inconvenience to you, you can ask for a reduction in the price. In some cases, you can terminate the contract.

Continuous supply

In the case of continuous supply, such as cloud storage services, the supplier is responsible for any defect that becomes apparent throughout the time that the digital content or service is to be supplied (as laid down in the contract).

The supplier should give you clear instructions on how to install the digital content or service, and the technical requirements that are needed to operate it. They should also provide you with any updates it needs to keep it cybersecure. For continuous supplies, updates should cover the whole period as laid down in the contract.

Your data in exchange for content or service

If you gave the seller your personal data in exchange for digital content or a service but it’s not working as advertised, you have the right to terminate the contract, even if the defect is minor. The supplier should stop using your data once the contract is terminated, and give you the option to take back any content that you created (for example, if a social media platform like Facebook allows you to have an account in exchange for your personal data and photos, videos and posts, they should stop using them as soon as you have terminated the contract).

Repairs and refunds of digital content and services

If the digital content or digital service shows defects within 2 years of the sale, the supplier has to provide a solution. For any defect in a one-off purchase that becomes apparent within 1 year, it is assumed that it existed at that time of the sale, unless the supplier can prove otherwise. However, you can file a claim for a period of at least 2 years.

For digital content or services provided on a continuous basis, the defect is assumed to have existed throughout that period.