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Java-E UK - Consumer Rights (Guarantees/Warranties)
Guarantees are mostly free and are a promise by the seller to repair a NEW fault appearing in a product (i.e. a fault which was not present when you bought the item) or to replace the item. Warranties are essentially the same as a guarantee except that you pay for them and they generally last longer.
Guarantees are not actually enforceable as they are not charged for; it's just a goodwill gesture or promise by the manufacturer.
Warranties are enforceable (because you pay for them, so they're contracts).
For normal reasonable wear and tear, neither warranties nor guarantees will cover the cost of the repair/replacement (unless it's explicitly stated otherwise in a warranty contract).
It's actually very rare that you should need to buy a warranty, because if the item goes wrong within a reasonable period (12 months for electrical items), then the law will force the seller to give you a full refund or replacement anyway as the item would be deemed Not fit for the purpose for which it was sold. You should always consider your default legal rights before paying for any warranty, because most warranties are only small extensions of your default legal rights - they may sometimes seem generous, but are mostly just ways of getting more money out of the customer to pay for their own peace of mind.
NOTE: You do not need a warranty or a guarantee to get a refund or repair for a problem which already existed when you received an item. Guarantees and Warranties are just insurance policies against possible future/new faults developing. For faults which existed at the time that you received the item, you are legally entitled to a full refund anyway, regardless of whether or not you have a guarantee or warranty - all you need is proof of purchase (i.e. a receipt).
When you consider your default legal rights, and compare the cost of a warranty with the cost repairs, and the type of exclustions from the warranty, you will find that 99% of warranties are inappropriate and should not be purchased.
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