Before and after your purchase

Guarantee for faulty goods

If a product under guarantee turns out to be faulty during the guarantee period, you can use the rights from the guarantee—right to repair or, if this is not possible, right to replacement for a non-faulty product

The guarantee liability is assumed only in those cases when the guarantor guaranteed for the product not being faulty, and the guarantee is binding pursuant to the terms it was provided under. The guarantor determines the terms under which it provides the guarantee for the product not being faulty.

A guarantee is binding notwithstanding the form in which it was provided (guarantee document, verbal statement, accompanying advertisement), but the buyer is authorised to request that the guarantee is issued to them in writing or on some other durable medium available to them.

Guarantee contents

A guarantee should include the following information:
  • Scope of the rights you have; i.e. which situations and faults pertaining to the product are covered by the guarantee
  • Provision stipulating that the guarantee does not affect other rights you have on some other grounds (e.g. rights arising from the liability for material defects)
  • Guarantee period
  • Territorial scope of the guarantee ; i.e. whether the guarantee is only valid in your country or in a wider area
  • Other details necessary for you to exercise your guarantee rights
  • Information on the guarantor (name and address of the trader, etc.) 

Rights during the guarantee period

In case of a faulty product, contact the trader from whom you have purchased the product, and if the guarantee was given by the manufacturer, you can either contact the trader from whom you have purchased the product or the manufacturer. The trader (seller) or the manufacturer is liable for any faults which occur during the guarantee period. The guarantee period is not prescribed by law but is determined by the guarantor. During the guarantee period, there is no special time limit for you to notify the guarantor of the fault to be able to exercise the right to repair.

However, keep in mind that guarantee rights are lost after the expiry of one year from the date of requesting that the product is repaired or replaced.

If a product becomes faulty during the guarantee period and the manufacturer provided the guarantee for the product not having any faults, you can require both the manufacturer and the seller to repair the product within a reasonable time period. If the seller is the one who provided the guarantee for the product not having faults, you can require the seller to repair the product within a reasonable time period. You can require that the faulty product is replaced with a non-faulty one if the seller or the manufacturer cannot repair the product within a reasonable time period.

What is considered to be a reasonable time period for the repair of the product is determined in each specific case depending on the circumstances of that case.

Repair and replacement

You enforce your rights pertaining to the product under guarantee against the trader from whom you have bought the product, and not against the authorised repairer.

The trader is obliged to remove any faults which occur during the guarantee period within a reasonable time limit, and if this is not possible, the trader has to replace the product with a non-faulty one.

If the product is not repaired within a reasonable time limit, you can request a non-faulty product.

Transport to the repairer

The seller or the manufacturer has to transport the product to the place where it is to be repaired or replace at their own expense and return the repaired or replaced product to the buyer. For the duration of that time, the seller or the manufacturer bears the risk of the thing failing or being damaged.

If you wish to do so, you can deliver the product to the repairer or the trader, whichever you prefer, but you are not obliged to do this and the trader may not instruct you to deliver a faulty product to the repairer if you have delivered it to the trader.

In any case, the trader (seller) is responsible for removal of the fault, not the repairer.

Invoice presentation

Although it is not expressly prescribed that the consumer has to present the invoice together with a defective product or service, it is still necessary to prove the time and place of purchase, so keep it for some time.

Information and requests

You can obtain information by calling the toll-free telephone number 0800/414-414. Enquiries can be made on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays between 10 AM and 2 PM. Information can also be obtained at the following website: www.szp.hr

You can also obtain information about consumer rights or submit requests for inspection via the Central Information System for Consumer Protection application.

Once you have filled in and submitted a simple form, the system will automatically forward your case to the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development or the State Inspectorate, and will send you a PIN with which you will be able to monitor the status of the case.