Excluding contractual warranty requirements
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According to the Quality Charter for CE Chapter 3.5., the following conclusion applies:
If a Supplier receives a product which has a defect that is not included in the warranty (e.g. self-caused defects), the Supplier has 72 hours (on business days) after he receives the product to explain the warranty exclusion to the customer with proof.
A warranty case can only be rejected by the Supplier if the test documentation proves that the defect did not exist before the product was shipped to the customer. The Supplier must provide the test documentation for the product to the customer and to refurbed via the refurbed Ticket interface. This should include images and formal test reports via an authorised software. Any product images must contain a visible date and the respective serial number directly on the screen.
In the case of oxidation or corrosion, the Supplier can only exclude the warranty if they can prove (with test reports and images of the Liquid Contact Indicator) that the product had no signs of oxidation or corrosion at the time of delivery.
If the Supplier cannot prove the warranty exclusion within 72 hours (on business days) after receiving the product and refuses to grant the warranty, refurbed reserves the right to charge the Supplier for any repair and return costs.
NOTE: refurbed do not expect that the warranty covers software defects that arise due to customer behaviour (for example a virus on a laptop). This is classified as customer damage. However, please note that refurbed will only consider this to be the case if the Supplier can prove that customer damage has taken place. For example, a valid Certificate of Authenticity for a laptop or a product test report for smartphones.
- If a Supplier receives a product with a defect not covered by warranty, they have 72 business hours to explain the warranty exclusion to the customer with evidence.
- The Supplier can only reject a warranty claim if test documentation proves that the defect didn't exist before the product was shipped, and they must provide this documentation to the customer and refurbed.
Excluding statutory warranty requirements
- Similar to the contractual guarantee a seller can only exclude the statutory based on evidence.
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More importantly, for statutory warranty, the law in fact presumes, that the defect existed at the time of the delivery for a period of 12 months from delivery, until proven otherwise.
See also: ⏱️ Deadlines & Burden of Proof
For both the following applies
→ It is not allowed to reject a warranty claim only due to e.g. statements or pictures!
→ Either way, supplier must have the product in question returned!
→ Violating this provision results in grounds for Take Over
Grounds for Take Over
The Seller Guide now makes clear that refurbed may step in and take over customer service if the seller persistently fails to meet service obligations. This applies in cases of major service deficiencies, such as many overdue tickets in the Zendesk system or repeated breaches of service level agreements, as well as in situations where the seller does not honour contractual warranty obligations. Take Over is described as a last resort, and even if it happens, the seller remains legally responsible for the underlying customer claims.
Consequences of Take Over
If refurbed takes over, any costs generated by handling the case — including refunds, repairs, diagnostics by approved third-party providers, or related shipping costs — can be charged back to the seller. These amounts may be added to the seller’s invoices or deducted from balances held by payment service providers. Ownership of products in refund cases reverts to the seller, unless the seller fails to provide a delivery address or accept return of the item, in which case ownership can pass to refurbed.
Infringements and Penalties
The updated framework gives refurbed a broad range of enforcement options if a seller violates the Seller Guide, other contractual documents, or applicable law, or if the seller is uncooperative or causes harm to the business. Measures range from penalties that affect performance ratings, to temporary suspension of sales, to complete deactivation of the seller account and termination of the contract without notice. In serious cases, refurbed may directly handle customer service on behalf of the seller and charge the resulting warranty or guarantee costs back to them.
General Compliance Obligations
Sellers are required to comply with all laws and regulations in every jurisdiction where refurbed operates or where goods are shipped. This includes ensuring that customers are properly informed of their withdrawal and return rights under EU law. Beyond this, the rules now extend to compliance with the Digital Services Act, the General Product Safety Regulation, the EU Battery Regulation, and other environmental and consumer protection laws. Sellers must also respect labour and human rights standards, handle hazardous substances responsibly, and maintain confidentiality of business information. Finally, sellers must self-certify that only legally compliant products are offered on the platform, and refurbed may display this certification publicly.
Provided the supplier has in fact complied to especially, evidence-based, exclusion of both constitutional/contractual warranty, furthermore complied to any other obligations arising from both statutory and contractual (i.e. Supplier Guide & Quality Charter) provisions, Refurbed must not trigger a take-over and customers shall only be forwarded the business details of the supplier.
Mind however: What happens to attorney letters?
Mind also, that in the case of customers claiming warranty and demand the supplier’s business detail, we shall forward them the exact name and address so that they can address their claims directly to the respective supplier.
Legal Grounds Presumption of Defect
🇪🇺 EU: Art 11 Directive (EU) 2019/771
🇦🇹 Austria: § 11 VGG
🇩🇪 Germany: § 477 (1) BGB
📙 Supplier Guide
- Chapter 2.3. “24-Month Legal Warranty”
- Chapter 10.1.
- Chapter 12.7.
- Chapter 12.11.
📗 Quality Charter Chapter 3.1. B2C Contractual Warranty