The EU two-year legal guarantee: what sellers owe you

The Commission's guidance is unambiguous: you always have the right to a minimum 2-year guarantee from the moment you received the goods — and national rules in your country may give you extra protection on top. The clock starts at delivery, not at purchase or first use. This is the legal guarantee: it exists whether or not the shop sold you anything called a "warranty".

Source: Your Europe — Guarantees and returns (European Commission), read 6 September 2026.

The detail that wins arguments: 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 proves otherwise. In year one, the seller has to prove the product was fine; only later does the burden move to you. Put the delivery date in your claim, not the purchase date.

Source: Your Europe — Guarantees and returns, burden of proof, read 6 September 2026.

If goods are faulty or do not look or work as advertised, the seller must repair or replace them at no cost. If that is impossible, or the seller cannot do it within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you, you are entitled to a full or partial refund. The order matters — the refund is the second rung, not the first ask — but "reasonable time" and "significant inconvenience" are your levers when a repair drags on.

One caution from the same rules: a commercial guarantee the shop sells you is a separate, additional promise — it never replaces or shortens the two-year legal one.

Source: Your Europe — Guarantees and returns, remedies, read 6 September 2026.