The warranty vs statutory rights question usually reaches support after something has already broken and the customer wants to know who to contact. Statutory rights come from consumer law and are owed by the seller. A warranty, also called a commercial guarantee, is a separate promise made voluntarily by a manufacturer or seller. The most common support mistake is a reply that presents one of these routes as the only one.
This guide gives your team shared vocabulary, four questions to ask before replying, sentence templates and a knowledge base entry. Statuses, deadlines and escalation are covered in our guide to handling complaints in written channels. The examples refer to EU and UK consumer sales, and nothing here is legal advice.
Warranty vs statutory rights: the difference in one sentence
Statutory rights come from the law and are owed by the seller, while a warranty comes from the guarantor’s statement and works on the guarantor’s terms. Put that sentence word for word in your team instructions. It settles who is liable, for how long and for what.
Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.
| Question | Statutory rights | Commercial warranty |
|---|---|---|
| Who is responsible | The seller the customer bought from | The guarantor, often the manufacturer and sometimes the seller |
| Where the rules come from | Consumer law; in the UK, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 | The warranty statement and related advertising |
| How long | EU: at least 2 years from delivery. UK: 30 days to reject, then claims for up to 6 years | Whatever period the warranty sets |
| What the customer can ask for | EU: repair or replacement first, then a price reduction or refund. UK: refund within 30 days, then repair or replacement first | What the warranty promises, such as repair, replacement or a refund |
| Link to the other route | Applies whether or not a warranty exists | Cannot exclude or reduce statutory rights |
Your Europe states that sellers must repair or replace faulty goods free of charge, that the legal guarantee lasts at least 2 years and that a commercial guarantee cannot reduce those rights. It does not describe UK law or settle an individual case. Your Europe: guarantees.
Business buyers may fall under different rules; agree that route with a lawyer and document it separately.
Four questions to ask before you reply
Your agent does not decide whether the item is faulty, but collects the facts that set the next step. A fictional coffee machine shop receives this message: “The machine stopped heating, the manufacturer’s warranty was one year and I bought it 14 months ago. Can I do anything?” These four questions structure the reply.
- When did the customer receive the item?.Count from delivery, not from the order date. The warranty period depends on its own terms.
- Who bought it?.A purchase made by a company follows a different route that needs checking separately.
- What exactly is the problem?.Record the symptom in the customer’s words: stopped working, not as described, part missing. Damage in transit is a separate scenario.
- Is there a warranty, and who gives it?.Check the warranty card or product description. Note the guarantor’s name, the period and how to make a claim.
In the coffee machine example, the warranty has ended, but the seller’s liability has not (EU: at least 2 years, UK: up to 6 years), so the customer can still raise the fault with the shop. Accepting a report does not decide the outcome: an authorised person assesses the cause, not the agent on chat. If the parcel arrived damaged, use our guide on handling a damaged parcel report.
The customer chooses the route
Both routes are open to the customer. A shop should not make a statutory claim depend on the customer first contacting the manufacturer. “Please contact the guarantor” is fine only as one option alongside a claim with the shop. The customer should see both routes and decide.
A warranty sits on top of the seller’s liability instead of replacing it. If the guarantor rejects a claim, the customer may still have statutory rights against the seller. For wording that says no without closing an available route, read our guide on declining a customer request.
Sections 22 and 30 of the UK Consumer Rights Act 2015 set the 30-day limit for the short-term right to reject and require a guarantee to state that the consumer’s statutory rights are not affected. GOV.UK adds a claim period of up to 6 years (5 in Scotland) and the same repair rights with or without a warranty. None of this says which route to pick in a given case. CRA 2015, section 22, section 30, GOV.UK: returns and refunds.
Sentences that do not overpromise
A good first reply to a fault report confirms receipt, names the available routes and explains what happens next. Leave “this is definitely a manufacturing defect” or “this is not covered” to the person who inspects the item.
“Hello, thank you for describing the problem with [product] from order [number]. You can raise it with us as the seller under your statutory rights, or use the [guarantor] warranty on the terms in the warranty card. The choice is yours. If you raise it with us, tell us what you would like, for example a repair or a replacement, and attach a photo or a short description of the fault. We will reply by [date from your policy].”
- The message names both routes when the product has a warranty.
- Nobody judges the cause of the fault before the item is checked.
- The reply deadline comes from your policy, not from memory.
- You only request material needed for the assessment.
- You accept an order number or other proof of purchase you can verify.
Save the template as a team macro with variables; our guide to reply templates covers what makes them work. If a customer was already told “nothing can be done once the warranty ends”, fix it using the steps for correcting wrong information.
A knowledge base entry your AI can answer from
If you use an AI assistant or suggestions for agents, faults need a separate, self-contained entry. A general “Complaints” FAQ tends to mix returns, faults and transit damage. The entry should name both routes, give the legal time limit and say when the case goes to a person. We explain how to write such entries in our guide to preparing a chatbot knowledge base.
Customer question: my product broke, can I make a claim? Answer: you can raise it with the shop under your statutory rights; in the EU the seller is liable for at least 2 years from delivery (in the UK, up to 6 years). If the product has a warranty, you can also contact the guarantor on the terms in the warranty card. The choice is yours. Limit: the assistant does not judge whether the fault is a defect and does not confirm that a claim is accepted; it offers to pass you to the team.
In Meet AI, add this entry as a knowledge source and check it with a private test that cites the sources used. Copilot prepares a private suggestion for the agent based on active knowledge; nothing is sent automatically, and the draft can be edited or rejected. If knowledge is missing, the assistant says it has no information and offers a conversation with the team. Sources do not refresh automatically, so changed warranty terms must be published again.
Keep the fault case in a ticket, not in someone’s head
A fault claim usually lasts longer than one conversation: the customer sends photos, a technician inspects the item and the reply has to meet a deadline. In the ticket, record the date the claim arrived, the route the customer chose, what they asked for and the guarantor’s details.
In Meetlead customer support, a persistent ticket has an event timeline with messages, internal notes, status changes and assignments, so you can see who replied and when. Name the route in notes with one fixed word, such as “statutory” or “warranty”. Name the person who decides whether a claim is accepted instead of a vague “returns department”.
Questions about warranties and statutory rights
Can a shop send the customer to the manufacturer? It can suggest that route when the product has a warranty, but the customer decides. Show both options and record the customer’s choice.
What should you reply when the seller’s liability period has passed? Check whether the warranty lasts longer, because that is exactly when it becomes useful. If neither route is available, say so clearly and do not promise to “see what we can do”. Pass unclear cases to an authorised person.
