Extended warranties: know your rights How to complain
Summary
A quick summary of your rights:
If a warranty on an electrical item has a duration of more than a year, you have 45 days after buying an extended warranty for a domestic appliance to cancel it
You may be able to get a faulty product repaired or replaced for free, whether or not you have an extended warranty
If you think a domestic appliance retailer has broken the rules
Contact your local trading standards department to report the problem. This may not get your individual problem resolved but trading standards can investigate the seller.
If a product covered by an extended warranty breaks down
Step one
Check the claims procedure in your extended warranty contract. This should give you full details about how to claim and what to do. Double-check the small print to make sure that your problem is covered - there might be exclusion clauses listing types of problem and fault that you cannot claim for.
Step two
If you think that the problem is covered, follow the claims procedure (which might mean filling in a form with details of your claim).
Step three
If the company refuses to meet your claim, write again asking it to explain why, if it hasn't already. If you don't accept its reasons, give it a final chance to meet the claim.
Follow the 'Practice Direction on pre-action conduct' before taking court action. Alternatively, if your warranty is insurance backed, ask the company to issue a final letter of 'deadlock' regarding your dispute so that you can take your case further (see step four below).
Step four
If your extended warranty is an insurance-backed one, it will be regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). This means that you can take your disputed claim to The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). Use our template letter to issue your complaint and refer to your extended warranty documents for further details.
If your extended warranty is not insurance-backed, you can take the supplier to the small claims court for breach of contract.
