Last updated 2 August 2026
“Warranty” gets used for two different things: a promise a company chose to make, and a right the law gave you. Only one of them can expire without your cover expiring with it.
Your statutory rights — Gewährleistung in Germany and Austria, reklamationsret in Denmark — are set by law: the retailer who sold the item is liable for defects for at least two years. A guarantee is a voluntary extra, usually from the manufacturer, that adds to those rights but never replaces them.
Two things follow. A guarantee running out does not end your statutory rights. And the party on the hook differs: statutory claims go to the retailer who sold you the product, a guarantee claim to whoever issued it, usually the manufacturer.
A product can carry up to four independent layers of cover. They overlap, run for different lengths, and are owed by different parties.
The floor, set by law and free. Across the EU, including Germany and Denmark, you get at least two years of statutory cover from the retailer for a fault that was present at delivery. All four markets Omora ships in transpose the same EU rules (Directive (EU) 2019/771, Article 10), but the transpositions differ — Ireland's a lot.
Voluntary, offered on the manufacturer's own terms, and stacked on top of your statutory rights rather than instead of them. Length, scope and claims process are whatever the manufacturer decided. Many guarantees can also pass to a new owner when you hand over the proof: receipt, serial number and warranty documents.
An extended warranty — sometimes called a service or protection plan — is an optional paid contract, usually sold by the retailer, that adds cover once the manufacturer's guarantee and your statutory rights run out. Depending on the plan it can include repairs, wear and tear, or accidental damage. Since statutory rights already cover at least two years, check what it adds before paying.
These cover a different kind of event. Home-contents insurance can pay to repair or replace things damaged by fire, water, theft or an accident — unlike a warranty, which only covers manufacturing faults. Retailers and banks also sell standalone product or gadget insurance; cover, excess and limits vary by policy. Many credit cards and some premium debit cards add purchase protection for an item damaged or stolen within a set window, often 90 to 365 days, and some extend the manufacturer's warranty by up to a year. Card protection is set by your card's terms, not the retailer, and filing usually needs the receipt and a card statement.
The Danish Sale of Goods Act (Købeloven, §§ 77 a, 81, 83) gives a 24-month statutory complaint period on goods bought from a business. If a defect appears within the first year of delivery, it is presumed to have existed at delivery unless the seller proves otherwise. You report it to the seller; the usual outcomes are repair, replacement, a price reduction, or your money back.
German statutory defect rights run for two years from delivery (BGB § 438 Abs. 1 Nr. 3), with the burden of proof reversed for the first 12 months (§ 477 BGB) — a fault appearing in that first year is presumed to be the retailer's responsibility. Start with the seller: usually repair or replacement first, before a price reduction or refund.
Austria implements the EU rules in a standalone statute, the Verbrauchergewährleistungsgesetz (VGG, BGBl. I Nr. 175/2021), covering consumer goods bought from a business on or after 1 January 2022. The seller is liable for defects that existed at handover and appear within two years (§ 10 VGG); a defect appearing in the first year is presumed to have been there at handover, so the business carries the burden of proof (§ 11 VGG). Repair or replacement comes first; only if that is impossible, disproportionate or not done in time can you ask for a price reduction or to cancel the contract (§ 12 with §§ 14–15 VGG). The claim lapses three months after the two-year period ends (§ 28 VGG).
Ireland's rules come from the Consumer Rights Act 2022 (No. 37 of 2022), in force since 29 November 2022. Goods must conform to the contract, and it is the retailer who sold them — not the manufacturer — who must put things right when they do not. A fault appearing in the first 12 months is presumed to have been there at delivery unless the seller shows otherwise, and in the first 30 days faulty goods can usually be returned for a full refund. After that: repair or replacement, then a price reduction or ending the contract. There is no two-year cut-off: a claim can be brought for up to six years from delivery (Statute of Limitations 1957, s. 11(1)(a)). Purchases before 29 November 2022 fall under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, with the same six-year window.
| Market | Statute | Statutory period | Presumption |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denmark | Købeloven | 24 months from delivery | First 12 months |
| Germany | BGB | 24 months from delivery | First 12 months (§ 477) |
| Austria | VGG (BGBl. I Nr. 175/2021) | 24 months from handover, claim lapses 3 months later (§ 28) | First 12 months (§ 11) |
| Ireland | Consumer Rights Act 2022 | Up to 6 years from delivery | First 12 months |
This is general information about consumer law, not legal advice.
Start with the cause. If the product is genuinely faulty — a manufacturing defect — use your statutory rights against the retailer first, then any manufacturer or extended warranty; these are normally free. If it was dropped, spilled on or stolen, that is where home-contents insurance or your card's purchase protection comes in. The layers overlap, so check each before paying for a repair yourself.
If a product fails just outside the statutory window, that is not automatically the end of it: a manufacturer guarantee, an extended warranty, home-contents insurance or card protection can reach further, and people often forget they hold them. In Ireland, the six-year window may leave the statutory route open too.
Omora records all four layers against each product: statutory rights and warranties for everyone, insurance and card protection with Plus. It applies the statutory framework of the market the product was bought in and counts each deadline down, notifying you before a warranty expires. When something breaks, Plus gathers the receipt, warranty status, photos and serial number into a ready-to-send claim pack. Free for up to 10 products, stored on your device from the start: Get Omora on the App Store.