Business to business: Letter from self disputing terms of warranty

This is a statutorily defined document.

It relates to commercial law regarding warranties.

Warranties are supposed to be guarantees of free service for equipment. In some cases, a standard warranty also exists over repairs or other services.

Often, however, warrantors refuse to provide services under warranty. They can claim that certain things aren't covered by warranty, or that the warranty has expired.

That can get expensive, if you have to pay for the services. Also, as often as not, they're wrong about the terms of the warranty.

It's frequently advisable to dispute warranties in writing, not verbally.

The recipient has to reply in writing, and you can find the errors in their response, if they've made a mistake about the terms of the warranty.

When writing your letter of dispute:

Clearly state under which terms of the warranty you expect service.
You can stop disputes about the period covered by the warranty by using dates.
If you're disputing the warranty for a repair job, quote the mandatory time frame for repair or service warranties.

This example is in relation to a standard commercial warranty for repairs. The equipment was fixed, and broke down inside the 30 day warranty of service period which is the mandatory period in that country. Verbally, the service firm has disclaimed the warranty.

Example

Addressee

Your reference
Our reference
Contacts

Dear….

Service of washing machines under warranty

I refer to previous work done by your firm on three of the washing machines in our laundry on 12 June 2008.

There appears to be some dispute regarding the terms of warranty of services in relation to this work.

In a phone conversation I was informed that there was no warranty on works of this nature. In fact, all electrical repairs are covered by a mandatory 30 day warranty on parts and service.

During business hours 20 June, 2008, we verbally requested further servicing under warranty, as these three machines all became inoperable on that day.

Please note that these events occurred within the 30 day period required by law for electrical servicing.

I confirm previous verbal advice given to your staff member that the electrical systems for these machines are inoperable. The machines can't be turned on.

Please note:

Under the circumstances your reply in writing to this letter is required.
We are obliged to request immediate service under warranty.
If you choose not to provide service under warranty it will be necessary to seek compensation for service fees incurred and business lost.

Disclaimer

Please note:

This text is intended for advisory and guideline purposes only.

Any business letter can become a legal document, so check your content properly before issuing.

Any executable or statutorily defined document should be checked for compliance with legal requirements, and you should seek legal advice regarding its contents.