B2B Goods Warranty

[AlexSanders]

Hello All,

I wonder if someone could point me towards relevant legislation that regulates manufacturers warranty for B2B supply of equipment for commercial use.

The company supplies paintball guns to paintball sites where the guns are subsequently rented out daily to players in course of the business, and, as rentals, take loads of abuse. They will never last 6 years.

I am seeking to establish what is a legal requirement (if any) for the B2B supplier to repair broken equipment. I understand that provisions of Consumer Rights Act 2015 will not apply (please correct me if I am wrong) as for the purposes of the Act:

(3) “Consumer” means an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession.

What type of warranty under claims of "satisfactory quality", "fit for purpose" is statutory available by default for such paintball site? What legislation is providing for this?

Thank you,
Alex.

 

[billmccallum1957]

the Sale of Goods Act 1979 is still in force for B2B http://www.fsblegalinfo.org.uk/Fact.../BUSINESS TO BUSINESS - SALE OF GOODS LAW.pdf

 

[Lawyer]

Yes, as above and also my first port of call is usually to check whatever terms and conditions or signed contract applies too as they usually set out most of the legal position between the two sides.

Eg the contract might say within the first 2 years they will do repairs if it breaks down but not after and if you did not reject that and impose your own conditions of purchase then you m ay be stuck. In terms of how long should goods last (assuming no written terms and conditions and no contract) common law says whatever is reasonable so eg tomatoes might be expected to last a few days and a Rolls Royce for ages which makes it quite hard to know exactyl what a judge woudl think reasonable. Some suppliers offer repair services and say as long as you pay an annual repair service then they will fix faults but not otherwise. Some big buyers try to go for very long warranty periods. However even for big works for undersea oil platforms suppliers will often offer relatively short warranty periods even if the goods are designed to last for say 25 years.

Start by searching hard for any signed contract or standard terms you were sent at the time. Look at the quote for this and also any terms of yours on a purchase order.