What is a letter before action?

A letter before action (LBA) is a formal notice sent before starting court proceedings. It sets out your claim, the legal basis (e.g. Consumer Rights Act 2015, Housing Act 1988), the remedy you seek, and a deadline to respond — typically 14 days. Civil Procedure Rules require this step before most court claims, and courts take a dim view of parties who skip it.

Can I write my own legal letter?

Yes. You do not need a solicitor to write a legal letter. What matters is citing the correct legislation, stating your claim with precise dates and amounts, and giving a clear deadline. A well-drafted letter citing the right Act and section often resolves disputes without court proceedings — and costs nothing extra to send.

Does a legal letter actually work?

In many cases, yes. Most businesses, landlords, and employers respond when they receive a formally worded letter that cites specific legislation and mentions court or tribunal proceedings as the next step. It signals you know your rights and are prepared to escalate — which is often enough to get a resolution.

What UK legislation covers consumer complaints and refunds?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the primary law. Section 9 requires goods to be of satisfactory quality; section 20 gives you the right to a full refund within 30 days if goods are faulty. For services, section 49 requires reasonable care and skill. For distance/online purchases, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you a 14-day cooling-off period.

9 September 2026

Appliance Broke Just After the Warranty Ran Out? Your Rights Can Last Up to Six Years (UK)

The washing machine dies fourteen months in. The laptop screen fails at eighteen months. The £900 TV goes dark just after its second birthday. You take it back to the shop and get the line almost everyone hears: “Sorry, the warranty’s only twelve months — it’s out of guarantee. You’ll have to contact the manufacturer.” Most people accept it and buy a new one. They should not. A manufacturer’s warranty is a bonus that sits on top of your legal rights — it does not replace them and it does not switch them off the day it expires. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods have to be of satisfactory quality, and the law says in terms that this includes how long they last. Here is what that actually means, and how to use it.

General information for the UK. Not legal advice. This is about goods that failed after the short-term right to reject — typically once a warranty has run out. If your item was faulty within the first 30 days, you have a separate, stronger right to reject it for a full refund, covered in our faulty-goods guide.

Do this first: go back to the retailer you bought it from — not the manufacturer. Put it in writing (email or letter). State what you bought, when, what it cost, and what has gone wrong. Say clearly that under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the goods must be of satisfactory quality including durability, that the manufacturer’s warranty does not limit your statutory rights, and that you want a free repair or replacement. Keep your proof of purchase — a receipt, order confirmation, bank or card statement all count.

The warranty is not the limit of your rights

This is the single biggest misunderstanding in UK consumer law, and retailers rely on it. A manufacturer’s guarantee or warranty (say “12 months parts and labour”) is a voluntary extra the maker chooses to offer. Your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 are separate, they are given by law, and they run alongside the warranty — not inside it. When the warranty expires, your legal rights carry on. So “it’s out of warranty” tells you nothing about whether you have a valid legal claim.

And there is a second half most people miss: your legal rights are against the retailer that sold you the item — the shop, website or dealer — not the manufacturer. Being told to “take it up with the maker” is the retailer trying to pass you down the line. The contract is with them, and the CRA claim is against them.

Satisfactory quality includes lasting a reasonable time

Under section 9 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, everything you buy from a trader must be of satisfactory quality — the standard a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of the price, the description and any public statements about it. Crucially, the Act lists the aspects of quality captured by that reasonable-person test, and they expressly include durability (section 9(3)(e)). In plain terms: goods must last a reasonable length of time.

What counts as reasonable is judged against the type of product and what you paid. Nobody expects a £15 kettle to last a decade, but a washing machine, a fridge-freezer, a £1,000 TV or a laptop are all expected to last several years, not months. If an expensive appliance fails well before a reasonable person would expect it to — and the failure is down to an inherent fault rather than accidental damage or wear from misuse — then it was arguably never of satisfactory quality, even though it worked fine for a while. That is a breach of your rights whether the warranty has expired or not.

“Durability” is not a fixed number of years. There is no law saying a washing machine must last exactly seven years or a phone exactly three. It is a reasonable expectation test based on price, quality and how the item was sold. That cuts both ways — it gives you a real claim when a pricey appliance dies young, but it also means the retailer can fairly argue a cheap item that lasted a few years gave reasonable service. Frame your claim around what a reasonable person would expect this product, at this price, to have lasted.

The six-month rule — and why it flips against you later

Timing changes who has to prove what. For the first six months after you take delivery, if a fault appears, the law presumes it was there from the start — it is for the retailer to prove otherwise (section 19(14)). That makes an early failure straightforward.

After six months, the burden flips. Now it is for you to show, on the balance of probabilities, that the fault is inherent — a manufacturing or design defect that was present (even if latent) when you bought it — rather than ordinary wear and tear, accidental damage or misuse. For an appliance that breaks a year or two in, this is the crux of the case. You do not have to prove it beyond doubt; you have to show it is more likely than not.

When an engineer’s report is worth it. Because the burden is on you after six months, an independent engineer’s or repair report saying the failure was due to an inherent defect (not misuse or wear) is often what wins the argument. If the item is valuable enough to be worth fighting for, a modest report fee can be money well spent — and if the report confirms an inherent fault, you can generally ask the retailer to reimburse the cost of the report as part of putting things right. Get the report before you agree to any paid repair.

What you can actually claim: repair, replacement, or money back

Once you are past the 30-day right to reject, the Consumer Rights Act gives a tiered set of remedies:

Repair or replacement (section 23) — your first move. You can ask the retailer to repair the item or replace it, and they must do so free of charge, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you. They cover the costs (including postage or collection). They can decline the one you pick only if it is impossible or disproportionately expensive compared with the other.
Final right to reject, or a price reduction (section 24) — if the repair or replacement fails, is not done in a reasonable time, or cannot be done, you can either reject the goods for a refund or keep them and claim a price reduction. Importantly, you get one shot at a repair or replacement: if that single attempt does not fix it, you are entitled to move to reject or a reduction — you do not have to accept repeated failed repairs.
Deduction for use — on a refund claimed after the first six months, the retailer is allowed to make a reasonable deduction to reflect the use you have already had out of the item. So a refund on a two-year-old appliance will usually be partial, not the full price — a repair or replacement often leaves you better off. (The deduction-for-use exception that applies to motor vehicles is a separate point and not relevant to household goods.)

“Out of warranty” is not a legal defence — but these things are

The retailer cannot lawfully refuse you just because the warranty lapsed. But your claim can fail for real reasons, so be honest with yourself about the cause:

Accidental damage or misuse — a dropped laptop, a machine that was overloaded or wrongly installed, liquid damage. The CRA covers inherent faults, not damage you caused.
Fair wear and tear — consumable or wearing parts reaching the end of their normal life is not a defect.
An item that has genuinely given reasonable service — a budget product that lasted several years may well have met the durability standard for its price.

If the failure is a sudden, unexplained breakdown of a major component in an appliance that should have lasted far longer, that points to an inherent fault — and that is exactly what the CRA is for.

How long you have: up to six years (five in Scotland)

There is a hard outer time limit on bringing a claim to court — but it is far longer than most people think. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the limit is six years from the date you bought the goods (Limitation Act 1980). In Scotland, it is five years (Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973).

Six years is a deadline to sue — not a guarantee your goods last six years. This is widely misquoted online as “everything you buy is covered for six years”. It is not. The six years (five in Scotland) is simply the window in which you can bring a legal claim. Whether you actually win still depends on the item being of unsatisfactory quality — the durability test above. A £20 toy failing after five years will not clear that bar; a £1,200 fridge failing after two years may well.

If the retailer still says no

Put your claim in writing and escalate through free routes — you should not need to pay anyone to enforce this:

A formal complaint to the retailer, citing the Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9 (satisfactory quality, including durability) and section 23 (repair or replacement), and enclosing any engineer’s report. Give a clear deadline.
Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) — many retailers belong to an ADR or ombudsman scheme that can resolve the dispute without court. Ask which scheme they use.
Section 75 or chargeback — if you paid by credit card and the item cost over £100, the card provider is equally liable with the retailer under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974, so you can claim from them. Paid by debit card or under £100 by credit card? Ask your bank about chargeback.
The small claims track — a last resort for lower-value disputes, designed to be used without a solicitor.

Getting the letter right

Retailers back down far faster when a complaint is framed as a legal claim rather than a plea for goodwill. A strong letter does three things: it identifies the fault and the item with dates and price; it states the legal basis — that under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the goods were not of satisfactory quality because they were not durable, that the manufacturer’s warranty does not limit your statutory rights, and that your claim is against the retailer; and it sets out the remedy you want (a free repair, replacement, or a refund with any lawful deduction) and a deadline before you escalate. Putting it in writing, correctly framed, is usually what turns “it’s out of warranty” into a repair, a replacement or your money back.

Generate Your Consumer Rights Act Letter in Seconds

WriteMyLegalLetter drafts a clear, firm letter to the retailer setting out your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 — that the goods must be durable, that the expired warranty is no defence, and that you want a free repair, replacement or refund. Answer a few questions and your letter is ready to send.

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General information for the UK, not legal advice. Your statutory rights are set by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (satisfactory quality including durability, section 9; repair or replacement, section 23; final right to reject and price reduction, section 24; the six-month reversed burden of proof, section 19). The time limit to bring a court claim is six years from purchase in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (Limitation Act 1980) and five years in Scotland (Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973) — this is a deadline to claim, not a guarantee goods will last that long. A manufacturer’s guarantee is additional to, and does not limit, your statutory rights. This is correct as at September 2026. Sources: Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Limitation Act 1980 (legislation.gov.uk); Citizens Advice; Which?.