Shower Enclosure Warranty: Your Rights

Questioner

I had a glass shower wall installed by a contractor. The invoice states that I have a 2-year warranty on it, without further specification of what is covered by that warranty. Now, six months after installation, this glass wall spontaneously broke. The contractor now claims that this is not covered by the warranty and wants to charge me the full cost of installing a new wall. How does this work legally?

Lawyer

Since the incident occurred within a period of six months (statutory warranty period), the contractor must prove that the door did not already have the defect at the time of purchase; if he cannot do this, he will have to provide free repair. If this cannot be required, for example because the costs thereof exceed the costs of replacement, you are entitled to free replacement. The rules of the general consumer purchase law of Book 7 of the Dutch Civil Code (Article 7:17 et seq.) apply in full to this mixed contract for work and consumer purchase.