Complaints are the tickets where customer service does the most damage with a wrong answer. A customer told that the guarantee has expired, when the statutory right to complain still runs for three years, has been given an answer that is both wrong and easy to check. I have seen that situation in several teams, and the cause is rarely unwillingness: it is that nobody wrote down what applies. This article goes through what customer service needs to know, what belongs in the knowledge base and what happens when the customer does not accept your answer. It is not legal advice; check your routines with your lawyer. The rules described are Swedish, and they implement EU consumer law, so the structure will be familiar in other member states even though the details differ.
What is the difference between a complaint, the right of withdrawal and a guarantee?
Three different rights that customers mix up, and that customer service must keep apart to answer correctly.
- The right of withdrawal applies for 14 days on distance purchases and requires no reason. The customer does not have to claim anything is wrong. How it is handled, and what the new withdrawal button has meant since June 2026, is covered in the article on the withdrawal button.
- Open purchase and free returns are the company's own terms. They are voluntary and apply only to what you have promised yourselves.
- A complaint is the right to claim that the item is defective. It follows from the law, runs for three years and cannot be contracted away.
- A guarantee is a voluntary promise from the company or the manufacturer, on top of the statutory right to complain. An expired guarantee does not remove that right.
The most common error in answers is precisely the last one. When a one-year guarantee expires, the customer still has two years left of the statutory right, and an answer saying otherwise turns into a case at the National Board for Consumer Disputes.
How long can the customer complain, and who proves what?
For three years, and during the first two years it is the company that must show the defect was not there from the start. According to the Swedish Consumer Agency, consumers have the right to complain for three years, and within the EU for at least two. The customer must complain within a reasonable time of discovering the defect; a complaint within two months always counts as being in time.
The burden of proof is the part that changed and that many answers have not kept up with. According to the Swedish Consumer Agency's description of the Consumer Sales Act, under the previous law the company carried the burden of proof for the first six months. Since spring 2022 it runs for two years. In practice that means:
| Time after purchase | Who shows what | What customer service should answer |
|---|---|---|
| 0–2 years | The customer shows there is a defect. The company must show the defect is the customer's doing or normal wear to avoid liability | Assume the complaint stands, and examine the item before rejecting it |
| 2–3 years | The customer must be able to show the defect existed at the time of purchase | Ask for evidence, but do not reject automatically; ask for photos and a description of how the defect arose |
| After 3 years | The right to complain has expired | Refer to any guarantee or service offer |
The practical consequence: an answer saying "the defect was caused by use" is a claim the company must be able to support during the first two years, not something customer service can throw out because the customer described the item breaking while they were using it.
What can the customer demand when the item is faulty?
The main rule is that the item is repaired or replaced, and that a price reduction or cancellation comes second. According to the Swedish Consumer Agency the customer is, as a main rule, entitled to have the item repaired or replaced, and if that means an unreasonable cost for the company, a price reduction or cancellation can apply instead.
For customer service that means a fixed order to answer in:
- Repair or replacement. The company normally chooses which, but the choice must be reasonable for the customer. A repair that takes six weeks on an item the customer needs daily is not reasonable just because it is cheaper for you.
- Price reduction. When the defect cannot be fixed within a reasonable time, or when repair would cost unreasonably much.
- Cancellation. When the defect is of material significance. The customer gets their money back and the item comes back to you.
On top of that, the customer should not bear costs for a justified complaint: shipping to you, examination and any return are on your side. That is also why a complaint should never be handled in the same flow as a free return, where the customer sometimes pays the shipping themselves.
How many repair attempts must the customer accept?
The law says nothing about it, which is why your answer should be a policy rather than a rule you claim exists. In its answer on how many times the company may repair the item, the Swedish Consumer Agency writes that the law states no number, that as a rule the customer should not have to accept more than two attempts, and that it is decided case by case based on how long it has taken, the type of defect and how it affects the customer.
So write down your own position, for example that you make one attempt, and on a second defect in the same item you offer a replacement or a refund. That does three things: the customer gets a clear answer, the agent avoids negotiating every time, and you avoid the classic mistake of repairing the same item three times and refunding anyway, having used up the customer's patience.
What happens if you say no?
The customer can file with the National Board for Consumer Disputes, and it is cheap and easy for them to do. According to the board, the filing must arrive within one year of the consumer first complaining to the company, and according to its information for consumers there are value thresholds of 750, 1,500 or 3,000 kronor depending on the area, plus a filing fee of 150 kronor.
A decision from the board is a recommendation, not a judgment. But it is a recommendation that gets followed: according to the board's statistics, 76 percent of the decisions taken during 2025 were followed, and the board notes that a further ten percent or so are usually followed after the publicity around its follow-up.
Two conclusions for customer service. The first is that a rejection should be reasoned and documented, since it may be read by someone else. The second is that the cost of being wrong is greater than the ticket: the handling time, the follow-up and the risk of ending up on a list of companies that do not follow the decisions almost always exceed the value of the item you tried to avoid replacing.
What should customer service have written in advance?
One reviewed answer per situation, and an internal instruction beside it. Complaints are the ticket type where improvising costs the most, and where the difference between agents shows most clearly.
Write at least these: what the customer does to file a complaint, what happens next and how long it takes, what applies after two years, the difference from the right of withdrawal and open purchase, who pays the shipping, and what happens on a second defect in the same item. The format with a short answer, steps and exceptions is described in the article on writing help articles.
Put the internal part beside the public one in the same knowledge base, not in a separate document: who decides on cancellation, what amount the agent can approve alone, how the assessment is documented and which wording is used when rejecting. Then the help centre, the chat and the agent answer from the same source, and when you change your position it changes in one place.
What to do
- Read your current answers on complaints in ten closed tickets. Look for phrases like "the guarantee has expired" and "normal wear" without any reasoning.
- Write the six articles above and have the subject owner, often purchasing or logistics, review them.
- Decide your policy on repair attempts and write it down both publicly and internally.
- Separate the flows. Complaints, returns and cancelled purchases should not run through the same form with the same terms.
- Set an amount the agent may decide alone, and a route onward for anything above it.
- Follow two numbers: the share of complaints rejected and how many of those come back. If many come back, the rejections are too quick.
Common questions
Do we have to accept a complaint after the guarantee has expired?
The guarantee and the statutory right to complain are two different things. The guarantee is a voluntary promise; the right to complain follows from the law and runs for three years from the purchase. That the guarantee period has expired therefore says nothing about the complaint. Within the first two years it is also you who must show the defect was not there from the start, not the customer who must show that it was.
Can we require the customer to have the receipt?
The customer needs to be able to show the purchase was made with you, but it does not have to be a paper receipt. An order number, a bank statement or the order history in the customer's account works. In e-commerce you usually hold that information yourselves, and requiring a receipt you already have is an unnecessary obstacle. State in the help centre what you accept as proof of purchase, so customer service does not have to ask every time.
What do we do if the customer demands cancellation straight away?
Explain the order: the main rule is repair or replacement, and cancellation applies when the defect is of material significance or when repair is not possible within a reasonable time. Offer what you can do and when, so the customer can choose. For an expensive defect in a new item, or a second defect in the same item, cancellation is often both reasonable and cheaper for you than a drawn-out discussion.
Does a defect the customer caused count as a complaint?
No, but the assessment is yours to make and yours to support during the first two years. Write down how you examine the item, what you document and how a rejection is worded. A rejection that only says "user error" with no description rarely holds up at the board, while one with photos, examination results and an understandable explanation both holds up and is accepted more often by the customer.
Sources
- Reklamationsrätt: så här reklamerar du en felaktig vara — Swedish Consumer Agency, read 2026
- Konsumentköplagen: vad lagen innebär för dig som konsument — Swedish Consumer Agency, read 2026
- Hur många gånger får företaget laga min trasiga vara? — Swedish Consumer Agency, read 2026
- Anmälan — National Board for Consumer Disputes, read 2026
- Kontrollera att ARN kan pröva din tvist — National Board for Consumer Disputes, read 2026
- Statistik — National Board for Consumer Disputes, read 2026
Martin Carlsson