A question of guarantees
 

I bought a pool testing kit from a swimming pool company in Minden in February this year whilst visiting friends.

It has now stopped working.

It has a two year guarantee so I should be able to get the situation resolved with a repair or replacement.

My question is who do I approach, the retailer or the manufacturer?

In UK it would always be the retailer in the first instance, is it the same in Germany please?

Re: A question of guarantees
 

Sorry, I am not a native speaker but I will try to answer your question :)

I not sure if you are takling about Gewährleistung (I believe that is called a warranty in English) or Garantie.

Basically the Gewährleistung is the 'standard' legal right to resolve those issues. The retailer is obligated by law to give you the rights of Gewährleistung. It means that the retailer will either repair or replace the product if it shows a defect within 24 months after purchase. Problem is that the defect has to have been 'present' when you made the purchase. The law assumes that all defects that appear within 6 months after purchase were already present when you purchased the products. After 6 months depending on the retailer and product the retailer can ask you to proof that the defect was already present during purchase (that is you didn't damage the product, you used the product according to manual etc).

Garantie is an extra promise made by either the retailer or the manufacturer saying that they will replace the product no matter what within the Garantie period. You might also have a Garantie which would be better for you as you don't have to proof that the defect was already present when you bought the product. Have a look if it is the retailer or the manufacturer who issued the guarantee.

Probably best to contact the retailer first and see what the retailer says. Maybe they will simply replace or repair the product without questions asked.

Re: A question of guarantees
 

What exactly has stopped working? The pool or the pool testing kit?

If the former, that's likely your fault. If the latter, in what way has the testing kit "stopped working"?

Re: A question of guarantees
 

If we are being pedantic :p the noun in my first sentence was "pool testing kit" and therefore it was replaced by the pronoun "it" in my second sentence.

But to answer your question, the tester has stopped working; it has water vapour inside the LCD display, not good when the thing is designed to be dunked in a pool, and now the display constantly shows a zero. It will not respond to any of the controls, including the off button.

Kindest regards

Steve