Legit New Open Box - Does it qualify for 1 year manufacturer's warranty?

Just spoke with a Sony rep who was quite aggressive in her tone over the phone. Her claim is that ANY Sony notebook where the box was opened before purchase (i.e. if one purchased a Best Buy open box unit) qualifies ONLY for a 90 day Sony warranty regardless of where it was purchased. This is a Sony Employee at the registration number.

Is this true? I always thought a legit new open box qualified for the one year warranty. The aggressiveness of the employee left a bad taste and I thought I'd check in here.

Basically given that, no open box units for me then.

UL

 

Regardless of where it was purchased? No. In the US and other countries with weak or non-existent consumer protection, probably.

In the EU, however, you have a 2 year reclamation right on top of any warranties. This statutory right follows the goods and not the person, so it transfers automatically and the company who sells something has no rights to revoke it.
For the first six months, any defects discovered are automatically assumed to be production defects, unless the seller can prove otherwise, i.e. the onus is on the seller. From six months until 2 years, the owner has to show that this was a production defect, and not due to wear, tear or abuse.

So whether the "warranty" is 90 days or not doesn't really matter, because a warranty can only add additional rights to the consumer, not subtract from them.

In a couple of non-EU countries, you even have rights beyond this. As an example, the producer may be required by law to provide parts at a reasonable cost for five years from purchase. Or the buyer may be able to go to the seller and not the manufacturer, and the seller has to cover all shipping and paperwork costs.

But yes, the laws varies greatly between countries, regardless of what a warranty paper says.

 

Cannot you buy an extended warranty pack to extend your warranty? There have been members here who bought refurb items from Sony and bought extended warranty also.

Also, not all countries in the EU follow this 2 year warranty plan. In the UK we get 1 years warranty as standard. I wouldn't also take my chances with some companies where the warranty is concerned. They want to see a receipt/proof of purchase some or they will not honour your warranty.

 

in my country being one the transaction hub for legit and pirated end user goods, is not common to see a packaging box still having the warranty seal intact

their claim is company proceduer for quality assurance to inspect them at the port before distributing it out to the local market for sale

I fancy the word "quality assurance" but thier practise doesn't fit in that word in whatever language you use