Sale of Goods Act
I'm fed up of people misinterpreting the Sale of Goods Act and its EU regulation counterpart, and thinking they have more rights than they do.
The EU provides a two eyar period of "protection", the SOGA extends this to 6.
This period is the period under which you can claim that your goods did not conform to contract at time of purchase. Contract here means that the goods are "of a reasonable quality" and (that old phrase which is also mis-used) "fit for purpose".
However the burden of proof still lies with the consumer outwith the first 6 months. If you take a product back within the first 6 months of ownership and claim that it did not conform to this contract, then it is up to the retailer/manufacturer to prove otherwise if they wish to dispute it. Outside of this period, however, and up until the end of the 6 years provided by the SOGA, the consumer must prove that the goods *were not* fit for purpose or of a resonable quality, or to go through a claims court if you choose to.
Now of course "reasonable quality" is not well defined in legislation, but electrical goods from *most* of the main brands (steering clear of any blanket statements here) these days are indeed of a reasonable quality and fit for purpose. maybe if you bought Technika from Tesco, you might be in with a chance, but not usually otherwise.
This period is *not* a guarantee period, and neither the retailer nor the manufacturer is under *any* obligation to repair/replace outside of the guarantee which they do offer.