Claims policy

This complaints procedure forms an integral part of the General Terms and Conditions of the seller, Alza.cz a.s., ID No. 27082440, VAT No. CZ27082440, with its registered office at Jankovcova 1522/53, 170 00 Prague 7, registered in the Commercial Register maintained by the Municipal Court in Prague, File No. B 8573 (hereinafter referred to as the "Seller" or "Alza"). It describes the procedure for making a complaint about goods purchased from Alza.

The buyer must familiarise themselves with the complaints procedure and the General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as the "GTC") before ordering any goods. At the same time, the buyer acknowledges that they are obliged to provide Alza with the cooperation necessary to resolve complaints; otherwise, the time limits will be extended accordingly by the period during which the buyer failed to provide the necessary cooperation.

By concluding the purchase contract and taking over the goods from the seller, the buyer agrees to this complaints procedure.

The definitions of terms contained in this complaints procedure take precedence over the definitions in the GTC. If this complaints procedure does not define a term, it is to be understood as defined in the GTC. If it is not defined there either, it is to be understood in the sense in which it is used in the legal regulations.

When claiming service under a purchased or agreed service, the service intervention is governed exclusively by the terms and conditions of that service.

As a warranty certificate, Alza issues a proof of purchase (invoice) for every item purchased, containing the statutory details required to make a warranty claim (in particular the product description, length of the warranty period, price, quantity and serial number). To make a warranty claim, it is sufficient to provide the invoice number. A paper copy of the invoice is not required.

At the buyer's express request, Alza will provide the warranty in the form of a warranty certificate. As standard, however, where the nature of the item allows, the seller provides the buyer with a proof of purchase of the item containing the above details instead of a warranty certificate.

Where necessary with regard to the warranty granted, Alza explains in the warranty certificate, in a comprehensible manner, the content of the warranty granted, its scope, conditions and duration, and the manner in which the resulting claims can be made. Alza states in the warranty certificate that the granting of the warranty does not affect the buyer's rights associated with the purchase of the item.

Since 13 April 2023, the time limits for claiming defects in performance and individual rights arising from defects in performance have been the same for all buyers, whether consumers or businesses (if you are a business customer and purchased from us before 13 April 2023, you can find an older version of the complaints procedure here).

Time limit for asserting rights arising from defective performance

The time limit for asserting rights arising from defective performance begins on the day the buyer takes over the goods, i.e. on the day stated on the proof of purchase or warranty certificate.

Regardless of whether you buy as a consumer or as a business, you can make a complaint about a defect in new goods (i.e. goods purchased as new and not as used) that becomes apparent within two years of taking over the goods.

When buying used goods, you can make a complaint about a defect within one year of taking over the goods. Used goods are goods that have been used or refurbished, are free from defects and are marked as used or refurbished.

When buying used goods in "as new" condition, the time limit for making a complaint is 21 months from taking over the goods. Used goods in "as new" condition are lightly used goods that have been tested and are marked as "as new".

The time limit is 24 months.

For consumable goods (e.g. cosmetics, toiletries, etc.), the buyer is entitled to assert a right arising from a defect within twenty-four (24) months, provided that no use-by date is indicated on the goods; if one is indicated, the period is shortened to the date stated on the packaging of the goods.

The period ends on the day whose number corresponds to the day on which it began, the relevant number of months later. The length of the period in months is stated for each item in the seller's shop and is sufficiently indicated on the proof of purchase.

Rights arising from liability for defects in goods covered by the quality warranty expire if they are not asserted within the specified period.

If a complaint is resolved by replacing the goods, no new period begins; the period that began on the day the buyer took over the goods remains decisive.

Quality on receipt

The seller is liable to the buyer for the item being free from defects upon receipt. In particular, the seller is liable to the buyer that, at the time the buyer took over the item,

If a defect becomes apparent within six months of receipt, the item is presumed to have been defective when the buyer took it over, unless the seller proves otherwise.

Contractual quality guarantee

Beyond the statutory period (24 months), Alza may provide free service for the indicated period. This service is governed exclusively by this complaints procedure and in particular by the provisions on free service, see Article VII.

Upon receipt from the carrier, the buyer shall properly and carefully check the condition of the shipment (in particular the number of packages, the integrity of the company tape with the logo, and whether the box is intact or damaged) against the delivery note.

On the day of receipt, the buyer shall also check that the goods are complete, in particular that the package contains everything it should contain. 

Any discrepancies must be reported to the seller upon receipt from the carrier and recorded in the carrier's handover report, or the buyer may refuse to accept the shipment; it is also always possible to report them by email to [email protected] or via the contact form here. If the shipment is accepted from the carrier, Alza further recommends attaching photographs of the damage and the packaging.

These arrangements do not affect the statutory time limit for asserting rights arising from defective performance. By making a subsequent complaint about incompleteness or external damage to the shipment, the buyer does not lose the right to make a complaint about the item; however, this gives Alza the opportunity to prove that there is no non-conformity with the purchase contract.

Submitting a complaint

To make a complaint or return goods, please fill in our online form. You will then receive an RMA number and an email with a link to the DHL carrier, where you can easily create a return shipping label. We also collect large products free of charge by freight carrier. For more information on complaints and returns, please visit the Returns and complaints page.

The shipment must contain the goods subject to the complaint, including all accessories. 

Alza further recommends enclosing a copy of the proof of purchase or proving the warranty in another suitable way, and providing a detailed description of the defect and sufficient contact details of the buyer (in particular address and telephone number). Without the above information, it is not possible to identify the origin and the defect of the goods.

Alza also recommends choosing the preferred method of resolving the complaint (repair, replacement, credit note).

Alza or an authorised service provider will issue the buyer with written confirmation of when the complaint was made, its content and the requested method of resolution. If the complaint is arranged in person at a branch, the confirmation will be handed over in printed form immediately at the customer's request; in all other cases, the confirmation will be sent by email. The confirmation serves solely as proof of receipt of the claim. The condition in which the buyer handed the goods over to Alza will be examined during the complaints procedure.

The buyer is aware that if they do not return the goods subject to the complaint together with all the accessories received, then in the event of their withdrawal from the contract, the purchase price will be refunded less the price of the accessories not returned.

Compatibility

Alza does not guarantee full compatibility of the sold parts with other parts or software applications not approved by Alza staff, the manufacturer or the supplier, the functionality of which was not explicitly requested by the buyer in their written order, unless such compatibility is customary for similar goods and Alza did not explicitly state for the goods that they are only compatible, or not compatible, with a specified list.

Similarly, compatibility also applies to software and its individual versions. Furthermore, if compatibility has been declared for specific software versions, this does not automatically apply to subsequent or previous versions of that software.

Limitations

If the protective seal, information sticker or serial number is damaged, the buyer risks rejection of the complaint, unless the damage occurs during normal use. Seals and serial numbers are an integral part of the goods and do not restrict the buyer's right to use the goods and handle them to the full extent of their intended purpose.

Furthermore, the warranty does not cover damage caused by the following (unless this activity is customary and is not prohibited in the enclosed instructions):

These limitations do not apply if the characteristics of the goods that contradict the above conditions were explicitly agreed or stipulated by the buyer and Alza, or declared by the seller, or can be expected with regard to the advertising carried out or the customary manner of use of the goods.

If the goods are software, the warranty applies exclusively to the physical readability of the media (the media must not be scratched, etc.). By removing the protective packaging (films, seals, opening an envelope, etc.), the buyer becomes an authorised user of the software product and accepts the software manufacturer's licence agreements; for digital content, this already occurs upon downloading. This does not apply in the event of non-conformity with the contract (see below).

Defect testing

Goods submitted for a complaint will only be tested for the defect specified by the buyer (in the complaint form or on the enclosed sheet with the defect description). Alza recommends stating the defect in writing, which includes electronic communication.

If the complaint is rejected and the buyer agrees to a paid repair, the repair will be charged according to the current price list of the authorised workshop.

The buyer hereby acknowledges that Alza does not carry out paid repairs itself, but only arranges them with authorised workshops, or ensures communication, transport and similar services. Alza bears no responsibility for carrying out the repair.

Before a paid repair is carried out, the buyer will be informed of the price of the repair, its scope and the time required to carry it out, whereby the repair will be carried out no later than 60 days from the day after Alza receives the goods. A paid repair can only be carried out with the buyer's explicit consent (or on the basis of a concluded service contract) given after receiving the information under the preceding sentence.

If the complaint is rejected, the buyer acknowledges that Alza is entitled to charge the buyer the authorised workshop's costs for defect diagnostics and transport in accordance with the authorised workshop's price list.

Data backup

When handing over a computer system or data storage device for a complaint or repair, the buyer shall ensure appropriate backup of the necessary data to prevent its potential misuse or loss. Alza is not liable for any loss, damage or misuse of data stored on data storage devices in the computer system.

Data storage devices are devices whose susceptibility to failure is an objective phenomenon with random occurrence of failures. Alza hereby draws the buyer's attention to this fact and recommends systematically backing up user data on suitable devices (e.g. DVD, cloud). However, this notice does not limit the warranty for the goods.

The buyer acknowledges that if the complaint is resolved by replacing the data storage device, the original device will not be returned.

Refusal to accept complaints

A. Due to contamination of the goods

B. Due to device security

Factory settings

The buyer is hereby informed that the device handed over should be in its factory configuration. This applies in particular to added or replaced RAM, hard drives or SSDs in laptops and computers. The seller accepts no responsibility for parts connected in this way, especially if they are not explicitly listed on the complaint receipt.

Original components must be kept for any potential complaint, in particular for a withdrawal from the purchase contract.

LCD screens

Due to the number of pixels on an LCD panel, it is practically impossible, from the point of view of manufacturing technology, to prevent pixel loss. For this reason, the ISO 13406-2 standard was created. The standard divides display devices into four quality classes and specifies the maximum permissible number of defective pixels or clusters for each class. A cluster is a square of 5x5 pixels. Unless otherwise stated, goods sold by Alza fall into Class II.

Number of permissible losses per 1 million pixels

	Type 1	Type 2	Type 3	Cluster Type 1	Cluster Type 2
Class	White dot, permanently lit pixel	Black dot, permanently unlit pixel	Coloured dot, resulting in a dot of a colour other than required	More than one defective pixel of Type 1 or Type 2	More than one defective pixel of Type 3
I	0	0	0	0	0
II	2	2	5	0	2
III	5	15	50	0	5
IV	50	150	500	5	50

The seller decides on the complaint immediately, or within three working days in complex cases. This period does not include the reasonable time required for a professional assessment of the defect depending on the type of product or service.

Alza processes the complaint, including the rectification of the defect, without undue delay and no later than 30 days from the day the complaint was made. The 30-day period may be extended after the complaint has been made by agreement with the buyer – such an extension must not be for an indefinite or unreasonably long period. Once the period or the extended period has expired, the defect in the item is presumed to have actually existed, and the buyer has the same rights as if it were a defect that cannot be remedied.

Alza issues the buyer with written confirmation of the date and method of resolving the complaint, including confirmation that the repair has been carried out and of the duration of the complaint, or the reasons for rejecting the complaint.

Once the complaint has been resolved, Alza informs the buyer by phone, SMS or email that the complaint has been completed. If the goods were sent via a transport service, they will be automatically dispatched to the buyer's address once the complaint has been resolved.

Once an accepted complaint has been resolved by repair or replacement, the warranty for the device is extended by the duration of the complaint. The duration of the complaint is calculated from the day following the day the complaint was made until the day on which the buyer was informed that it had been resolved.

The buyer is entitled to reimbursement of reasonably incurred costs associated with making a justified complaint. These costs are understood to be the lowest possible costs. They are in particular postage costs for sending the goods subject to the complaint. These costs do not necessarily include car travel to make the complaint, express transport or other similar expenses. Reimbursement of the costs must be requested without undue delay, but no later than 1 month after the expiry of the time limit for asserting rights arising from defective performance.

The customer must collect the goods from the complaint without undue delay, and no later than 30 days from the day they were informed that the complaint had been resolved; this period cannot expire earlier than 60 days after the seller accepted the goods subject to the complaint.

If the customer does not collect the goods subject to the complaint by the last day of this period, the seller will charge a storage fee of €2 incl. VAT for each day of delay.

If the customer does not collect the goods within 2 months of the date on which they were informed that the complaint had been resolved, Alza reserves the right to sell the goods and use the proceeds to pay the storage fee.

If the subject of the purchase is a consumable (e.g. cartridge, toner, print head, print roller, projector lamps, batteries, various types of lighting, etc.) or if this material is part of the purchased goods, the lifespan applies instead of the quality warranty. The lifespan may be specified in terms of time, operating time of the goods, number of uses, number of printed pages or similar. More than one of these types of lifespan may be specified for the goods. All specified conditions must be met for a complaint to be successful.

This does not affect the buyer's right to make a complaint about the goods within the statutory warranty period. However, the buyer must take the above facts into account, as the warranty does not cover wear and tear caused by normal use of the item and must not be confused with the lifespan of the product. The lifespan of the goods represents their susceptibility to wear and tear caused by normal use. If you use (not merely own) the goods for longer than their normal lifespan, the resulting defect is likely to be a consequence of normal wear and tear; however, it is not ruled out that it is in fact a defect covered by the warranty.  

Alza is obliged to indicate the lifespan of the goods offered; otherwise, it cannot rely on it. 

For goods with a warranty longer than 24 months, the so-called free service is provided after the 24-month period has expired.

If the goods have a defect after the 24-month period, they will be accepted for service and

The seller undertakes to complete this service within 35 days of accepting the goods – after this period has expired, the buyer is entitled to withdraw from the contract.

Rights arising from defective performance granted by the manufacturer of the device are not affected by this.

The statutory rights of buyers are not affected by this complaints procedure.

This complaints procedure is valid from 1 October 2026 and supersedes all previous complaints procedures.

This complaints procedure is available at Alza's registered office and business premises, or as a document at www.alza.de.

Prague, 1 October 2026 Back