Refurbished device arrived defective: what to do, in what order
3 min read
The box is open and the screen flickers. A refurbished device arrived defective, and you lose money in the first ten minutes: straight to the post office, before the route is decided.
1. Document before anything ships back
Evidence you don't capture now can't be produced later. Photos while unpacking, the packaging, serial number, note on the fault.
The Verbraucherzentrale advises documenting the damage first and demanding remedy in writing (as of 13 August 2026). If the fault shows in the first year, § 477 BGB presumes it was already there on delivery, and the seller has to rebut that.
2. Withdrawal or defect claim? Here's the trap
Withdrawal needs no reason, the deadline is 14 days, and § 357 BGB decides who pays return postage. Report a defect instead and the seller pays it; under § 439 BGB you pick repair or replacement. Money back comes only after remedy fails. So say it's a defect before anything ships.
If the device sits below the grade you bought, see the refurbished condition grades explainer.
3. Who is your contract partner?
Back Market is legally an intermediary, not the seller: your contract partner is the merchant, who under Back Market's warranty certificate must offer repair or replacement within five working days (as of 13 August 2026). Refurbed states at least 12 months of warranty, rebuy 21 days to return and 3 years of its own (as of 13 August 2026).
What a warranty covers and what it doesn't is in the warranty guide.
4. In writing, through the seller's own channel
A phone call leaves no record. Use the account or contact form, name the fault, demand remedy. Ship nothing without a return label.
When nothing happens
If the seller stays silent, Back Market's certificate has the platform step in (as of 13 August 2026). PayPal's buyer protection often runs 180 days (as of 13 August 2026), adding to statutory rights, not replacing them. The Universalschlichtungsstelle acts only after a direct attempt to settle has failed.
How sellers differ otherwise is in the provider comparison. This reports statute and seller terms, not legal advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
Withdrawal or defect claim: which is better?
Depends on whether there really is a defect. Withdrawal can leave you paying return postage; a defect claim puts it on the seller.
How long do I have to complain?
Withdrawal runs 14 days from delivery. Defect claims normally expire after two years (§ 438 BGB), or one year on used goods if expressly agreed.
Does a burden-of-proof reversal apply to used goods?
Yes, in the first year, through a burden-of-proof reversal. § 477 BGB presumes the fault was there at handover, and the seller can rebut it.
Sources
- Verbraucherzentrale verbraucherzentrale.de
- § 477 BGB gesetze-im-internet.de
- deadline is 14 days gesetze-im-internet.de
- § 357 BGB gesetze-im-internet.de
- § 439 BGB gesetze-im-internet.de
- legally an intermediary backmarket.de
- at least 12 months of warranty refurbed.de
- 3 years of its own rebuy.de
- buyer protection verbraucherzentrale.de
- Universalschlichtungsstelle universalschlichtungsstelle.de
