Warranty repair dragging on or the defect keeps recurring: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Qualification: a consumer, a defect within the warranty period (rights apply if the defect is discovered within 2 years of delivery (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 20)); the seller has ALREADY accepted the goods for repair — the question is not whether this is a warranty case, but whether the first-tier remedies are exhausted: repair and replacement are first-tier remedies (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 17).
2. Timing: repair or replacement must be carried out within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience (taking into account the nature of the goods and the purpose of the purchase); the law does not set a number of days (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 17). Measure it by the dates of the acceptance and return acts, and by how much the item is needed every day.
3. Moving to money or a discount: a price reduction or withdrawal is available if the goods have not been repaired or replaced within a reasonable time and the consumer has lost interest in them (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 17); for a repeated breakdown — a price reduction or withdrawal if repair or replacement would cause significant inconvenience (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 17); a price reduction or withdrawal from the contract if repair or replacement is impossible (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 17). However, withdrawal from the contract is excluded for a minor defect (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 17). “Repair only under the warranty” — a warranty condition that restricts statutory rights is void (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 19).
4. Claim: withdrawal from the contract and refund of the price (or a discount), or a final deadline — withdrawal from the contract after an unsuccessful additional period set by the buyer (Civil Code, Art. 405); no additional period is needed if it is obviously futile (Civil Code, Art. 405). Outcome: on withdrawal the parties return what they received (Civil Code, Art. 352); on termination — damages as well (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 17); all repair costs (delivery, labour, materials) are borne by the seller (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 17).
5. Procedure: seller → complaint to the Competition and Consumer Protection Agency; court is not excluded (Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, Art. 28) → lawsuit (limitation period for contractual claims — 3 years (Civil Code, Art. 129)).
6. Where to apply: seller → Agency (კონკურენციისა და მომხმარებლის დაცვის სააგენტო) → district (city) court.
7. Evidence: the receipt, the warranty card, acceptance and return acts for EACH repair, correspondence with dates, the claim with proof of delivery.
8. Pitfalls: importing a fixed repair deadline and daily penalties from other jurisdictions — in Georgia the period is “reasonable” and there is no statutory penalty; sending the item for another repair without an act recording the date and description of the defect; expecting the Agency to refund money in an individual dispute — that is a matter for the court.

Be sure to check

• the law sets no fixed repair period — only a reasonable time without significant inconvenience
• if the repair drags on or fails, the consumer may move to a price reduction or to withdrawal from the contract with a refund
• a repeated breakdown supports the argument of significant inconvenience; a minor defect does not allow withdrawal from the contract
• a written claim with a specific deadline; then the Agency and/or court