Consumer Warranty Letter: Legal Register
You are translating a consumer-association letter from Portuguese into English for a manufacturer's legal team in Ireland. The letter concerns a built-in oven bought on 12 August last year and reported faulty on 3 February. The association cites the Portuguese legal warranty regime and a 24-month commercial guarantee. The source paragraph reads: 'Na sequência da reclamação apresentada em 3 de fevereiro, relativa a um forno adquirido em 12 de agosto do ano passado, informamos que, nos termos do regime legal aplicável, o consumidor tem direito à reparação ou substituição do bem, sem encargos, sempre que o defeito se manifeste dentro do prazo de garantia. A garantia comercial de 24 meses não prejudica a garantia legal, nem os direitos que dela decorrem. Não obstante, a assistência técnica informou que o vício só será analisado após o pagamento de uma taxa de deslocação. Solicitamos resposta no prazo de 10 dias úteis.' The client wants plain legal English, not archaic legalese, and has asked you to flag any term where a literal translation would mislead. You have 45 minutes and no access to the original contract.
1. Translate the sentence beginning 'nos termos do regime legal aplicável...' into English. Explain your choices for 'bem', 'sem encargos' and 'prazo de garantia'.
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A workable version: 'Under the applicable legal regime, the consumer is entitled to repair or replacement of the goods, free of charge, whenever the defect appears within the warranty period.'
'Bem' here is 'goods' in the consumer-law sense, not 'asset' or 'item'; 'goods' is the standard term and keeps the collective singular. 'Sem encargos' means 'free of charge' or 'at no cost'; 'without charges' is understandable but less natural. 'Prazo de garantia' is 'warranty period', not 'guarantee deadline'. 'Regime legal aplicável' can be 'applicable legal regime' or 'applicable law'; the latter is plainer, but 'regime' preserves the reference to a statutory framework. 'Sempre que' is not 'always'; it means 'whenever' or 'where', so do not write 'provided that the defect always appears'.
2. Translate 'Não obstante, a assistência técnica informou que o vício só será analisado após o pagamento de uma taxa de deslocação.' Discuss 'não obstante', 'vício' and 'taxa de deslocação'.
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A plain-English version: 'However, the after-sales service has said that the defect will only be inspected after a call-out fee is paid.'
'Não obstante' is 'nevertheless' or 'however'. 'Notwithstanding' is grammatically possible but too heavy for the client's plain-English brief; keep it only if the client asks for a formulaic legal register. 'Vício' in consumer law is a defect, not a 'vice'; 'defeito' and 'vício' can both appear, with 'vício' often signalling a legal defect. 'Taxa de deslocação' is not a 'displacement fee'; it is a call-out or travel charge. 'Assistência técnica' is after-sales service or technical support, not 'technical assistance' in the development-aid sense. 'Só será analisado' is future passive with a restrictive 'only'; 'will only be inspected' captures the condition.
3. The client asks whether 'a garantia comercial de 24 meses não prejudica a garantia legal' means the commercial guarantee replaces the legal one. Answer and give the English sentence.
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No. 'Não prejudica' means 'does not prejudice', 'does not affect' or 'does not override'. The commercial guarantee is additional and cannot reduce statutory rights. A good translation is: 'The 24-month commercial guarantee does not affect the legal guarantee or the rights arising from it.'
Avoid 'does not harm', which is too physical. 'Is without prejudice to' is accurate legal English but heavier; plain English prefers 'does not affect' or 'does not replace or limit'. The trap is to read 'não prejudica' as 'does not replace'; in fact it preserves the legal guarantee rather than displacing it. 'Garantia legal' is the statutory conformity guarantee, not a separate 24-month commercial promise, so do not merge the two in the translation.