MONEY AND FINANCE

Guarantee

Guarantee is a word with many undertones. It can be a promise of assurance that a thing will be of a specified quality, content or benefit or that it will perform satisfactorily for a given length of time.

A good of rule of thumb is to be sure the guarantee you receive is in writing. That way the person relying on the promise has recourse against the person making the promise.

For example, a money-back guarantee. Businesses advertising a money back guarantee will either give the buyer a form with this guarantee on it or it will be posted within the premises. This makes the guarantee binding.

On the other hand, a guarantee can be considered as a person assuming responsibility for a debt or default, or miscarriage of the promise. This means the one making the guarantee has to make good on the promise made.

A guarantee can also be an expression or declaration made with conviction. For example, if you told your friend you guaranteed he’d like the spaghetti restaurant you enjoy, you just promised he’d have a great meal. Of course, this type of guarantee usually doesn’t carry any serious consequences.

A guarantee can also be a pledge that something will be performed, completed or executed in a specified manner by a certain time. For example, when you hire a contractor to perform a remodeling job on your home, he will guarantee that his work will be completed in certain steps by certain dates. His guarantee acts as a blueprint for gauging his performance.

As you can see, guarantee has a variety of meanings and ways in which it can be used. People issuing a guarantee can sometimes be held legally liable to perform while in other circumstances no legal liability attaches to the guarantee.

Obviously, the type of situation you are about to enter will dictate what type of guarantee you will receive and/or should expect. If the monetary value is significant, you should demand a guarantee that will make you whole should something happen. If the situation is as simple as your friend guaranteeing you will like a certain restaurant or type of drink, the guarantee he made can be considered as his opinion.