Shopping and returns - know your rights

Wherever you shop, online or on the high street, this guide explains where you stand with your shopping rights – especially when it comes to returns.

Where do my basic shopping rights come from?

The Consumer Rights Act, which came in to play in October 2015, gives you the bulk of your shopping rights. (For items bought before the act, it’s the Sale of Goods Act 1979).

The act covers goods and services, including digital goods, and whether they are ‘satisfactory quality, ‘as described’ or ‘fit for purpose’. If the goods you buy don’t fit into these categories you can seek a refund, replacement or repair depending on when things go wrong.

What are my rights if I want to return a purchase but there’s nothing wrong with it?

We can all have a change of heart – or post splurge regret. The good news is that if you’ve bought an item online or on the phone you have 14 days to return it under the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013.

In-store is a bit different – and will depend on the shop’s policy. However, it is standard for most retailers to offer refunds.

If you want to check how long you have to take something back take a look at your receipt – and it is worth asking in-store when you make a purchase what circumstances they will accept for a return.

When do I get the money?

Aside from your rights buying goods online, 14 is a useful number to remember.

The retailer has 14 days to refund you from the point they receive the goods (or when you tell them if the goods are digital). That includes delivery costs for returning the item – however, they only have to pay the cheapest option available, so you might end up covering the difference.

What if the goods are faulty?

You’ve got lots of rights when it comes to goods or services that don’t work. However, there are certain time limits you need to bear in mind.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 stipulates that you have 30 days from the date the goods were purchased to return the item if it is defective or not as described.

You’re entitled to a full refund if the goods are returned within 30 days. But do bear in mind that it will automatically go in to the account of the person returning it: so if the item was a gift, the person who bought the gift will need to organise the refund.

What if it’s over the 30 days?

If goods are faulty you have up to six months to return the items – and the burden of proof is on the retailer to prove the item wasn’t defective or refund you. They are allowed to have one crack at a repair or replacing the item but after that you can ask for a refund.

Even if it’s beyond six months, all is not lost – you can still complain and request a refund. You will need to prove why you didn’t realise the item was damaged or that the problem isn’t just down to wear and tear.

In this circumstance you should be prepared to compromise. You could be looking at a repair or a replacement – and if the product has been upgraded since, you aren’t entitled to the upgraded version.

What about individual stores and their returns policies?

A retailer can’t ignore the law, but many offer better returns policies to keep you as a loyal customer. During the pandemic, many stores increased their timescales for returning goods.

But you shouldn’t be complacent. Check before and after you order and pop the date in your diary a few weeks before it’s due.

What if the provider of goods or services says the item isn’t faulty?

The key thing here is whether the goods are ‘satisfactory quality’, ‘fit for purpose’ or ‘as described’. The latter option is pretty straightforward. Compare the item’s description with what you’ve got and if it’s misleading make a complaint.

‘Fit for purpose’ is important to remember because you might not realise an item isn’t doing what it’s supposed to be doing until you’ve started using it – which might be some time after it was purchased. So if you’ve ordered blackout curtains that don’t actually black out the light, you can argue they’re not fit for purpose.

‘Satisfactory quality’ is pretty subjective. For example, if you go to a restaurant and don’t like your food after eating it all you’re not going to get very far. But if you’d asked in advance for a vegetarian option but one isn’t provided when you arrive, you clearly haven’t been given what you wanted. So a good starting point is asking ‘does it do what it says on the tin?’ If not, take the time to explain why you haven’t got what you thought you were getting.