Shopping, returns and your rights

Complaints about retailers, both online and on the high street are consistently among the most commonly complained about products and services that we see at Resolver.

The biggest bugbear for us and for everyone is the fact that there are lots of rules that give people power, but many businesses ignore them, interpret them in their own favour or occasionally misinform people.

We’ve seen websites that mislead people about their rights to return items, delivery disputes that shift the blame, warranties and service contracts that aren’t worth the paper they’re written on and credit agreements that hide the true cost of borrowing.

Here’s an overview of your rights and a look at some of the newer problems the pandemic has brought.

Shopping and returns – a guide

Where do my basic shopping rights come from?

The Consumer Rights Act (which came in to play on 1 October 2015) gives you the bulk of your shopping rights. For items bought prior to 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 in to 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 an online purchase but there’s nothing wrong with it?

The good news is if the item was bought online or on the phone then you have 14 days to return it under the Consumer Contract Regulations 2013. You have to pay the cost of returning the item unless the retailer offers a free returns service or states it will cover the cost.

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).

What if I bought the item in-store?

These rules don’t extend to items bought in store, though you have a number of rights for faulty or misrepresented items. Some stores do allow you to return items with gift receipts. A gift receipt is basically an additional receipt provided by the retailer with the price not included, so you can return and exchange items. You don’t need to be the gift-giver to redeem a gift receipt, but the retailer can set the terms if the item isn’t faulty. Shops can ask you to produce a receipt so hold on to it. The jury is out on whether a photo of a receipt counts, so speak to the store before you go in to avoid an argument over the tills.

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 rules (in this case, the Consumer Rights Act 2015) say that you have 30 days from the date the goods were purchased to return the item if it’s wonky or isn’t as it was described.
You’re entitled to a full refund if the goods are returned within 30 days. Bear in mind it will go in to the account of the person returning it, so if the goods were purchased online, 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 faulty 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 over the six months, all is not lost, though you’ll need to prove why you didn’t realise the item was damaged or that the problem isn’t just down to wear and tear. Be prepared to compromise though. 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 of them offer better returns policies as part of their deal to keep you as a loyal customer. Many stores have increased their timescales for returning goods, but don’t be complacent. Check before/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 (not as described), 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, then you can argue they’re not fit for purpose.
‘Satisfactory quality’ is pretty subjective. To give you an 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, then 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.

If you feel you’ve missed out on the time you have to return goods due to not being informed by the business, you have the right to make a complaint. Resolver can help for free: https://www.resolver.co.uk/