The Black Friday complaints lag

Black Friday isn’t just a day to ‘impulse’ buy. We may arguably be spending more time at home using our technology but like any other year, many of us have been holding out on the big purchases to see if we can get the deals over that ‘sale’ period – and often we’ve been planning for it.

Resolver can reveal that more than 6,000 complaints since November 2017 have been specifically relating to retail purchases made as part of a Black Friday or Cyber Monday deal. But what is particularly telling is when these complaints are happening.

Overall year on year we saw significantly more complaints made about purchases between January and April – several months after the original purchase – than at the end of November itself. Specifically:

January to April 2020 saw a 22% hike in complaint numbers compared to the numbers in November and December 2019.
In March 2020 as the nation began lockdown, there were 353 complaints relating to Black Friday purchases, more than twice the number of those in November 2019.
Every year since 2017, December saw more than twice the number of complaints than November – indicating that the complaints were about more than ‘not getting the deal on the day’.

Why the lag in Black Friday complaints?

It probably comes as little surprise that we could see a number of complaints concerning faulty products developing an issue some time after it was ordered, or that goods actually became cheaper after Black Friday. But looking through our complaints data we can also see that:

People were buying larger ‘big ticket’ items in preparation for a life event – for example, moving house or a new arrival. This often meant that they were using Black Friday deals to save money by buying ‘in advance’ of them actually needing the goods.
Black Friday was for our users a prime time to shop for Christmas presents – meaning in some cases they could get that high-value sought after gift, such as a TV, for a cheaper price. It often meant however that faults were not discovered until the big day itself.
In some cases users were offered a refund rather than a repair or replacement – meaning that if they really wanted that item in particular they were faced with potentially buying it at a higher price – thereby not getting the saving they had perhaps planned for.

What if I've bought Christmas presents over Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

We’ve talked as long as we’ve been here about your rights if you decide to effectively cancel your order within 14 days after you’ve received it. But does that mean you can’t look at it beforehand if you’re planning it as a Christmas gift?

In short, no. If you’ve had the order delivered to you, you are well within your rights to look at it, and, if needs be, test that it works – and if it is not as advertised, fails to work as it should or is not of satisfactory quality, you can ask for a refund. Don’t be afraid of opening packaging, while we recommend that where possible you return goods in their original packaging, you don’t have to, and re-taping that cellophane bag will be more than fine to return goods.

What about if I don't open it for a while or didn't get a chance to look at it?

We can relate – who has bought loads of kitchen appliances on Black Friday because they’re moving, or because they want an advance item when theirs gives up the ghost? This may mean however, you don’t bother to check what you’ve received until perhaps even months after you’ve bought it – at which point you may feel you’ve lost your automatic rights to a refund.

Fear not – if you can, take a look at your delivery to check in advance and then you can cancel and demand a refund if it doesn’t work or if it’s not as you think it is. If that is after that magic 14-day period however, you can still look to get redress. What if, for example, your Christmas present is open on the day and it doesn’t work? In that situation you are probably after the 30-day period for which you can simply demand a refund for faulty goods. However, you can, and should, give the retailer the opportunity to repair or replace the item. Bear in mind that there is a six-month window from when you buy for you to do this.

What about if I'm offered a refund instead of a repair or replacement - otherwise I'll pay more?

Your rights are clear here – if you’re past 30 days from the point of purchase, but within six months of buying your items, you can insist the retailer either repairs or replaces that item. If you want the refund instead, then no problem, but if you’re after a replacement and are only offered a refund, then bear in mind that if you want that item, you’re likely to pay a higher ‘pre or post-Black Friday’ price to get it. In that situation, be clear – you want and are entitled to the opportunity to get your item repaired or replaced.

What we think retailers should do

It’s clear to Resolver that Black Friday is not just being treated as a ‘chance your arm’ trawl over the internet, and in fact many people are in fact waiting for the bargains to appear.

This year will undoubtedly make that more prolific. As we write, some of our most popular online retailers are offering Black Friday deals now. In the face of the high street being largely closed over the event – which we may or may not have been expecting – those online orders will no doubt be even more in demand than retailers would have already been expecting. Shoppers are not just searching idly for a cut-price impulse buy, and in fact they are looking to get what they think is a good deal on the planned purchases that are important to them.

What we can also bank on is that if Christmas presents are being bought, the delivery address will likely be the recipient in preparation for potentially not being able to hand the gift over face-to-face. What this will mean is that even more Black Friday purchases will be unopened before the magic 14-day cancellation right or 30-day rule to send back a faulty item without question, and perhaps even more hassle for both the purchaser or the recipient to get things put right.

Resolver’s CEO Alex Neill is calling for retailers to extend their returns policies, like they already do at Christmas, for those purchasing Black Friday bargains. It’s clear that now more than ever consumers need that added reassurance that they won’t end up with a faulty good or a dud Christmas present.

No matter what time of year it is, if you have a complaint about your Black Friday buys, Resolver can help. Start your complaint for free.