Christmas may be a time for giving but it is also a time for asking for refunds and although consumers have a veritable battery of legal rights to protect them, retailers do not always make it easy for them to get what they are entitled to.
Forewarned is forearmed, of course. Before Christmas, Cardiff Council’s Trading Standards advised festive shoppers to check returns policies and to routinely keep all receipts. However, a survey carried out by Which? Legal Service showed that while 9.9 million consumers had tried to return an unwanted gift in the last two years, 82% of those had difficulty getting a refund.
Deputy Leader of Cardiff Council, Councillor Judith Woodman, said: “It’s important we all know what our rights are and that consumers are confident and able to stand up for their rights in order to get a good deal. This is especially important when times are tight and everyone wants to make sure they have value for money.”
Cardiff Council’s Trading Standards post-Christmas guide to your consumer retail rights will help you through the maze:
Is time on my side?
It is best to take things back as quickly as possible – particularly if a gift is faulty, not as described or not fit for purpose. If you do so quickly you will usually get a full refund as you are unlikely to be seen as having “accepted” the goods. If you leave it too long then you can only expect exchange, repair or part-refund. Unfortunately, how a court would interpret what a reasonable time is to reject goods and claim a full refund is not clear but has been as little as 3 weeks.
What are my rights on sale goods?
Signs saying “No Return On Sale Goods” are commonplace but are actually illegal. If goods purchased are faulty or not as described, consumers still have their usual rights.
The goods I ordered didn’t turn up in time: can I get my money back?
Online retailers have up to 30 days to deliver goods unless otherwise agreed, according to the Office of Fair Trading, so last-minute shoppers may have been caught out. You can only be certain of a refund if delivery by Christmas was guaranteed by the retailer. In other cases, your normal shopper’s rights apply – see below.
Are there any goods that are not refundable?
Many items such as CDs, DVDs and computer games for example can be refused a refund if they are no longer sealed. Fresh foods and flowers also fall into this category, along with personalised items which have been monogrammed or engraved with your name.
What if I have been given something that doesn’t work?
If the present is faulty, not as described or not fit for purpose, you are within your rights to take it back and ask for a full refund, as long as you do so within a “reasonable time”. This is something of a moveable deadline, and depends on what you are returning.
I don’t have a receipt for the present I want to take back. Can I still return it?
Under law, a trader is not obliged to give you a receipt, so by the same token the buyer doesn’t have to provide one when returning an item. As such, you may be able to return an item without a receipt, but you need to be able to provide some form of proof of purchase such as a credit card receipt or bank statement. Again, this will mean going back to the person who gave you the present if he or she still has a credit card slip or a statement that will prove when and where the item was bought.
Do I have to accept a credit note?
If the gift is faulty, your rights under the Sale of Goods Act kick in. Under these circumstances you do not have to accept a credit note and are entitled to ask for your money back. In fact, if a shop puts up a sign telling customers it will only offer credit notes – even in the case of faulty goods – it may be acting illegally. However, if you just don’t like your present, the shop is not obliged to let you return it. In this instance, some stores may offer a credit note as a gesture of goodwill.
My husband bought me some clothing online but I do not like it. Can I return it?
Not only are you covered by the same laws that protect consumers shopping on the high street, but there is some extra help for online shoppers. While some retailers may have more generous policies, under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) regulations 2000, you have seven working days from the date the item was delivered to cancel the order and return a gift ordered online, even if it’s just because you don’t like it. The retailer should then refund you within 30 days of you cancelling the order.
My aunt gave me an ugly jumper (again) this year. Can I take it back to the shop?
That depends. Shops are not legally obliged to accept returns unless they were faulty when they were bought, they are not as described or they are not fit for purpose. If it just does not fit you properly, or you don’t like it, you have no automatic right to return it. However, many shops have their own returns policy, particularly when it comes to Christmas gifts, so you may find the shop is willing to accept your unwanted item. The shop’s own policy has no impact on your legal rights under the Sale of Goods Act. There are many retailers who will happily refund or exchange gifts without question, especially if the item was clearly bought from them. In some cases, though, if you want to secretly return a gift without telling the person who gave it to you, you may find it tricky without a gift receipt.
The shop’s manager says I have to go back to the manufacturer about the problem – is that true?
No. The person who bought your present has a contract with the seller, not the manufacturer, so it is down to the shop to deal with any problems.
My partner bought my present online, and unfortunately I don’t like it. Can I return it?
You are covered by the same laws that protect consumers shopping on the high street, but there is some extra help for online shoppers. While some retailers may have more generous policies, under the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) regulations 2000, you have seven working days from the date the item was delivered to cancel the order and return a gift ordered online, even if it’s just because you don’t like it. The retailer should then refund you within 30 days of you cancelling the order.
This does not apply to all gifts. There are some common sense exceptions. They are not obliged to refund opened CDs, DVDs or software. And they don’t have to refund anything that has been personalised, for example if it has been engraved with your name. You can’t return perishable things such as fresh food or flowers, either. As, on the high street, the contract is with the buyer and the seller, not with the person returning the unwanted gift, any refund is likely to be transferred straight back on to the card used to pay for it.
My relatives are organised. The presents were ordered a while back and arrived more than seven days before Christmas. Is it too late to get a refund?
If you just don’t want it, whether you can return it depends which retailer they bought from. Amazon.co.uk, for example, is extending its returns policy for Christmas. Anything bought from Amazon between 1 November and 31 December can be returned before midnight on 31 January 2010. Be careful, though – if the item was bought through a third-party seller on Amazon you will have to go back to the seller, not Amazon, with any problems.
What about if the goods are from an overseas website?
If you buy something from the website of a company based in another EU member state, in most cases you will have the same statutory rights as if you had bought it from a UK-based seller, according to Citizens Advice. Remember, however, that if you do want to return goods, you may have to pay for the return delivery to an overseas country.
If you end up in a dispute with the seller, you will need to take advice on your consumer rights.
If, for example, a consumer in England buys goods on the internet from a French supplier, English law may still apply, unless another choice of law is expressed this should be in the terms and conditions of the contract, according to Consumer Direct. For information on consumer rights and assistance in resolving cross-border disputes in the EU, Norway and Iceland, consumers in the UK can contact the UK European Consumer Centre by emailing [email protected] or by telephoning 08456 040503.
My boyfriend bought me a pair of designer trainers but it turns out they are fakes. What can I do?
You may be able to use your statutory rights against the seller – as the goods may not be as described. For further advice on this you should contact Consumer Direct on 08454 040506. But anyone supplying counterfeit goods could face criminal action by Trading Standards so report it to them via Consumer Direct.
If you paid by credit card, you may be able to claim a refund from your card issuer, if the price was more than £100 (but not more than £30,000).
