This is all you need to know about your shopping rights - Martyn James

The laws that give you your shopping rights

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you the bulk of your shopping rights. The act covers goods and services (including digital goods) and whether they are of ‘satisfactory quality, as described or fit for purpose’. If the goods you buy don’t fit in to these categories you can get a refund, replacement or repair depending on when things went wrong.

The Consumer Contract Regulations 2013 and gives you the right to cancel contracts when you buy online within 14 days (with some exceptions). The law also covers digital goods that you purchase. The Consumer Contract Regulations also spell out what a ‘fair’ contract between you and a business is.

What does the law say?

Goods or services that you purchase must be:

• Of satisfactory quality: The retailer must not misrepresent how well the goods have been made, should provide the full scope of the service they are offering or ensure that the goods do what they said they would do effectively.
• As described: The item or service should be as the retailer said it would be. So if you buy a brown leather sofa, it should match the colour, fabric and description given by the retailer.
• Fit for purpose: You should be able to use the goods or services for the purpose they were supplied for. So if you’ve bought a hard drive that’s designed to work with Apple laptops, then it should do precisely that.

The law also says that they must last ‘a reasonable amount of time’.

Timescales and your rights

There are a number of timescales for complaining and returning goods that you need to bear in mind.

When you buy most goods or services online, then you usually have a 14 day ‘right to cancel’ period if you change your mind. There are exceptions though, like items made to order, rental housing contracts and most things related to holidays and travel. There’s a full list here.

No matter where you bought the goods or services, you are entitled to a full refund if what you have purchased online or in store is damaged, not as advertised or not fit for purpose within 30 days of purchase. This only applies for companies trading in the UK.

If you go over the 30 days and the item stops doing what it’s supposed to do, don’t panic! You have six months from the date you bought the item to return it for the same reasons. You must give the retailer one attempt at repairing or replacing the item, then they must give you a full refund.

Even over the six months, goods must last ‘a reasonable amount of time’ so you can still ask for a full or partial refund, or repairs and replacements, though the responsibility switches to you to prove that you haven’t broken the goods. You might need to compromise though unless you feel strongly enough to take the retailer to court.

Returns and costs

If items are misrepresented or don’t work the retailer must cover the costs for returning the item. Once it’s back, they have 14 days to refund you from the point they receive the goods (or when you tell them you don’t want them if the goods are virtual/digital). That includes delivery costs for returning the item (but they only have to pay the cheapest option available, so you might end up covering the difference).

​Martyn James is a leading consumer rights campaigner, TV and radio broadcaster and journalist. Visit martynjamesexpert.co.uk