Make sure of many happy returns this Christmas
Beware - some shops will still try to deny you your right to take back gifts
- Lisa Bachelor * o Lisa Bachelor o The Observer o Sunday November 11 2007
Malpractice on the high-street includes shops displaying signs saying 'no return on sale goods', which is illegal, and refusing to make refunds on faulty goods after the one-year shop guarantee has expired. Solicitor Geoffrey Woodroffe, co-author of the latest edition of Consumer Law and Practice, published by Sweet & Maxwell, says that it is increasingly important that shoppers are on their guard against retailers trying to break the law during the festive season.
'Shoppers put enormous trust in high street brands and find it hard to believe that so many major retailers either get the law wrong or deliberately try to mislead consumers about their rights - but they do,' he says.
If you buy something and then change your mind about it, a retailer has no obligation to refund you or to exchange the goods (although many will do so). However, if the goods were misdescribed or are faulty, you are well protected by law - but not all shops recognise this.
Malpractice on the high street: what you might be told
'The store can't offer a repair or refund because our one-year guarantee has expired'
'Under the Sale of Goods Act, goods have to be "reasonably durable",' says Woodroffe. 'The general view that retailers hold - that once their [own] one-year guarantee expires they are off the hook - is rubbish. If goods are faulty, consumers can potentially seek compensation for up to six years from the date they were purchased.'
Typically, this excuse is used for large electrical items like washing machines, says Woodroffe. If the machine has had reasonable use over the year and then breaks, you can ignore the limitations of the shop warranty; this is what is meant by the little-understood term in retailers' guarantees: 'this does not affect your statutory rights'. Retailers will also sometimes say the manufacturer is liable. This is also untrue.
'We can't refund or exchange that because you've lost the receipt'
You don't need to rifle through discarded carrier bags for the receipt, because retailers who tell you that you must have one to get a refund are wrong. In fact, all you need is proof that you purchased it at that shop, and this could come in the form, say, of a credit card statement. 'Even a testimony by a person who was with you when you bought the item will suffice,' says Woodroffe.
'We don't refund or exchange goods bought in the sale'
Shops that tell you this, or display signs saying 'no return on sale goods', are breaking the law - and if the owners were ever prosecuted they could go to jail for two years (though this has never happened). The practice has been outlawed since 1978 but is sometimes still seen even in large, reputable stores.
If goods are defective, whether bought in a sale or not, your rights to a refund or exchange are the same. The only caveats are that you can't complain about defects if they were drawn to your attention at the time, or if they were so obvious that you should have noticed them.
'We will give you your money back but we won't repair it'
The Sale of Goods Act changed in 2003, so consumers now have the right to demand that a shop that supplied them with faulty goods replaces or repairs them and foots the bill. 'Before, consumers could only ask for their money back, now the seller must repair or replace the goods in a reasonable time if asked,' says Woodroffe.
'You can return goods you bought from our website but we will charge you a fee'
Some internet mail order companies charge a 'restocking fee' for the return of non-faulty goods, but this is illegal. Consumers are entitled to return goods bought online up to 30 days after purchase under extended consumer rights covered by the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000.
In many cases, high street retailers will also agree to exchange goods when consumers change their minds, but they are not allowed to charge for doing so if the goods were purchased online or via mail order.
How to complain
Retailers will not always take kindly to being told they are in breach of the law, so you should point this out to a salesperson in a polite way - and then, if necessary, to the manager - before taking any further action. If this doesn't get results, you could take advice from your local Citizens Advice bureau or contact the Office of Fair Trading's helpline, Consumer Direct, on 0845 404 0506. You should also find out if the supplier is a member of a trade body and complain to them if necessary.
The only other course open to you is the small claims court, but this should be a last resort, as the costs have to be weighed up against the value of the claim. 'Someone I knew once sued a major department store for £3.40 after a pair of socks he had bought wore out in a matter of days,' says solicitor Geoffrey Woodroffe. 'He won the case, but of course most people are not going to bother when the amount is so small.'
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