Your legal rights depend on where you purchased the item and why you want to return it. Learn about online returns, faulty goods rights and store returns policies.
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Your rights when returning goods come from two pieces of legislation - the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
These two pieces of legislation cover the return of unwanted goods bought online and your right to return faulty goods bought online or from a store.
If you can understand your statutory rights (rights that come from statute/legislation) in these two areas, it'll put you in a better position for getting your money back.
Returning unwanted items you purchased in a shop isn't an automatic right - you'll have to check the returns policy of the store.
Our experts will guide you to step by step to achieve the best outcome for you.
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If the item was bought online, over the phone or by mail order, as a customer you have consumer returns rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations .
The Consumer Contracts Regulations give you a cancellation period that starts the moment you place your order and ends 14 days from the day you receive your goods.
You then have a further 14 days from the date you notify the retailer that you'd like to cancel your order to return the goods.
We've put together advice on the additional consumer returns rights you have when purchasing goods online in our guide to online returns .
If you bought an item online from a retailer based overseas, you still have UK consumer rights as a UK-based consumer in principle. However, in practice, this is often hard to enforce if a company is based outside of the UK due to it being difficult to hold it liable for refunds if it refuses to cooperate.
Therefore, it's always best to pay via credit card so that you have extra protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act .
Your consumer rights for returning goods falls under the Consumer Rights Act (which replaced the Sale of Goods Act in October 2015).
The Consumer Rights Act gives you the statutory right to return something and get your money back if it's faulty.
You have the legal right to a refund if you return your faulty item within 30 days of receiving it, regardless of what the store's return policy says.
If you don't reject the goods within the first 30 days, and find a fault within the first six months of possessing your faulty goods, you'll need to give the retailer a chance to make a repair or replacement. If that's unsuccessful, you can then ask for a refund.
After the first six months, the burden of proof switches to you to prove the fault you've found was present at the time you purchased the goods in store or first took ownership of it if you bought it online.
The law does not detail how consumers can prove a fault was present at purchase, which can make it problematic when you’re asked to do so.
See our guide on returning faulty goods to find out more about your right to a refund, repair or replacement.
Most retailers choose to provide a 'goodwill' returns policy, offering an exchange, refund or credit note for most returns.
You can only return store-bought non-faulty goods for an exchange or refund if the retailer has a returns policy.
It's worth noting that shops aren't required by law to have a returns policy, but if they do have one they must stick to it.
Returns policies are usually displayed on receipts, on signs in store and online. You can also ring the retailer's customer services line to find out about its returns policy.
Remember that if you're trying to return an unwanted item purchased online, you have additional statutory rights to return it under the Consumer Contracts Regulations .
Most retailers impose time limits for returning non-faulty products, such as 28 days, but many extend this timeframe at specific times of the year (for example around Christmas) so you might have more time than you think to return an unwanted product.
If you paid by credit card, you also have extra protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act .
Most retailers have policies which stipulate that they will accept non-faulty returns, as long as items are unused and in perfect condition with their undamaged original packaging.
But there are some returns exceptions worth knowing about.
Depending on a retailer’s returns policy some will only exchange or give you a credit note, while others will give you a refund. But all shops usually require a few key things.
If you simply change your mind, the retailer has no legal obligation to give you your money back, should you return an item without a receipt. However, many stores will offer an exchange or credit note, so its always worth asking.
If your goods are faulty and you don't have the receipt, you still have the right to a repair, refund or replacement as under the Consumer Rights Act . You just need to show proof of payment. A bank statement with the transaction on it may suffice.
The retailer's returns policy may state that customers will only receive a credit note or vouchers, but this should only apply where the item is unwanted. The seller’s returns policy can't require customers to take vouchers where an item has been returned because it is faulty.
The Consumer Rights Act specifies the rights that consumers have if products develop a fault and the seller can’t remove or reduce these.
