Unwanted Christmas gifts: What are your consumer rights?
Tuesday, 27 December 2011 10:15
By Kate Saines
There’s nothing like an unwanted to gift to burst the festive bubble over Christmas. We’ve all been there – hurriedly unwrapping that shoe-box shaped gift hoping it’s that pair of much-coveted designer heels only to discover a pair of fluffy Santa slippers inside.
Whether it’s a duplicate of something we already own, an item of clothing in the wrong size or a faulty electrical gadget most of us will be familiar with the disappointment.
There’s usually only three things to do in this situation. Either accept the gift with grace and then leave it gathering dust at the back of your wardrobe, give it away to a charity shop or another worthy donor or take it back to the shop and ask for an exchange or refund.
If you are opting for the latter – it will pay to know your consumer rights. It’s not always easy getting refunds or exchanges without receipts and some stores are more willing to help out in these situations than others.
But, if you have a gift which is broken or faulty through no fault of your own, your rights will really come into force.
Here’s our advice to guide you through the post-Christmas consumer rights maze.
Your basic rights
Every product which is purchased must, by law, be of a certain standard. Goods must be of satisfactory quality – therefore without defects or faults.
They must also be fit for purpose, which means they must do the job they were intended to do.
Goods must also, by law, match their description. If you have purchased them based on a sample, the goods must match that sample.
Anything you buy must also last for a reasonable length of time. For example, the paint on a toy car should not start flaking off after it’s been played with for just ten minutes.
Michele Shambrook of Consumer Direct explained: “It is not acceptable for party clothes to fall apart after just a couple of outings, for a waterproof coat to leak or for your new winter boots to be scuffed when you get them home.
“And people have clear rights to a refund, repair or replacement when purchases are faulty.”
If you simply do not like something because it’s not to your taste or you have changed your mind the law will not be on your side.
In these instances you are reliant on individual stores’ discretion. It’s often good to know the returns policy of each store in advance of buying something and shop owners should be able to make these policies available.
Ms Shambrook added: “People shopping on the high street have no legal right to return an item simply because they have changed their mind.
“Many stores do offer additional rights to return goods, but these refund policies vary from store to store.
“Businesses need to be upfront about what they offer, but you can do your bit by keeping the receipt and making sure you understand your rights before you return your goods.”
Faulty goods
If you’ve received something which doesn’t work, has a fault or was damaged (and it was not your fault) you are well within your rights to return the product.
It is crucial, however, if you are taking it back you do so as quickly as possible. Return the item within 28 days and most stores will give you a full refund.
Leave it any longer and you will find yourself in murky waters. You could find you are only entitled to a part refund or a repair or replacement only, particularly if you’ve used the item after noticing the fault or tried to fix it.
If you return the goods within six months, and the seller accepts they were faulty when sold they will usually offer to repair or replace the item.
But if the trader does not accept they were faulty at the time of purchase, they will have to find proof of this.
You can still return an item after six months, and any time up to six years after a product was bought, and you may be entitled to a repair or replacement provided this is a reasonable amount of time for the item in question to have lasted.
So, what about receipts? Of course it always helps to have a receipt when you take a product back to the shop – so you may have to ask the person who bought you the gift for the receipt.
By law, it’s this person only who is allowed to return the item. Indeed, they will probably need to provide their debit or credit card if purchased using this payment method to receive a refund.
But these rights can be transferred if the recipient’s name is written on the receipt, along with a note saying it’s a gift. Some stores also offer gift receipts too.
If there’s no receipt available, you still have a right to return it provided there is some kind of proof such as a bank or credit card statement recording the transaction.
Unwanted gifts
If you’ve received an item of clothing but it’s the wrong size, a DVD you already own or something you just do not like you may be able to get an exchange at the trader’s discretion.
But as consumers we have no legal right to return an item purely because it does not fit, we don’t like the colour or we’ve changed our mind.
Having said that, if a gift you receive is not of satisfactory quality or falls apart the moment you touch it, your rights instantly kick in.
Before returning an unwanted gift, find out where it was purchased and check that store’s return policy.
Many stores offer exchanges or credit notes as a goodwill gesture – especially at Christmas - as part of their customer service policy. So you may be able to – at the very least – choose something else from the store you prefer.
Buying online
Everyone buying goods online is allowed a seven day cooling off period during which you can return items you are not happy with. This period begins from the day you receive your online purchase.
This rule applies to all ‘distance selling’ organisations – so if goods were bought through mail order or over the phone the cooling off period also applies.
If you’ve received an unwanted gift bought online it’s pretty likely – unless it was given by a last minute shopper – you will not be within the seven day period.
If the item is faulty, it’s a different matter. In this case the same consumer rights rules apply as for items bought on the high street.
In this case, you may be able to get the seller to collect it or return the cost of postage. And, as with high street stores, it’s worth checking the retailer’s policy on exchanges and refunds.
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