Get it right on returns

COMMENT

I HAVE had a few conversations with retailers and consumers over the last couple of weeks that suggest lots of people are still not clear on their consumer rights.

In particular, I’m finding that there seems to be a lot of confusion about the rights you have when you take back goods that are faulty and the rights that you have when you take back something that just doesn’t fit, or where you have decided that you just don’t really like it.

The long and short of it is that if you return goods just because you’ve changed your mind for whatever reason, then you have absolutely no rights at all under consumer law.

You will only be able to refund or exchange goods if the retailer allows it – and even then you might have to jump through hoops, like having the original packaging or a receipt.

To take an extreme example, if you buy a sofa and don’t measure the room it is going into, or the width of the doors and hall that it has to travel through to get to the room, then you have no automatic right to a refund if the delivery drivers get it to your front door and then find that it doesn’t fit.

The retailer could argue that you should have checked these sizes before you placed your order and it’s your own fault if you didn’t.

Having said that, it did happen to me recently. Although, to be fair, it was someone from the shop who measured the room and they gave me a refund and just sold the piece of furniture again, so all is not lost.

But the point is that you can’t automatically expect a refund in these situations.

I’m keen to find out from you whether you think the law works in your favour.

I’m looking for some Daily Record readers to talk to me about any problems they have faced when returning faulty goods or items that don’t suit.

If you think you can help, then please drop me a line at moneydoctor@dailyrecord.co.uk.