Expert Q&A: Shopping in the sales
Q Can a shop refuse a refund on a faulty item bought in a sale?
It depends. When you buy goods in a sale, you have exactly the same consumer rights as you have at any other time. That means that, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the item must be as described, of satisfactory quality, and fit for purpose. If it’s not, you have the right to return it.
If you do so within 30 days, you’re entitled to a refund; after that, the retailer can opt to repair or replace it instead.
However, this doesn’t apply where there’s a fault in the item that’s clearly pointed out or absolutely obvious before you buy it, as is sometimes the case with reduced merchandise.
But if the item develops another fault, you can still get a refund. For example, if a washing machine was reduced because it had a dent in it, and you knew that when you bought it, you couldn’t get a refund because of the dent – but you could if it also didn’t work properly. Similarly, if an item is sold as ‘shop-soiled’, you can’t take it back because of minor cosmetic faults, but it still has to be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose in other respects.
Q What about non-faulty goods bought in the sale?
If you simply change your mind about the item, or buy the wrong size, there’s no general legal right to a refund, whether it was bought in a sale or not. If the retailer has a clearly stated policy offering refunds if you change your mind, they have to stick to that – but they can suspend the policy, or impose a shorter returns period during a sale, as long as that is made clear before you buy, either verbally or through notices around the store and at the checkout.
Q I’ve seen signs saying, ‘No refunds on sales goods’. Can a shop do that?
No, they can’t. A shop can’t restrict your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, so if you buy a faulty item in the sale, that notice makes no difference at all; the rules described above still apply. Not only that, it’s illegal to display a notice that misleads customers about their rights, and you should report the retailer to the Trading Standards Department at your local council.
Sometimes stores add words along the lines of ‘This does not affect your statutory rights’. All that means is that they know perfectly well you’re entitled to return faulty items, but by clothing the message in jargon, they hope you don’t!
Q I thought I’d spotted an incredible bargain, but when I took it to the checkout, the shop assistant said it had been marked wrongly and I couldn’t buy it at that price. Is that legal?
Yes, perhaps surprisingly, it is. A shop isn’t obliged to sell you anything at the marked price (or sell you anything at all). In law, displaying the item for sale is what’s called an ‘invitation to treat’, and that invitation can be withdrawn at any time before the retailer accepts your offer to buy. So if the shop assistant had already taken your money, and then spotted the mistake, it would be too late. In this case, though, they saw the mistake in time.
However, a retailer who persistently displays goods at the wrong price can be guilty of an offence, and should be reported to Trading Standards.
Q What about buying in the sales online?
If you buy goods online you have additional rights, which apply equally during sales, whether goods are faulty or not. In most cases, you can cancel the order from when you placed it, up to 14 days after receiving the goods. You have to return the goods within 14 days of cancelling (and unless they’re faulty, you’ll have to pay postage costs). Then the retailer has to give you a refund within 14 days of receiving them.