…And if my statutory rights are breached?
What are my entitlements?
The Sale of Goods Act requires that goods be accurately described, of satisfactory quality and fit for any purpose specified. In other words, they must ‘conform to the contract of sale’. If this is not the case within the first 6 months after purchase, you have a range of remedies available to you which you should take up with the seller. It is not a straightforward matter of demanding a refund plus damages if this is unreasonable and disproportionate in terms of the item you bought or the problem you encountered. For example, it would be unreasonable to request a brand new car on the basis of a broken brake light, Similarly, where a washing machine can be easily fixed in situ, you are unlikely to be simply given another one.
Repair, replace, reduce, refund
In the first instance and if considered appropriate, the seller must offer to at least repair the goods. They must do this within reasonable time, at no additional cost to you and without causing any significant inconvenience. It is for this reason you are given a replacement item while the one you bought is being fixed. Take care to ensure however you are given a ‘like for like’ product and not simply the cheapest and most basic model. If a repair is impossible or unfeasible, you must then be offered a replacement. Due to the emphasis on proportionality and reasonableness in this legislation, in most cases you must give the seller reasonable time to repair or replace before demanding your money back and you should be aware that the refund given may well take account of any use you have had of the goods since you took possession of them. If you do not want the seller to repair or replace, or they have told you they are unable to, you can then request they reduce the purchase price to an appropriate amount, although this does not affect your ability to return the item if something else goes wrong.
Common Complaints
- They say I’ve taken ownership so it’s my responsibility
- Do shops have to give me my money back?
- The shop doesn’t want to know, they say it is the manufacturer’s responsibility.
- It’s second hand – do I have any rights?
Your Statutory Rights
Related posts:
I am in a situation with Three Network. I don’t know what my Statutory Rights are but they say I cannot return a mobile during its 14 day evaluation if I personalise it in any way and yet you have to set the time before you can do anything with the phone. This means you are in a catch 22. What are my rights regards trying out the features before I decide. I have two problems. I am a bed-bound paraplegic so can’t check out the shops and secondly my eyesight is poor so I need to check if the mobile has large fonts.
Where do I stand????
I am in a situation with Orange Network (as I have purchase a contract mobile phone from Orange retail Shop). I don’t know what my Statutory Rights are but they say I cannot return a mobile during its 14 day evaluation as they have written in contract form. Is that not against UK Law for statutory rights?
Paul, personalising a phone refers to putting in new hardware or downloading data, it does not refer to changing the settings, which can be changed back to default at any time without a problem. So you fine to check the phone’s features while it is in your possession.
Gurdev, if you bought the phone in a shop and signed a contract you do not have a cooling off period and are now bound by the terms of the contract for the period of the agreement. The shop would argue you entered into a legally binding contact when you signed – and they would be right. The only way you could get out of it is you claim you were ‘misold’ the contract on the basis of something you were told or something implied which later turned out not to be true. My advice would be to talk to them and try to reach some kind of amicable agreement – i.e changing the phone after a reduced time period, but Orange do not have to take the phone back just because you don’t like it.
I have a laptop which has been about a year and 4 months now, and it has started turning off randomly. I purchased the product with a credit card so i am thinking wheter or not this might be protected by the consumer credit act section 75 or the sale of goods act 1979. I have written to comet about the sale of goods act but they have just said no – simple as that. Please help me
Ahmed, Sale of Goods states that an item should be durable (i.e last a reaonable length of time). If it breaks down the retailer is obliged to examine it, and if found to be faulty must offer you a repair. If this cannot be done, then they should replace it. Write to them, quoting consumer remedies under S.48 Sale of Goods, giving them 14 days to respond. If they do not, you will seeking alternative quotes for repair and presenting the bill to Comet for immediate payment.
Catriona, thank you very much for your help. I wrote another letter to them last week stating exactly wot you have just said and guess what, “just out of goodwill” there offering to have a look at it and take it from there free of charge. When i took it to the shop, the guy couldnt believe that someone offered to fix it for free so he had to make so many phone calls and still he was unclear. I asked him “so was my information correct?” he goes yeh it was, there not sure why but a senior manager has authorized a free repair for you. So thanks to everyone whose providing good information on here, thank you to catriona especially!!
Ahmed, it’s incredible the way retilers confuse consumer rights with goodwill gestures, but whatever gets the job done I guess. These people call themselves ’sales consultants’ but don’t know the basics. Well done!
What are my rights if a portable hard disk I bought from the Apple Store stops working after 7 months? If asked, how do I prove it is not down to misuse? What is my best approach when going back to the store, and what reasonable response should I expect?
Thanks!
Dan, electronic faults are rarely a result of misuse, I doubt the Apple Store will consider this to be the case. Sale of Goods mentions durability as an element of satisfactory quality. Your consumer rights if something stops working before it should oblige the retailer to offer a repair in the first instance. If this cannot be done, a replacement.
How does it work when I’m based in the USA and I purchased a mobile from a company based in the Bournemouth, Dorset, UK? I’m currently in dispute with the company because they’ve taken more than 2 months (sequentially) to facilitate 3 repair sessions (with only shipping back costs to me) for my mobile under the manufacturer’s warranty.
Taking more than a month for repairs falls under Distance Selling rules also?
I’ve already sent post to them (as recommended by Consumer Direct) declaring that the company is in probable violation of the Sale of Goods Act because the good is unsatisfactory, and the company took unreasonable time and extreme inconvenience in on-going repair, so I want an exchange/refund as alternative remedies.
The company continues to deny the latter remedies under the Act stating they’ve been acting promptly and satisfactorily, and somehow that aligns with the good being satisfactory, and the repair time reasonable, and that continuing to physically possess the mobile for repair is okay.
Now Consumer Direct recommends I send a 2nd post to declare that the company failed to resolve amicably, and then I need to file in small claims court. This involves a plane ticket, taking time off from work, finding a place to stay, filing paperwork, and so forth — very high hurdles just to get this company to comply.
Do I have any other more reasonable alternatives or solutions?
My little brother has bought a laptop from a store called CEX and he ha a disability so requires extra attention. I feel the product is over priced a crashed on me twice within 24 hours. The store offered me a store voucher which mistakenly I accepted but kept argueing that I want the mony refunded. The manager claims that the statuary rights don’t apply to them the same as oher stores because they are not selling brand new goods. What right do I have of getting m money back for this item which is a laptop.