You often see signs in shops at the counter which say ‘this does not affect your statutory rights’. But what does this mean? What we are talking about here are the legal obligations of retailers and suppliers to protect consumers from fraud, poor quality, misrepresentation or economic loss. The sale of goods is subject to the inclusion of these statutory rights (or terms), whether or not a written contract exists and whether or not they are specifically mentioned at any stage. Any attempt to mislead you or deny you of them is illegal!
The seller has the right to sell
So what precisely are your statutory rights when you make a purchase? Firstly, you should expect the seller to have the right to sell the item and to be able to transfer full ownership to you. Seems an obvious point really. A second hand car dealer who sells you a stolen car does not have the right to sell that car and you would not take ownership of it, even though you have handed over the money. If the item is not owned by the seller, or the seller has not been given permission to sell the item, the contract is immediately invalidated – and you will own nothing.
It is what you expected?
Secondly, if you have bought something on the basis of the seller’s description or a sample, you should expect the item to conform exactly to that description or sample. If it does not, you have the right to reject the goods, demand a full refund and possibly claim damages. This is still the case even where you have selected or examined the items for yourself before buying them.
Satisfactory quality
And finally, the most commonly cited and hotly contested of all, that of satisfactory quality. There is so much to say about this, it deserves its own section:
- How do you measure quality?
- It’s not fit for purpose
- How long should it last?
- Is the guarantee worth the paper it’s written on?
- I bought it from a bloke down the pub
- Rights when knowingly buying damaged goods
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?
We bought an expensive bed and specified we wanted Medium firmness but when the bed arrived it stated Firm on the label. Another label that details the quality control aspects of the manufacture was missing. The bed maker assures us that the errors only relate to missing labels and have offered us a three month trial. We are concerned that three months on a bed that may not be of the correct firmness. What are our rights?
I bought a brand new caravan off caravans in the sun. The water boiler did not work for the first 21 days although its working now can i claim compensation
I brought 2 sofa’s from Littlewoods back in April 3rd, They were to be delivered by Arrow on the 24th April. I received a text from Arrow saying they would not be able to deliver the sofa’s as there had been a huge fire at one of their depots. One of the sofa’s was returned to Littlewoods which they then gave me a refund. When I phoned about the other sofa I was given another delivery date to which was cancelled by Arrow, I then got in contact with Arrow to see why and they said that they cannot say why and that I will receive a call from their depot. After a couple of weeks I got in touch with Arrow who then arranged a delivery date with me, to which they cancelled yet again saying that the depot will be in touch, as before I didn’t hear a thing from them so got in touch with Arrow to which they said they have the sofa and arranged yet another delivery date. Well they cancelled the date again. This time I phoned Littlewoods who said that Arrow has the sofa and will call to arrange a delivery. By now its the beginning of June, to which I said it has taken 2 months I don’t want it anymore and want a refund as I paid for both sofa’s. One reply was it would take 7 working days to be credited, I got in touch with Littlewoods to ask when I would be credited, they then told me wait 24 hours and it will be there, 24 hours came and still no refund. I was then told it will take 14 working days to be refunded. I’m getting pretty frustrated with both Arrow and Littlewoods passing the buck everytime I get in touch with them. What exactly can I do?
orderd door 5 weeks ago verbally doors haven’t come phone to cancel them he says I cant must take doors or go to small debt court nothing was done in writeing help?
Iv only had my galaxy Samsung A3 31day’s it’s not charging and they won’t give me another fone there saying it’s to be sent away!!
Bought an item from a seller on ebay . Did not receive the item. opened a dispute through ebay resolution .Upshot is I was told will not receive a refund because the seller provided tracking information as proof of delivery. This “proof” was a statement that my order was” left in a porch at the rear”. My reply to this was …..my property has NO PORCH AT THE REAR. there is no access to the back of the property for any deliveries except via the front door. Given this they (ebay) still upheld the decision not to refund my monies paid. ….So buyer beware looks like anyone can claim delivery of a product to an address without the need of physical proof(i.e a signature) or an agreed safe place to leave/ deposit your orders, prior to delivery. Lesson learnt, you could be left without your item(s) and out of pocket to boot !!!!! CAVEAT EMPTOR
Hi,
I’ve bought a diamond ring from very famous action company . I wanted to check its price in Turkey when I was in holiday, and diamond specialist said clarity and other grades are wrong in the certificate , so numbers were not matching . Then I asked in Germany and Switzerland when I was in there, they said this certificate it wrong. Then I asked local specialt in Sheffield for it to be assessed, and they gave me a certificate that proves the certificate that auction company gave me is false. I sent them all the details and copy of everything and they replied and said it’s their opinion , that’s why we don’t thing they should look into this matter anymore . I can’t sell the ring because certificate doesn’t match with ring . What can I do??
I ordered kitchen tiles no deposit was left he told me a price of each sheet on collection he wanted nearly a thousand pounds to do 2.3square meters I said I would get back to him he said if I didn’t want them I would have to pay 200 hundred pounds for him to re sell them as they were sent in from Spain how do I stand if I refuse to have them thank you mrs m cooper
We booked our wedding venue based on the quote they sent us last year. We have paid the £1,000 deposit and everything was going fine. We have recently met to finalise details, after recieving our final quote, the amount has increased by far more than we expected. It turns out the venue actually made a “miscalculation” on the original quote and now want us to pay the difference.
We are arguing that the error is down to them and the original quote should be honoured. Are we correct in doing so?
bought tv for 1700 bought careplan my sons smashed tv screen his only2 they returned my tv damged wont fix it saying its neglect need help pay 5 pound a month
i HAVE HAD TROUBLE WITH WILSON AND CO VAN DEALERS AGAIN YET AGAIN PROBLEM WITH VAN AGAIN THEY HAVE TURNED THE TABLES YET AGAIN SAYING ANOTHER ITEM NOT UNDER WARRANTY THESE BIG BOYS GET AWAY WITH IT AND NO ONE CAN GET PASSED THEM
Purchased a bath 3 years ago with 10 year guarantee also purchased bath panel.Panel broke so I went for replacement told now unable to get bath panel and there is no other compatible panel on sale
What about the late delivery of goods? I ordered and paid down on furniture which I was told would be delivered in 10-11 weeks. I was told at the end of drafting the contract which took forever. It’s now 16 weeks and I’m still waiting. How do my Statutory Rights protect me and can I claim compensation? My son cannot move into his flat without furniture & bills are coming in and the premises is unoccupied.
Hi I have just realised today that the holiday I,m going on next Tuesday I should of gone this Tuesday. I have booked the wrong week. Can I claim anything back as I have to book for next Tuesday as its my brothers wedding in Greece on Friday. Can I get any money or discount
Thank you
Bought a chest of drawers from Argos and started to put together but wood side kept splitting and now looks rubbish and it’s not the cheap stuff you buy could I take it back even though I started to assemble, it’s a lot of money to throw away please need advice thanks
Bought a chest of drawers a couple of weeks ago. Started to assemble and where you put long/legs on at the side to screw to side panels it’s started splitting! Can I take it back as it seems to be poor quality and get my money back?
I signed up for 2 handsets from mobile phone company sunshine mobile in which I had to pay 12 weeks in advance then I should receive my handsets they are now saying most payments were late which my bank statement online didn’t show this and I should of contacted them apparently even though I wasn’t aware and I believe they were requesting payments on the wrong day although I don’t know how to prove this now they want me to pay another 12 weeks on time before I get my handsets I don’t want to continue with the company I’ve paid over £500 what are my rights
I ordered blinds before 1sr of July on the 1st had first fitting but not all I ordered said come back in week still not rich came back again today they say all problems solved but want firstly more money saying not what I ordered. I think its grounds for rebste for taking so long
I am dealing with an issue for my client who ordered a couple of chairs from Multi-York. Quoting their Terms and Conditions they say “At the point of order we will advise you of an approximate delivery date. This is an approximation and on occasions the manufacture or supply of your order may be delayed through circumstances beyond our control. We will, of course make every effort to keep you informed;”
Multi York provided an approximate date and said that they would deliver it during the week of 5th of June. Two weeks later, no chairs were delivered and there was no contact from the store, despite their terms and conditions saying ” We will, of course make every effort to keep you informed”. My client, who is a vulnerable adult requiring sheltered accommodation, was so fed up by this service that she called and cancelled her order. She was given a refund but to her dismay Multi York took over £30.00 as an administration fee. There is absolutely nothing in their terms and conditions about this and having scoured their website, there is absolutely no mention anywhere of this admin fee. In addition to this there is a difference in your rights between a store purchase and an internet order. With a web order they state “You are entitled to cancel your order if you so wish, provided that you exercise your right no longer than 14 days after you receive your goods”. This for some reason does not apply to a store purchase which is what my client made. There is a discrepancy of rights between a store or internet purchase. However, there is still no mention of an admin fee whether the purchase is a store one or a web one.
Surely it cannot be right to take an admin fee without this term being explicitly stated? I contacted their Head Office and their Customer Service said that this is normal policy (their words) but if it is normal policy why is it not explicitly stated on their Terms and Conditions and is it legal to charge a fee without it not being clearly displayed before a purchase is made?
Their Customer Service refused to offer a refund and that was that. Is this not an infringement of a customer’s statutory rights which would be “the legal obligations of retailers and suppliers to protect consumers from misrepresentation or economic loss.”
I feel that Multi York are guilty of misrepresentation as their admin fee is not explicit under their Terms and Conditions and seems to be randomly imposed. The thirty pound admin fee would to my mind constitute economic loss.
I could do with some advice on this and what I can do to escalate this further?
I had a new phone 4 11 months and I’m in a contract for 13 months now the phone broken and the phone company what 96 pounds 2 repair it which I said no and they won’t replace mine phone they saying they want 140 pounds 2 cum out the contract so I stop the dd
My £67 bag bought in ms got wet and left a mark on my coat, should I take it back till the shop