Know your rights with faulty goods and unwanted gifts

It’s important to be aware of your rights as a consumer, particularly when it comes to damaged products

If you bought or received something which turns out to be faulty, EU consumer protection law gives you the right to either: a refund, a repair, a replacement product or a reduction in price.

FAULTY goods? Unwanted gifts? The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has put together a consumer rights guide, detailing all you need to know about returns.

If you bought or received something which turns out to be faulty, EU consumer protection law gives you the right to either a refund, a repair, a replacement product, or a reduction in price. This is regardless of whether you bought the item online, in-store, at full price or at a discount.

Research commissioned by the CCPC in November showed that the vast majority of consumers don’t know that they can have up to six years to return faulty goods.

That said, how long the item was used for is considered when resolving issues, so you should act as soon as you notice a fault.

Contact the retailer who sold you the item, and make sure you’ve got proof of purchase, such as a till receipt, to help negotiate a solution.

The CCPC’s research also showed that 45% of consumers believe that the returns period for faulty goods depends on the product guarantee or warranty. It doesn’t.

Guarantees and warranties

Any guarantee or warranty offered by a vendor exists in addition to your consumer rights. This means that even if your product guarantee or warranty has expired, you may still be entitled to a repair, replacement or refund, as covered by your statutory rights.

This is an important point, and worth remembering when a vendor tries to sell you additional warranties.

The CCPC’s research showed that the majority (89%) of those surveyed knew to ask the retailer who sold them the faulty item to fix the problem.

A large cohort of respondents also identified the product’s warranty provider (68%) and the product manufacturer (50%) as also being responsible for offering a solution.

If you buy a product and it turns out to be faulty, the business you bought it from has to address the issue. They’re not allowed to fob you off by referring the matter to the manufacturer.

The seriousness of the fault usually determines the remedy. 

If it’s a major fault and arises within the first six months, the law assumes that it was there at the time it was bought. In that case you’re entitled to a full refund.

If the remedy is a repair, that repair should be permanent, so that the problem doesn’t re-occur. If it does, you’re then entitled to either a replacement or a refund.

If the product can’t be repaired, the seller can offer to replace it instead. The replacement should be to the same value as the original item. You should never be required to pay for it.

What’s more, if the replacement costs less than the item which was originally bought, you’re within your rights to get the difference in price back. If the business fails to repair or replace the item within a reasonable timeframe, you can also request a full refund.

Remember too that a refund is a refund, not a credit note.

If the item has been repaired or replaced and still doesn’t work, you can ask for a reduction in price. That’s as long as you’re happy to put up with the fault.

The next step, if none of this works out, is the small claims procedure. You can find more information about this service at courts.ie. In a nutshell, small claims accepts cases up to the value of €2,000 following a non-refundable deposit of €25.

If you bought an item, but have changed your mind about it, or if you got an unwanted gift and wish to return it, the first thing that you need to be aware of is that your rights and entitlements are different depending on whether the item was bought online or in-store.

If you buy something online and subsequently change your mind, under EU consumer protection law, you have 14 days from the day the item arrives to cancel your order, and then 14 days from when you cancel to return the item and get a full refund.

Changing your mind

If you change your mind about an item you bought in-store, and it’s not actually faulty, your rights and entitlements will depend on the store’s own returns policy.

Most stores will offer a returns period, but remember that this is a goodwill gesture on the part of the store, not a legal obligation. So be sure to check out the ‘change-of-mind returns’ policy on the business’s website, or on your till or gift receipt.

If you bought items online from an EU website, but they were either delayed or never arrived, it’s important to know that you have strong rights when it comes to delivery timeframes.

If you buy items online from an EU website, but they were either delayed or never arrived, you have strong rights when it comes to delivery timeframes.

If you haven’t received your delivery, and the business told you they would deliver it by a certain date, then you’re entitled to agree a different date or cancel the contract and get a full refund.

If you were not given a delivery timeframe, then, under consumer law, the business must deliver your order within 30 days. Don’t forget that you also have 14 days to change your mind if the product arrives too late.

It’s also important to know that unless you organised your own delivery, a business is responsible for the goods until they arrive at your door.

So if a business gets a courier to deliver an item to you, they have to deal with the courier if there are any problems, and if the item doesn’t arrive, it’s up to the business to organise a replacement or a refund.

When it comes to items you bought online, one of the most important things to be aware of is that your consumer rights are different depending on where the business you bought from is based.

If the goods were bought from an EU-based business, you have strong consumer protections.

However, if the goods were bought from a non-EU website, this means that these rights don’t automatically apply. If something does go wrong or you wish to return or exchange an item or gift, it may be more difficult to get the issue resolved.

Check the business’s website for terms and conditions for any additional information on your right to a refund and, if it’s not clear, contact the business directly to explain your circumstances and ask what options are available to you.

For more information on your consumer rights when shopping, visit CCPC