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Changed your mind

You do not have automatic rights to get refunds if you change your mind about something you’ve bought and there is nothing wrong with it. Every company has a different way of offering refunds and you need to check your receipt to see if you are entitled to your money back. Most clothes shops especially offer 14 or 30 days to return unused items if you changed your mind. Sale items tend to not be covered but it is always good to check with the provider.

 

14 day cooling off period

You are automatically entitled to a 14 day cooling off period for things you buy you haven’t seen in person – unless bespoke made. This period begins the day after you receive your confirmation of ordering and there doesn’t need to be a fault if you wish to use this.

Please see this template letter for support on requesting less than 14 days

 

Cancel a membership

If you sign up to a gym membership for a certain amount of time (12 months) and you decide to leave before the end of this you are usually expected to pay the remainder of that membership. You will need to check your contract to see if there is a cancelation policy for your gym service.

 

  • If you wish to leave because of illness or injury then you can contact the gym and discuss this “The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)  advises that a gym contract is unfair if it doesn’t let a member cancel through serious injury or illness”

 

  • You cannot afford it. If you have had a change in circumstances that means you cannot afford the monthly payments then your gym should offer you to cancel. Do expect to need to prove this problem to the gym.

 

Returning Goods

If there is something wrong with what you have bought you could be entitled to a refund, repair or   replacement. There is no difference in whether you bought it brand new or 2nd hand you still have the same rights in both circumstances.

Your legal rights include when the item is:

  • Broken or damaged
  • Unusable
  • Not what was advertised

You won’t have legal rights if:

  • You misused the product or wear and tear
  • You knew about the fault before purchase
  • You changed your mind

 

Claiming with warranty or guarantee

Warranties and guarantees add to your legal rights as a consumer, it may be easier to use these to get money back, repairs or replacements. Check your paperwork or receipts for how long these last for –you will need proof of purchase to make a claim under these. 

New or second-hand you have a right to return faulty goods – it is easier to return faulty goods within in the first 6 months of purchase however you have legal rights up to 6 years incase something is faulty.

 

Fake or counterfeit goods

After 1st October 2015 the law changed that you have a legal right to refund within a ‘reasonable’ time of you buying the item. It is not a set in stone time limit but a good approach to take is to set a limit of 2 months to return an item. You can quote the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and say the item doesn’t match its description as it is not real. If you paid for the item over 2 months then you are legally entitled to a partial refund, however the buyer could also offer a genuine item in place of the counterfeit.

 

Seller refuses a refund

Contact your bank if you paid by debit card and ask to use the Chargeback scheme. Contact your credit card company if you paid under £100 and ask to use the Chargeback scheme. If it was more than £100 but less than £30,000 you can ask to make a ‘section 75 claim’. If you find something is fake you can report the buyer to trading standards for fraud, they can take legal action against the buyer but can’t help you to get your money back

 

Item hasn’t arrived

If something hasn’t arrived it is the seller’s responsibility to chase the issue. You can write to them to ask for a refund or a replacement as this is your legal entitlement. If they refuse to replace or give a refund you can complain via their complaints service or use their trade association/ Alternative Dispute scheme to solve the disagreement without going to court. Depending on how much you paid you can use the Chargeback Scheme with your bank or credit card company.

 

Damaged caused by faulty product

If the item you have purchased causes damage to your property through no fault of your own, you could have the legal right to claim compensation under “damages”. Such as a new washing machine leaking and damaging your kitchen. You could do this via any insurance you may have or via the manufacturer that you purchased the item from. You should take pictures of the damage and a copy of invoices/receipts for making good the damages casued.

 

eBay

eBay scams are usually an email sent sent from someone wishing to defraud you and are quite open t requyesting you to transfer funds. Other emails maybe from people impersonating eBay or PayPal. Ensure you check the email/website to verify its authenticity. All eBay emails and websites will end with ebay. E.g ebay.com and ebay.co.uk.

 

eBay has some useful guidance on their website to help  you identify fraudulent activity and advice on how to report it when you see it.

 

If you have experienced an issues with an eBay purchase you should report the buyer using the eBay 'Contact Us' page which is visible once you have logged in. An Advice Worker can help you navigate this process and support you to report an issue.