This Christmas I received many
wonderful gifts but also a few that I didn't fully appreciate or
'understand', and one that was defective.
I have the receipts and on the one hand it feels cheeky to
take them back to the shops, on the other, I know that I would be
wasting my friend's money if I pretended to love it but
secretly hid it in my wardrobe until I could 'pass it on'.
I am of course talking about returning unwanted gifts and also
your rights in returning goods which are defective.
Section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act
1979 (as amended) provides that goods sold must be of satisfactory
quality. If they are not free of defects (even
minor ones), you have a right to reject the goods and claim a full
refund. (Technically it's the person who bought the item that
has a claim).
Let me give you an example. I bought a
wireless speaker (so that I could listen to my laptop itunes in
another room) and the sound quality was very poor - fuzzy and
muffled. I took it back to the shop and they insisted that
you get what you pay for and that it worked well, just not to my
satisfaction.
I discussed the law with the assistant at the national
electronics chain, and insisted that it was not of satisfactory
quality.
In case you were wondering, satisfactory
means the standard that a reasonable person would
expect.
Is it really satisfactory for a speaker system to so compromise
the sound quality that I cannot hear the lyrics? Of course
not. I got a full refund but only after much debate and them
suggesting that I had to buy something else instead. Stick to
your guns - consumer rights are strong in this country.
What about returning unwanted gifts?
This is a bit easier. There is so much competition on the
High Street that you normally have a returns policy that by
far exceeds your legal rights. Check on their websites and,
again, stick to your guns, as it's very possible that the shop
assistant has not been fully trained and is not aware of
the returns policy.
Claims Financial
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