Consumer Rights Act 2015

The Consumer Rights Act 2015

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 replaced three big pieces of consumer legislation - the Sale of Goods Act, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations and the Supply of Goods and Services Act. 

The Consumer Rights Act introduces: 

  • 30 days to get a refund  For the first time a specific timeframe has been created in which you can reject a faulty item and get a full refund - now 30 days 
  • A 'tiered' remedy system  In place for faulty goods, digital content and services, this means your rights to a refund are now more clearly set out. Whether you're entitled to a refund depends on how long you've owned the product. 
  • Failed repairs  After one failed attempt by the retailer to repair or replace a faulty item, you're entitled to ask for a refund or price reduction.  
  • A second repair or replacement  If you don't want a refund or price reduction, you have the right to request another repair or replacement at no cost to you. 
  • Deductions from refunds No deduction can be made from a refund in the first six months after purchase. The only exception to this is motor vehicles, where a reasonable reduction may be made for the use you’ve had of the vehicle. 
  • Digital content rights  This new law gives consumers rights in relation to online digital content that is paid for, digital content supplied free with other paid for items and digital content supplied on a physical medium, such as a DVD. 
  • Unfair terms in consumer contracts  It will now be easier for consumers to challenge hidden fees and charges.  Now the key terms of a contract, including price, may be assessed for fairness unless they’re both prominent and transparent.   
  • Pre-contract information  The Consumer Rights Act states that if a retailer provides pre-contract information in relation to a service and you take this information into account, the service must comply with that information. 

Product quality 

As with the Sale of Goods Act, under the Consumer Rights Act all products must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.  

The rules also include digital content in this definition. So all products - whether physical or digital - must meet the following standards:  

  • Satisfactory quality  Goods shouldn't be faulty or damaged when you receive them. You should ask what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory for the goods in question? For example, bargain bucket products won’t be held to as high standards as luxury  goods. 
  • Fit for purpose  The goods should be fit for the purpose they are supplied for, as well as any specific purpose you made known to the retailer before you agreed to buy the goods. 
  • As described  The goods supplied must match any description given to you at the time of purchase. 

Who should you claim against?  

If what you’ve bought doesn’t satisfy any one of the three criteria outlined above, you have a claim under the Consumer Rights Act. 

If you've bought a faulty product, you can read our guide which shows you what you should do and how to make a claim. 

If you want to make a claim under the Consumer Rights Act, you have several possible ways of resolving your issue, depending on the circumstances and on what you want to have done to remedy the situation. 

Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act are against the retailer – the company that sold you the product – not the manufacturer, and so you must take any claim to the retailer.  

What you can claim depends on how much time has passed since you made the purchase. Read on to find out what your rights are in the first 30 days after purchase and beyond. 

30-day right to reject

Under the Consumer Rights Act you have a legal to reject goods that are unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described and get a full refund - as long as you do this quickly. 

This right is limited to 30 days from the date you buy your product. After 30 days you will not be legally entitled to a full refund if your item develops a fault. 

This right to a refund doesn't apply to purely digital products though - such as music, games or apps that you buy as downloads. 

You can however ask for a digital product to be repaired or replaced if it develops a fault. 

Perishable goods

The 30 days is shorter for perishable goods where the period will be determined by how long it is reasonable to have expected the goods to last. For example, milk would be expected to last until its use-by date as long as it’s stored correctly. 

Repair or replace

If you are outside the 30-day right to reject, you  have to give the retailer one opportunity to repair or replace any goods or digital content which are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described. 

You can ask the retailer to repair or replace faulty goods, but it can normally choose to do whichever would be cheapest.

If the attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful, you can then claim a refund or a price reduction if you wish to keep the product.

You're entitled to a full or partial refund instead of a repair or replacement if any of the following are true:

  • the cost of the repair or replacement is disproportionate to the value of the goods or digital content
  • a repair or replacement is impossible
  • a repair or replacement would be significantly inconvenient
  • the repair would take unreasonably long
  • the repair has been unsuccessful.

If a repair or replacement is not possible, or the attempt at repair fails, or the first replacement also turns out to be defective, you have a further right to reject the goods for a full or partial refund.

If you don't want a refund and still want your product repaired or replaced, you have the right to request the retailer makes further attempts at a repair or replacement.

Use our step-by-step guide if you want to ask a retailer to repair or replace something you've bought that subsequently develops a fault. 

The first six months

If you discover the fault within the first six months from purchase, it is presumed to have been there since the time of purchase - unless the retailer can prove otherwise.

During this time it's up to retailer to prove that the fault wasn't there at the point of purchase - it's not up to you to prove that it was. 

If an attempt at repair or replacement has failed, you have the right to reject the goods for a full refund or price reduction - if you wish to keep the product.

No deduction can be made from a refund in the first six months following an unsuccessful attempt at repair or replacement.

The only exception to this rule is motor vehicles where a reasonable reduction may be made for the use you've already had of the vehicle after the first 30 days.

If you'd prefer to keep the goods in question you can request an appropriate price reduction.

Six months or more

After the first six months the burden is on you to prove that the product was faulty at the time of delivery. 

In practice, this may require some form of expert report, opinion or evidence of similar problems across the product range. 

Find out more about how to return a faulty item and claim a refund, repair or replacement from a retailer.

You have six years to take a claim to the small claims court for faulty goods in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and five years in Scotland. 

This doesn't mean that a product has to last six years - just that you have this length of time in which to make a claim if a retailer refuses to repair or replace a faulty product. 

Goods that have a digital element

For goods that have a digital element, such as a smart TV or digital content supplied in a physical form, you do have a 30-day right to reject it and get a refund.

This right applies if any part of the product, including the digital element - for example, the software on your smart TV - doesn't work properly or develops a fault. 

Digital content

The Consumer Rights Act defines digital content as ‘data which are produced and supplied in digital form.’

Just like goods, digital content must be:

  • of satisfactory quality
  • fit for a particular purpose
  • as described by the seller.

If digital content does not conform to these criteria, you have the right to a repair or replacement of the digital content you've purchased. 

But if that repair or replacement doesn’t fix the situation, you can ask for a price reduction which can be up to 100% of the cost of the digital content.

The retailer will have to compensate you if any device or other digital content you own is damaged as a result of the digital content you've downloaded.

This applies where that damage would not have occurred had ‘reasonable care and skill’ been exercised in the provision of the digital content - even if that content was provided free of charge.

Digital content covered

  • Any digital content for which you have paid for - whether that’s with money, a gift card or credits.
  • Any free digital content supplied with goods, services of other digital content for which you pay a price. For example, a digital programme you need to download in order to watch a paid-for online streaming service.
  • Any free digital content not usually available for free unless you pay a price for it or the goods, services or digital content it’s supplied with. For example, a smart TV or any other product with digital content pre-installed.

Delivery rights

The retailer is responsible for goods until they are in your physical possession or in the possession of someone appointed by you to accept them. 

This means that retailers are liable for the service provided by the couriers they employ - the delivery firm is not liable. 

The retailer is responsible for the goods until they are delivered to you and in your possession.

Late deliveries 

There is a default delivery period of 30 days during which the retailer needs to deliver unless a longer period has been agreed. 

If the retailer fails to deliver within the 30 days or on the date that has been agreed, you can do the following:

  • If your delivery is later than agreed and it was essential that it was delivered on time, then you have the right to terminate the purchase and get a full refund. 
  • If the delivery isn’t time essential but another reasonable delivery time can’t be agreed, you’re also within your right to cancel the order for a full refund. 

Supply of a service

The term 'service' covers a wide variety of services including large and small-scale work you might have carried out in your home.

From a small repair job on a vehicle with no written details or the installation of solar panels to a new kitchen or major building work, all these require you to enter into a contract.

Services can be provided alone or they may be provided with goods, for example, the fitting of a new kitchen. 

What is a service?

Examples of services provided without goods include:

  • dry cleaning
  • entertainment
  • work done by professionals, such as solicitors, estate agents and accountants
  • building work or home improvements.

Examples of services provided with goods include:

  • repairs to goods where parts are replaced eg car repairs
  • fitted kitchens or bathrooms
  • home improvements involving building and decorating work
  • double glazing

In all of the above examples, the service contract is governed by the Consumer Rights Act which means you can use this as protection should anything go wrong.

The rules mean that all contracts for services must do the following: 

  • The trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill.
  • Information which is said or written is binding where the consumer relies on it.
  • Where the price is not agreed beforehand, the service must be provided for a reasonable price.
  • The service must be carried out in a reasonable time.

If the service you’re provided doesn’t satisfy these criteria, you’re entitled to the following remedies under the Consumer Rights Act:

  • The trader should either redo the element of the service which is inadequate or perform the whole service again at no extra cost to you, within a reasonable time and without causing you significant inconvenience.
  • Or, in circumstances where the repeat performance is impossible or can’t be done within a reasonable time or without causing significant inconvenience, you can claim a price reduction. Depending on how severe the failings are this could be up to 100% of the cost.

Unfair contract terms

Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act make it easier to challenge hidden fees and charges.

Now the key terms of a contract, including price, may be assessed for fairness unless they are both prominent and transparent.  

This is an improvement for consumers because previously such terms were exempt from a fairness test if they were written in plain language.  

Terms may be deemed unfair if:

  • they are contrary to the requirements of good faith - meaning they must be designed, negotiated and entered into with the consumer in a fair and open way
  • they cause a significant imbalance between the rights of the retailer and consumer to the detriment of the consumer.

You can use our guide to challenge unfair terms in contracts.

Unfair terms

Some examples of terms that may be unfair under the Consumer Rights Act include:

  • fees and charges hidden in the small print
  • something that limits your legal rights
  • disproportionate default charges
  • excessive early termination charges

If you think a contract term is unfair, you should complain to the trader.

If the trader doesn't agree, we recommend you seek legal advice before breaking the terms of the contract.

As a last resort you could take the trader to court and the court will decide whether a term is unfair. 

If the court decides that a term is unfair you may be able to ignore the term or even cancel your contract without having to pay a cancellation fee.

Source: http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act

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Copyright © Consumer Academy 2015
This publication has been produced by Turkish Republic Ministry of Customs and Trade with the support of the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union within the concept of the Project titled ‘Consumer Academy’. The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of Turkish Republic Ministry of Customs and Trade and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the Turkish National Agency and the Commission.