Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015

Bought something that broke within weeks? Paid for a service that was done badly? The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the main law protecting you when you buy from a business, and it applies across the UK. Here are the key rights in plain English, and how to use them.

Who the Act covers

The Act covers contracts between a trader (a business) and a consumer (an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession). It doesn’t give you these rights when you buy privately from another individual, for example through a classified advert, although the goods must still match their description. Business-to-business contracts are governed by other law.

Your rights are against the retailer that sold you the item, not the manufacturer. A shop that says “take it up with the manufacturer” is wrong about your legal rights, although a manufacturer’s guarantee may give you an extra option.

Goods: the three key standards

Goods must be:

• Of satisfactory quality: what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory, taking into account the price, description and other circumstances. This includes appearance and finish, freedom from minor defects, safety and durability.
• Fit for purpose: fit for their usual purpose, and for any particular purpose you made known to the seller before you bought.
• As described: matching any description, sample or model.

If the trader installs the goods, they must be installed correctly, and goods must match any information about them that you relied on when deciding to buy.

Your remedies for faulty goods

The short-term right to reject: 30 days

If goods don’t meet the standards, you have a short-term right to reject them and get a full refund. This generally lasts 30 days from when you took ownership and the goods were delivered (and installed, if relevant). For perishable goods it can be shorter. Once the trader agrees you are entitled to a refund, it must pay within 14 days.

Repair or replacement

After 30 days, or earlier if you prefer, you can ask for a repair or replacement. The trader must provide it within a reasonable time, without significant inconvenience to you, and bear the costs, including postage.

The final right to reject or a price reduction

If a repair or replacement fails, isn’t possible or takes too long, you can then choose a price reduction or the final right to reject and get your money back. If you exercise the final right to reject more than six months after delivery, the trader may make a deduction for the use you have had. In the first six months no deduction is allowed, except for motor vehicles.

Who has to prove what

If a fault appears within six months of delivery, it is presumed to have been there at delivery unless the trader proves otherwise. After six months it is usually for you to show the fault was there from the start, for example because the item has failed unreasonably early. In England and Wales you can generally bring a claim up to six years from delivery (the period is different in Scotland), but what you can expect depends on how long the item should reasonably have lasted.

Digital content

Downloads, apps, games, e-books and streamed content must also be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. If they aren’t, you are entitled to a repair or replacement and, if that fails, a price reduction, which can be a full refund. If faulty digital content damages your device or other content, the trader may have to repair the damage or compensate you.

Services

A trader providing a service must:

• carry it out with reasonable care and skill;
• stick to anything it said about the service or itself that you relied on, whether in writing or orally;
• charge a reasonable price where no price was agreed in advance; and
• carry it out within a reasonable time where no timescale was agreed.

If the service falls short, you can ask the trader to put it right (“repeat performance”) at no cost to you. If that isn’t possible or isn’t done within a reasonable time, you can ask for a price reduction, which in some cases can be the full price.

Unfair terms

Part 2 of the Act says that unfair terms in consumer contracts, and unfair consumer notices, are not binding on you. A trader can’t, for example, use the small print to exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or to take away your statutory right to goods of satisfactory quality.

Related rights worth knowing

• Buying online, by phone or away from the trader’s premises: the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 generally give you 14 days to cancel, even if nothing is wrong, though there are exceptions such as personalised items.
• Paid by credit card: for a single item costing more than £100 and up to £30,000, section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 can make the card provider jointly liable with the trader.
• Paid by debit card: your bank may be able to help through the card scheme’s chargeback process. Ask promptly, as there are time limits.

How to use your rights

1. Stop using the item if it is faulty, and keep proof of purchase (a bank or card statement is usually fine).
2. Contact the retailer quickly. Say which right you are using, for example “I am exercising my short-term right to reject under the Consumer Rights Act 2015”, and what you want.
3. Put it in writing, keep copies, and give a reasonable deadline, such as 14 days.
4. If the trader belongs to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme or trade association, use it.
5. Get free advice from the Citizens Advice consumer service.
6. As a last resort, consider a small claim in the county court.

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