UK Returns & Exchanges: Consumer Rights Explained

At a glance

• Faulty, wrong, or unfit-for-purpose goods (any purchase method): short-term right to reject and claim a full refund within 30 days of delivery — Consumer Rights Act 2015, s.22.
• After 30 days: the trader gets one attempt at repair or replacement first (s.23); if that fails, you can claim a price reduction or the final right to reject (s.24).
• Reversed burden of proof: for the first 6 months, a fault is presumed to have existed at delivery unless the trader proves otherwise — s.19(14)-(15). This does not extend the 30-day short-term right to reject itself.
• Changed your mind about an online, phone, or doorstep purchase? You get a separate 14-day cooling-off right to cancel for any reason, plus a further 14 days to send the goods back — Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
• Changed your mind about something bought in a shop? There is no automatic legal right to return it — that is down to the retailer's own goodwill policy, not the law.
• Return postage for a change-of-mind cancellation: you pay it by default, unless the trader agreed to cover it or failed to say so before you ordered — regulation 35.
• Paid by credit card, item cost £100–£30,000? Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes your card provider equally liable alongside the retailer.
• Since 6 April 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority has direct fining powers over unfair trading practices under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 — it does not change your return rights, but it strengthens enforcement against misleading returns claims.

Three separate rights, often confused as one

People tend to talk about "returning something" as if it's a single right. It isn't — there are three distinct legal frameworks, and knowing which one applies changes what you can ask for and by when:

1. The goods were faulty, not as described, or not fit for purpose. This is governed by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, applies to any purchase (in-store or online), and gives you statutory remedies regardless of the seller's returns policy.
2. You bought online, by phone, or off-premises and simply changed your mind. This is governed by the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and gives you a fixed cooling-off window, even if nothing is wrong with the item.
3. You bought something in person and changed your mind. There is no statutory right here at all — whatever the shop's returns policy says is what you get.

The rest of this page works through each in turn.

Faulty, not as described, or unfit for purpose: the Consumer Rights Act 2015

The three statutory standards

Every contract to supply goods includes statutory terms that the goods must be:

• Of satisfactory quality — meeting the standard a reasonable person would expect, given the price, description, and any information provided (s.9).
• Fit for purpose — including any particular purpose you made known to the seller before buying, if you relied on their advice (s.10).
• As described — matching the description, sample, or model shown to you before purchase (s.11).

If a product falls short of any of these, the trader — not the manufacturer — is legally responsible for putting it right. This is a legal requirement, not a matter of store discretion.

The 30-day short-term right to reject

Section 22 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you a short-term right to reject faulty, mis-described, or unfit goods and get a full refund, provided you act within 30 days of taking ownership (or possession, for hire and hire-purchase agreements). If the goods are sent away for inspection or repair during that window, the clock pauses and resumes once they are returned to you.

After 30 days: repair or replacement first

Once the 30-day window has passed, the remedies change. Under section 23, you can require the trader to repair or replace the goods, at their own expense, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you. The trader gets one reasonable attempt at this before you can move to the next tier.

If repair or replacement doesn't work: price reduction or final rejection

Under section 24, you can claim a price reduction or exercise the final right to reject if: a repair or replacement has already been attempted and the goods still don't conform; repair and replacement are both impossible or disproportionate; or the trader hasn't completed the repair or replacement within a reasonable time. If you exercise the final right to reject within 6 months of delivery, you are normally entitled to a full refund; after 6 months, the trader can make a deduction to reflect your use of the item (except that, for motor vehicles, a deduction can be made even within the first 6 months).

The reversed burden of proof — and its limit

For the first 6 months after delivery, if a fault appears, section 19(14)-(15) presumes it was present at the time of delivery. The trader has to prove otherwise if they want to dispute the claim — you don't have to prove the fault was there when you bought it. After 6 months, that presumption flips: you must show the fault existed at delivery, which is often harder. It's worth being precise here: this presumption supports the repair, replacement, price-reduction and final-rejection remedies — it does not extend the separate 30-day short-term right to reject, which has its own fixed limit.

Worked example: Priya's washing machine

Priya (a fictional buyer) buys a washing machine online. It develops a fault in month 4. Because this is within the first 6 months, the retailer must show the fault was not present at delivery if it wants to refuse a repair — in practice, this is difficult for a manufacturing defect, so the retailer arranges a free repair under section 23. If the same fault recurs after the repair, Priya can move to section 24 and ask for a replacement, a price reduction, or to reject the machine and get a refund (with no deduction, since she is still within 6 months of the original delivery).

Changed your mind about an online, phone, or doorstep purchase? The 14-day cooling-off right

Separate from the fault-based rights above, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give you a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel most distance contracts (online, phone, mail order) and off-premises contracts (doorstep sales, purchases away from the trader's normal premises) — for any reason, even if there is nothing wrong with the item. This is a right to change your mind, not a fault-based remedy, and it exists precisely because you couldn't physically examine the goods before buying, unlike a shop purchase.

You have 14 days from delivery to tell the trader you want to cancel, and then a further 14 days to send the goods back once you've cancelled.

What's excluded from the 14-day right

Regulation 28 excludes several categories, including:

• Goods made to your specification or clearly personalised.
• Goods that deteriorate or expire rapidly (fresh food, flowers).
• Sealed goods not suitable for return for health or hygiene reasons, once unsealed after delivery.
• Sealed audio or video recordings, or sealed software, once unsealed.
• Newspapers, periodicals, and magazines (except subscriptions).
• Goods bought at a public auction.
• Services you expressly asked to be carried out during the 14-day period and which have now been fully performed.

Who pays for return postage

Under regulation 35, you bear the cost of returning the goods, unless the trader has agreed to cover it or failed to tell you before you ordered that you would be responsible for it. Many retailers offer free returns as a customer-service choice — but the law doesn't require it for a simple change of mind, so check the retailer's returns page before you buy if this matters.

Getting your refund

Once you've cancelled and returned the goods, the trader must reimburse you without undue delay, and in any event no later than 14 days after they receive the goods back (or evidence that you've sent them). The refund must go back by the same payment method you used, without any extra fee.

Worked example: Tom's sofa

Tom (a fictional buyer) orders a sofa from a retailer's website. It arrives, and he simply decides he doesn't like the colour in his living room. Nothing is wrong with it. Because this was a distance purchase, Tom can cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 within 14 days of delivery, and has a further 14 days to arrange collection or return. Because the retailer's terms say nothing about covering return costs, Tom is responsible for the collection fee unless the retailer chooses to waive it.

Bought in person? There's no automatic right to return an unwanted item

This is the part most people get wrong. If you buy something in a shop, in person, and simply change your mind — the size doesn't suit, you found it cheaper elsewhere, you no longer want it — the law does not give you a right to a refund, exchange, or credit note. Any such return is entirely at the retailer's discretion, under their own published policy.

Retailers commonly offer goodwill returns windows (28 days is typical) as a competitive customer-service practice, not because the law requires it. Always check — and keep — the store's stated policy at the time of purchase, since it can vary between retailers and even between items within the same shop.

This is separate from your rights over faulty goods, which apply identically whether you bought in person or online (see above). A "no refunds" sign cannot remove your statutory rights over a faulty item — it can only ever describe the store's discretionary policy on unwanted-but-working goods.

Can a retailer insist on a credit note or exchange instead of a refund?

Where you have a legal right to a refund — the 30-day short-term right to reject for faulty goods, or a cancellation within the 14-day cooling-off period — the trader cannot substitute a credit note or exchange without your agreement. Where you are asking for a goodwill return on an unwanted, non-faulty, in-store purchase, the retailer is free to set their own terms, and can lawfully limit this to an exchange or store credit.

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024: what changes, and what doesn't

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 is a significant piece of UK consumer law, but it is primarily aimed at unfair commercial practices — not at rewriting the return and refund rights described above. Its consumer protection provisions, including a ban on undisclosed drip pricing and a crackdown on fake or manipulated reviews, came into force on 6 April 2025.

The change most relevant to this page is enforcement. Previously, unfair trading practices generally had to be pursued through the courts. The Act gives the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) power to investigate and directly fine traders — up to 10% of global turnover in serious cases — without a court process first. In practice, this means a retailer that misleads shoppers about their statutory return rights, or falsifies reviews to disguise a pattern of faulty goods, now faces a faster and more direct enforcement route than before. Your individual right to a refund, repair, replacement, or 14-day cancellation is unchanged; what's changed is the regulator's teeth.

If a retailer refuses to help

1. Put it in writing. Set out what you bought, when, what's wrong (or why you're cancelling), and what outcome you want, with a reasonable deadline for a response. Keep copies of everything.
2. Try a chargeback. This is a card-scheme process (not a statutory right) offered by debit and credit card providers, usually available within a limited window after the transaction — ask your card provider what applies.
3. Consider a Section 75 claim. If you paid by credit card for an item costing between £100 and £30,000, section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes your card provider equally liable alongside the retailer — useful if the retailer has gone out of business or simply won't engage. See our guide on the Consumer Credit Act for how this works.
4. Use alternative dispute resolution (ADR) if the trader belongs to an approved scheme. This is usually faster and cheaper than court. See our guide on alternative dispute resolution.
5. Bring a small claim. If all else fails, the small claims track of the County Court handles claims up to £10,000. See gov.uk: make a court claim for money and our small claims court guide for the process.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming in-store change-of-mind rights match online rights. They don't — the 14-day cooling-off right only applies to distance and off-premises purchases.
• Missing the 30-day window for a full refund on faulty goods, then being surprised that repair or replacement comes first.
• Not keeping proof of purchase. A receipt, order confirmation, or bank statement entry is usually essential — retailers are not obliged to accept a return without some evidence of the transaction and its date.
• Contacting the manufacturer instead of the retailer. Your statutory contract is with the trader you bought from, not the brand that made the item.
• Assuming free return postage is guaranteed for change-of-mind cancellations. By default, you pay it unless the retailer says otherwise.
• Opening sealed hygiene or media items "just to check" before deciding to cancel — this can remove your 14-day cancellation right for that item.
• Believing a "no refunds" sign settles the matter. It cannot override your statutory rights over faulty goods.

Sources and further reading

This guide draws on the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, and current GOV.UK guidance. Full citations are listed above.

This page provides general information about consumer returns and exchange rights in England and Wales. It is not legal advice and is not a substitute for advice tailored to your specific circumstances. The law described was accurate as at July 2026 and is subject to change — always check GOV.UK and legislation.gov.uk for the most current position.