Your Rights When Buying Second-Hand Goods in England & Wales

At a glance

• Buying from a trader (dealer, shop, charity retailer, online business): the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies in full — satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose, as described, and the three-tier remedy ladder.
• Buying from a private individual: the CRA 2015 does not apply. The only implied protection is that goods must match their description (Sale of Goods Act 1979, s.13). There is no right to satisfactory quality.
• 30-day short-term right to reject: if goods from a trader are faulty, you can reject them within 30 days for a full refund — no deduction for use.
• After 30 days: you may ask for repair or replacement first; if that fails, a price reduction or a (possibly reduced) final refund.
• Six-month presumption: within six months of delivery, faults are legally presumed to have existed at the time of sale — the trader must prove otherwise (CRA 2015, s.19(14)).
• Public auction exception: second-hand goods sold at a public auction where you can attend in person fall outside the CRA quality provisions (CRA 2015, s.2(5)).
• No receipt needed: you don't have to produce the original receipt to claim your rights — proof of purchase (a bank statement, card slip, or email confirmation) is enough.
• This guide covers England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have equivalent but distinct provisions.

The information on this page is general guidance only, not legal advice for your specific situation.

The most important question: who are you buying from?

Your rights depend almost entirely on whether you are buying from a trader or a private individual. Getting this wrong is the single most common mistake buyers make.

A trader is anyone acting for purposes relating to their trade, business, craft or profession — a car dealer, a charity shop, a pawnbroker, a refurbisher selling on eBay, a vintage clothing shop. If a business entity or someone running a regular commercial operation is on the other side of the transaction, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies. See our fuller guide to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 for how the trader/consumer split works across goods, digital content and services generally.

A private seller is an individual who is genuinely selling their own goods outside any business context — a neighbour selling their old sofa, someone clearing their attic on Facebook Marketplace, a private car seller on Autotrader. The CRA 2015 does not apply to these transactions at all.

The distinction matters enormously because the rights are radically different:

| Scenario | Quality right? | Right to reject? | 14-day cancellation (online)? | |---|---|---|---| | Trader sale (any channel) | Yes — CRA 2015 s.9 | Yes — within 30 days | Yes — CCR 2013 | | Private sale (in person) | No | No statutory right | No | | Private sale (online) | No | No statutory right | No |

If you are unsure whether a seller is a trader, look at their listing history, whether they have a business name or VAT number, and how often they sell. A business that falsely presents itself as a private individual is engaging in a banned commercial practice — since 6 April 2025 this sits under Schedule 20 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which replaced the earlier Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. If you suspect a business is disguised as a private seller, report it to your local Trading Standards office.

Common types of second-hand seller

The trader/private-seller line is usually clear once you know what to look for:

• Traders — car dealers and forecourts, charity shops, pawnbrokers, antiques and vintage dealers, refurbishers and "certified pre-owned" resellers, and any business account on a marketplace. Trading Standards guidance is explicit that a charity shop is still a trader for CRA purposes, even though it is a not-for-profit organisation.
• Private sellers — an individual clearing out their own possessions, whether at a car boot sale, in a local classifieds group, or via a personal listing on a marketplace. The fact that a sale happens through a commercial platform (eBay, Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, Vinted) does not itself make the seller a trader — it depends on who is actually selling.
• Public in-person auction houses — a distinct third category with its own carve-out for second-hand goods (see below), even though the auction house itself is a business.

Your rights when buying from a trader

What the law requires: satisfactory quality (CRA 2015, s.9)

Every contract to buy goods from a trader includes an implied legal term that the goods are of satisfactory quality (s.9 Consumer Rights Act 2015). "Satisfactory" means the standard a reasonable person would consider acceptable taking into account:

• the description of the goods
• the price paid (or other consideration)
• all other relevant circumstances — including the item's age, condition, and any public statements made about it

For second-hand goods this calibration is important. A used item is not expected to be in perfect condition. A £500 car is assessed very differently from a £5,000 one. But the fact that something is second-hand does not mean it can be non-functional, unsafe, or substantially different from what was described.

Quality aspects the law considers include: whether the goods are fit for all their usual purposes, their appearance and finish, freedom from minor defects, safety, and durability (s.9(3)).

Two things the quality term does not cover:

1. Defects specifically drawn to your attention before the contract — if the seller says "the left speaker is blown" and you buy it anyway, you cannot later complain about the speaker.
2. Defects that ought to have been revealed by your examination before buying — but this is narrow. It covers cosmetic flaws plainly visible on inspection, not hidden or internal faults a lay person would not detect.

Fit for any particular purpose you made known (CRA 2015, s.10)

There is a second, narrower quality term that catches situations the general satisfactory-quality standard does not. Under s.10 CRA 2015, if you tell the trader — expressly or by clear implication — that you want the goods for a particular purpose before you buy, and you rely on the trader's skill or judgment, the contract includes an implied term that the goods are reasonably fit for that purpose, even if that is not the purpose the goods are usually bought for.

This matters for second-hand purchases in particular: if you tell a used-tool dealer you need a saw capable of cutting a specific material and they sell you one that cannot do it, that can be a breach of s.10 even if the saw is otherwise of satisfactory quality for general use. The remedies for a breach of s.10 are the same tiered remedies (sections 19–24) that apply to a breach of satisfactory quality.

Goods must match their description (CRA 2015, s.11)

Separately from quality, any description applied to goods — whether in a listing, on a label, or said verbally — becomes a contractual term under s.11 CRA 2015. If a refurbished laptop is listed as having "8GB RAM" and arrives with 4GB, that is a breach of s.11 regardless of the laptop's overall condition.

'Sold as seen' and 'no refunds' signs are void

A trader cannot exclude or restrict these implied terms. Under s.31 CRA 2015, any contract term that would exclude or restrict a trader's liability for satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose, or matching description is not binding on the consumer. A sign saying "sold as seen — no refunds" displayed by a trader has no legal force and does not limit your statutory rights.

The three-tier remedy ladder

When goods from a trader are faulty, misdescribed, or unfit for purpose, your remedies unfold in three tiers.

Tier 1: the 30-day short-term right to reject (CRA 2015, s.20 and s.22)

For the first 30 days after delivery, you have the right to reject faulty goods and receive a full refund with no deduction for use (s.20 and s.22 CRA 2015).

The 30-day clock starts the day after you take delivery. The trader must give you the refund without undue delay and within 14 days, using the same payment method you used, at no charge to you.

One important detail: if you ask the trader for a repair or replacement within the 30-day window and they begin that process, the 30-day clock pauses. After you get the goods back, you have 7 days (or whatever remains of the original 30, whichever is longer) to decide whether the repair or replacement has fixed the problem. If it has not, you can still exercise the short-term right to reject.

Tier 2: repair or replacement (CRA 2015, s.23)

Once the 30-day window has passed, you can ask the trader to repair or replace the goods (s.23 CRA 2015). The trader must do this within a reasonable time, without significant inconvenience, and at their own cost. You cannot insist on a remedy that is impossible or that would cost the trader wholly disproportionate expense compared to the other option — but if one is genuinely disproportionate, the trader must offer the other.

Tier 3: price reduction or final right to reject (CRA 2015, s.24)

You can move to this tier only if (s.24 CRA 2015):

• a repair or replacement has been carried out but the goods still do not conform; or
• both repair and replacement are impossible or disproportionate; or
• the trader failed to carry out the agreed repair or replacement within a reasonable time.

You then choose between a price reduction (reducing what you paid to reflect the defect) or a final right to reject (returning the goods for a refund). Unlike the Tier 1 refund, a deduction for your use of the goods may be made — except that for non-vehicle goods rejected within the first six months, no deduction is permitted. Motor vehicles are an exception — a deduction for use can be made on a car even within the first six months. Our guide on vehicle purchases and consumer rights covers the car-specific rules in more depth.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of the whole remedy ladder outside the second-hand context, see how to handle faulty goods.

The six-month presumption: why timing matters

Within six months of delivery, any fault that appears is legally presumed to have existed at the time of sale — unless the trader can prove otherwise or the presumption is plainly incompatible with the nature of the fault (such as obvious misuse) (CRA 2015, s.19(14)).

This is enormously important in practice. If a fault surfaces in month four, you do not need to prove it was there when you bought the item. The legal burden sits with the trader. (Note that this reversed-burden presumption applies to the repair, replacement, price-reduction and final-rejection remedies — the short-term right to reject in the first 30 days works differently, and the burden of showing a fault at that early stage sits with you as the consumer.)

After six months that presumption disappears. Your rights under ss.23–24 continue for up to six years (Limitation Act 1980), but you now need to establish on the balance of probabilities that the fault was present at the time of sale. For used goods with wear and tear, this can be difficult without expert evidence.

Practical takeaway: if a fault appears in the first six months, act quickly. Write to the trader, describe the fault, and refer to the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Do not wait.

Worked example: Priya's refurbished laptop (fictional)

Priya buys a refurbished laptop from an online electronics reseller (a trader) for £350. The listing says "fully working — battery holds charge for 6 hours." She takes delivery on 3 March.

On 18 March — 15 days later — the laptop refuses to connect to any Wi-Fi network. The fault was not mentioned in the listing and was not visible on inspection.

Day 15 — within the 30-day window: Priya emails the trader, citing the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and exercising her short-term right to reject. She is entitled to a full refund of £350 with no deduction. The trader must refund her within 14 days of receiving the laptop back and bear the reasonable cost of return postage.

Had Priya waited until day 45, she would have lost the short-term right to reject. She could still ask for a repair or replacement under Tier 2. If the repair failed, she could then claim a price reduction or final right to reject under Tier 3, though a deduction for her use of the laptop during those 45 days would be permissible.

Buying from a private seller: a different legal world

When you buy from a private individual — not a trader — the Consumer Rights Act 2015 plays no part.

The only implied protection is section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979: where goods are sold by description, they must match that description. Section 13 applies to all sellers, not just businesses. So if a private seller describes the item in a listing, on a receipt, or verbally, those descriptions are binding. A mismatch entitles you to treat the contract as repudiated and claim a refund.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979, s.14 — which requires satisfactory quality and fitness for purpose — only applies to sellers acting "in the course of a business" (s.14(2)). Private sellers are explicitly excluded. There is no implied quality term in a private sale. Our dedicated guide to the Sale of Goods Act 1979 covers what it does and does not give you as a buyer.

Beyond the description duty, your legal options are limited to:

• Misrepresentation Act 1967: if the seller made a false statement of fact that induced you to buy — for example, "it has never been in an accident" (false) or "it was serviced last month" (false) — section 2 of the Act gives you a claim for damages, even if the misrepresentation was not made fraudulently, unless the seller can show they had reasonable grounds to believe the statement was true. You may also be entitled to rescind the contract.
• Express terms: anything the seller agreed to in writing or verbally that formed part of the contract.

The practical implication is stark: inspect thoroughly before buying privately, ask questions in writing so you have evidence of what was represented, and consider having a used car checked by an independent mechanic before purchase. Once you hand over the money, your legal position is weak if the goods simply turn out to be poor quality. See our fuller guide to consumer rights in peer-to-peer transactions for more on where the practical and legal gaps sit.

Online marketplaces: trader or private seller?

Online platforms like eBay, Facebook Marketplace, and Gumtree host both traders and private individuals. The law that applies depends on who you are actually buying from — the platform is not the seller.

If you are buying from a trader on a marketplace, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies in full, and if the purchase is completed online, you also have the 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

If you are buying from a private seller on a marketplace, you are in private-sale territory. The platform's own buyer protection scheme — eBay's Money Back Guarantee or Facebook's Purchase Protection — is a contractual policy, not a legal right, but it often gives a practical remedy when goods are not as described. Check its terms before you rely on it.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 is a powerful parallel protection worth noting. If you paid by credit card, and the goods cost over £100 and up to £30,000, your credit card issuer is jointly and severally liable for any misrepresentation or breach of contract — even in a private sale, even on a marketplace. This is independent of the platform's policies and can be very effective when a private seller disappears or refuses to engage. See our guide to consumer rights when buying on credit.

Auction purchases: a specific carve-out

Auctions have their own rule. Under section 2(5) of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, if you buy second-hand goods at a public auction where individuals have the opportunity to attend in person, the implied quality terms (satisfactory quality, fitness for purpose, and the tiered remedies) do not apply.

What remains even at a public in-person auction:

• the duty that goods match their description
• the right to good title
• delivery rights

What falls outside the exemption:

• New goods at auction — the exemption only covers second-hand goods.
• Online-only auctions — if there is no opportunity to attend in person (standard eBay auction format, for example), the full CRA 2015 applies, provided the seller is a trader.
• Hybrid auctions (in-person and online bidding simultaneously) — the position for online bidders at a hybrid auction is legally uncertain and has not been tested in the courts.

Do you need a receipt to claim your rights?

No. GOV.UK guidance is clear that you do not have to produce the original receipt to make a claim against a trader for faulty goods. What you do need is some way of showing that you bought the item from that trader, roughly when, and how much you paid. Acceptable evidence includes:

• a bank or credit card statement showing the transaction
• a card payment slip
• an order confirmation or dispatch email
• the original packaging or a warranty card bearing the trader's name
• a witness who was present at the purchase

This applies specifically to a claim that goods are faulty. If a trader chooses, as a matter of goodwill, to offer refunds or exchanges on goods that are not faulty (because you simply changed your mind), they are entitled to ask for the receipt as a condition of that discretionary policy — that is different from your statutory right, which does not depend on it.

How your statutory rights relate to a warranty or guarantee

Second-hand goods — especially cars, appliances and electronics — are often sold with an additional warranty, either from the trader or a third-party warranty provider. It is worth being clear that this is a separate, voluntary arrangement and does not replace your statutory rights.

Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 exist regardless of any warranty, run against the trader who sold you the goods, and cannot be reduced, shortened, or excluded by a warranty's terms and conditions. A trader cannot lawfully tell you to "claim on the warranty instead" as a way of avoiding their own responsibility under the Act. In practice, a warranty may be quicker to use for some claims, but you always retain the option of pursuing your statutory rights if the warranty route fails or does not cover the fault. See our dedicated guide on statutory rights versus manufacturer warranties for a fuller comparison.

What to do if a purchase goes wrong

1. Document everything first. Photograph the fault, gather your receipt or listing screenshot (or any other proof of purchase — see above), and note the date you discovered the problem.
2. Write to the seller promptly. For a trader, state clearly that you are relying on the Consumer Rights Act 2015, describe the fault, and specify the remedy you want (reject, repair, or replacement). Keep it factual.
3. Give a reasonable deadline. Allow the trader a reasonable time to respond — 14 days is usually appropriate for a written response; longer for a complex repair.
4. Escalate if needed. If the trader ignores you or refuses, you can raise the matter with the Citizens Advice consumer service for free guidance, or report the trader to your local Trading Standards office via GOV.UK. For smaller disputes (up to £10,000), the small claims track is designed for self-represented individuals and does not require a solicitor. For distance purchases, many traders are also members of an approved alternative dispute resolution scheme.
5. Consider Section 75 if you paid by credit card. If the item cost over £100, contact your card issuer and raise a Section 75 claim.

This guide is general information about the law in England and Wales as at July 2026. It is not legal advice for your specific situation. If your dispute is high-value, complex, or involves a trader who is being obstructive, you should consider speaking to a regulated solicitor.

Last reviewed: July 2026 · Next review due: July 2027 or on legislative change.