With the sales in full swing even before Santa got his sleigh out of the garage, you may already have bagged a few bargains. But if things go wrong, or if you have yet to hit the shops, it’s useful to know your rights.
If an item is marked as reduced it must have previously been on sale at a higher price. If a retailer is claiming that an item is on sale at less than the usual price it charges it must have been at the higher price for at least 28 consecutive days immediately prior to be reduced. If that isn’t the case, the retailer needs to spell out what the offer is and what prices it is using for comparison. If signs around the shop say “half-price sale” or “up to 50% off” the maximum cut should apply to at least 10% of the items on offer at the start of the sale period.
Sometimes retailers will mark things as a “special purchase” rather than a sale item – these are usually things that have been bought specifically for the sale and do not to have been on offer at the shop previously.
There may not be a refund if you change your mind. Retailers are not obliged to give you a refund or an exchange if you simply decide you don’t want something that you have bought in a store – that includes if it’s an item of clothing that doesn’t fit. Most do as a goodwill gesture, but be aware that sometimes they have a different exchange policy during a sale. Some reduce the period in which you can return an item – the usual 28 days might be cut to 14 or even seven, others say that you can only have an exchange or credit note, or refuse any returns on sale items. Look out for signs near the sale racks, or ask before you pay.
Your usual rights apply if an item is faulty. Under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 any item you buy must be of satisfactory quality, match the description given by the trader and be fit for purpose – this applies even if the price has been cut. If you get home and find your bargain doesn’t tick all of these boxes, you should be able to get a repair, a replacement or a refund. The problem needs to be taken up by the retailer in the first six months after you make the purchase – they may try to tell you that you need to contact the manufacturer but this isn’t the case. There is an exception: if an item is in the sale and marked up as having a fault – sometimes you might see clothing that has been reduced because a button is missing or there is a mark on it – you cannot return it and claim a refund for that same problem.
You might not get all of your money back if you return goods bought before the sale. If you take something back during the sale the retailer might only offer to repay the most recent price for it, even if it was bought at full cost. This is less likely if you have a receipt, so if it is an unwanted Christmas present it is worth asking for the proof of purchase before you attempt to exchange an item.
You have extra rights when sales shopping online. While retailers are not obliged to offer refunds if you change your mind about something you buy on the high street, if your sales shopping was done from the comfort of your sofa the situation is different. The Consumer Contracts Regulations, which were introduced in 2014, give you 14 days from receiving your order to tell the retailer that you have changed your mind. You then get 14 days to return the item and the retailer must refund you within 14 days of received it. Some retailers will let you make returns to their stores, but in some cases you will need to arrange to send something back by post, and may have to meet the cost yourself. Retailers should make their returns policies clear on their websites.
If things go wrong with your online shopping and you don’t get your goods within 30 days of ordering you can claim a refund.
There are some items that you can’t return unless they are faulty. Retailers are not obliged to offer refunds on certain items, even if you bought them online. These include personalised and customised items – for example footbal shirts that you’ve had a name put on, or curtains that you’ve had made-to-measure, perishable items like flowers or food, and CDs, DVDs or computer games that have been unwrapped.
