Get ready for “take-back Tuesday”: 3 January will be the busiest day of the year for shoppers returning Christmas gifts and for delivery companies trucking boxes back to Amazon and other online retailers, loaded with stuff none of us really wanted in the first place.
Women’s clothes are the item most likely to be returned, says the Post Office, after analysing its Tracked Return service, used by more than 1,000 online sellers. It said that the number of returned parcels will spike on Tuesday, with volumes 50% higher than at other times of the year.
So what are your rights, online as well as in the shops? If your mother gave you a jumper in a hideous colour, can you take it back? You can try, but you can’t force the store to take it back. High-street shops are under no legal obligation to take back goods unless they are faulty, not as described or unfit for purpose. Fortunately, many retailers have a “goodwill” returns policy, often extended at Christmas, although you may be offered a credit note rather than a full refund. John Lewis has a generous 90-day returns policy.
If your sister has bought you a book on Amazon that you’ve already read, you should have more luck, as different, more generous, consumer protections apply to items bought online. As consumer body Which? points out, the law gives you 14 days in which to send an item back for a full refund, irrespective of whether it is faulty or not. The trader also has to refund the basic delivery cost.
Amazon goes further over Christmas. Items sold on Amazon.co.uk between 1 November 2016 and 31 December 2016 can be returned at any time before midnight on 31 January 2017. After that date, the retailer reverts to its standard 30-day return policy.
A tricky one is if you hate a present your partner has given you, but don’t want to say so and don’t have the receipt. The law about returns applies to the person who bought the item, not the recipient. If you are lucky, the buyer will have given you a “gift receipt”. If not, you’ll have to ask for the receipt and admit you aren’t happy. Don’t underestimate the importance of taking the item’s original packaging with you – keep the original packaging and labels. Amazon has a return a gift policy where you get a gift card to spend at a later date. Note that you’ll need the 17-digit order ID on the packing.
If your new Fitbit doesn’t work, you are covered under the Consumer Rights Act (which replaced the Sale of Goods Act in October 2015). You have a statutory right to return something and get your money back if it’s faulty. But you’re only entitled to an automatic refund if you return it within 30 days, otherwise you must give the retailer a chance to make a repair or replace the item. Don’t be fobbed off by sales assistants who say the problem is with the manufacturer. The law applies to the seller of the goods, not the maker.
