When Am I Not Entitled to a Refund?

It seems that most people buy things in the expectation that they will be fully entitled to get their money back by way of a full refund if there are any problems, if the item isn’t suitable or they just change their mind. You would probably be surprised at how many common scenarios there are that you would expect entitle you to a refund...but in fact don’t.

The Sofa Won’t Fit in the House!

Oh dear. If you buy a sofa, a bed or anything else that needs to be a certain size to fit where you want it to go, the responsibility is on you to make sure that the item will fit through the door, or will go up the stairs. Or fit into the place in the kitchen where you wanted it to go, in the case of appliances like washing machines or dishwashers.

If the furniture doesn’t fit, you have a big problem and will have to do some serious negotiating with the retailer as the law doesn’t say that the goods you buy have to be fit for your purposes, just that they must be fit for the purpose which they are commonly intended – unless you specifically request something.

So, if you are told by a furniture retailer that a sofa is four feet long, and you have a space four and a bit feet long intended for it, you would be within your rights to complain if it didn’t fit because the sofa was longer than it had been described. But if you don’t measure the space and just assume that it will fit, you will have to fall on the mercy of the retailer and you may have to accept a credit note. By law, the retailer doesn’t even have to give you that, let alone a refund. The moral of the story is always, always measure up if size is crucial. The same applies to curtains, bed covers and carpets.

The Dress Doesn’t Fit Me!

When you buy clothes without trying them on, always check first whether the store has a policy that allows you an exchange or refund if you are not happy or change your mind. The Sale and Supply of Goods Act only entitles you to a refund or any kind of redress if the goods that you buy are ‘not of satisfactory quality’ and if there’s nothing wrong with the dress or shoes that you’ve bought – except that it doesn’t fit you – you are legally entitled to absolutely nothing. Most stores are lenient with their policies but it pays to check, as anything over and above your legal rights under the Sale and Supply of Goods Act is at the discretion of the shop.

It’s Gone Wrong and I’ve Only Had it Six Months!

The Sale and Supply of Goods Act does say that if an item is faulty, and it’s less than six months old, as a rule you should be entitled to compensation from the retailer as it’s judged to have been faulty when you purchased it.

The entitlement to compensation has to be reasonable though, so if you have bought something perishable, or something you wouldn’t usually expect to last for six months, you can’t rely on this. Even if you buy something that you would reasonably expect to last more than six months, and it goes wrong, a refund isn’t the obvious answer.

If the item becomes faulty very quickly, or has never worked, you would be fully justified in demanding a refund. But if you have had a television for five months before it develops a problem, you’ve had five months use from that set and can’t reasonably insist on your money back – although it never hurts to try for a refund first. In that scenario, you may have to accept a repair – or a replacement television if the set can’t be repaired.