Consumer Rights Act 2015

The Consumer Rights Act sets out your rights when you buy products, services and digital content.

Product quality - what should you expect?

As with the Sale of Goods Act, under the Consumer Rights Act all products must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.  

The rules also include digital content in this definition. So all products - whether physical or digital - must meet the following standards:  

• Fit for purpose: The goods should be fit for the purpose they are supplied for, as well as any specific purpose you made known to the retailer before you agreed to buy the goods. 
• As described: The goods supplied must match any description given to you, or any models or samples shown to you at the time of purchase.
• Satisfactory quality: Goods shouldn't be faulty or damaged when you receive them. You should ask what a reasonable person would consider satisfactory for the goods in question. For example, bargain-bucket products won’t be held to as high standards as luxury goods.

One aspect of a product being of satisfactory quality is durability, in other words how long it lasts.

Durability takes into account many different factors like product type, brand reputation, price point and how it is advertised. For example you're unlikely to be able to claim a cheap kettle that's stopped working after four years isn't durable. Whereas a more premium and expensive kettle that's been well looked after and has stopped working after 14 months could be considered to not be durable, and therefore not of satisfactory quality

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Who should you claim against?  

If what you’ve bought doesn’t satisfy any one of the three criteria outlined above, you have a claim under the Consumer Rights Act. 

If you've bought a faulty product, you can read our guide, which shows you what you should do and how to make a claim. 

If you want to make a claim under the Consumer Rights Act, you have several possible ways of resolving your issue, depending on the circumstances and on how you want the retailer to remedy the situation. 

Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act are against the retailer – the company that sold you the product – not the manufacturer, so you must take any claim to the retailer.  

What you can claim depends on how much time has passed since you physically took ownership of the goods. 

How long do you have to return a faulty product?

The Consumer Rights Act gives you the legal right to either get a refund for goods that are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, or get it repaired  - depending on how long you've owned it:

• 0-30 days: You can claim a full refund for goods that are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described. 
• 30 days-six months: You must give the retailer one opportunity to repair or replace it before you can claim a refund.
• Six months or longer: You must give the retailer one opportunity to repair or replace it before you can claim a partial refund, and the burden of proof is on you to prove the product is faulty.

If you'd prefer a repair or replacement in the first 30 days you can ask the retailer, but it cannot refuse to give you a refund.

The 30 day right to a refund doesn't apply to products you've bought as downloads - such as music, games or apps. You can, however, ask for a digital product to be repaired or replaced if it develops a fault. And if this isn't possible, or unsuccessful, you have the right to get a price reduction - which could be the full amount you paid. 

The 30 day period is shorter for perishable goods, and will be determined by how long it is reasonable to have expected the goods to last. For example, milk would be expected to last until its use-by date, as long as it’s stored correctly.

Your right to a repair or replacement

You can state your preference, but the retailer can normally choose whichever would be cheapest or easier for it to do.

If the attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful, you can then claim a refund or a price reduction if you wish to keep the product.

Beyond the first 30 days of ownership you're entitled to a full or partial refund instead of a repair or replacement if any of the following are true:

• an attempt at repair or replacement has failed 
• the cost of the repair or replacement is disproportionate to the value of the goods or digital content
• a repair or replacement is impossible
• a repair or replacement will cause you significant inconvenience
• the repair or replacement will take an unreasonably long amount of time.

If a repair or replacement is not possible, or the attempt at repair fails, or the first replacement also turns out to be defective, you can reject the goods for a full refund.

If you don't want a refund and still want your product repaired or replaced, you have the right to request that the retailer makes further attempts at a repair or replacement.

If you discover the fault within the first six months of having the product, it is presumed to have been there since the time you took ownership of it - unless the retailer can prove otherwise.

The retailer can't make any deductions from your refund in the first six months following an unsuccessful attempt at repair or replacement.

The only exception to this rule is motor vehicles, where the retailer may make a reasonable reduction for the use you've already had of the vehicle after the first 30 days.

If a fault develops after the first six months, the burden is on you to prove that the product was faulty at the time you took ownership of it. 

In practice, this may require some form of expert report, opinion or evidence of similar problems across the product range.

Digital content

The Consumer Rights Act defines digital content as ‘data which are produced and supplied in digital form.’ Or, in other words:

• Any digital content you have paid for - whether that’s with money, a gift card or credits.
• Any free digital content supplied with goods, services or other digital content for which you pay a price. For example, an app you need to download onto your phone in order to watch a paid-for online streaming service
• Any free digital content that's supplied with goods, services or digital content that you've paid a price for. For example, a smart TV or any other product with digital content pre-installed.

Just like goods, digital content must be:

• of satisfactory quality
• fit for a particular purpose
• as described by the seller.

If digital content does not conform to these criteria, you have the right to a repair or replacement of the digital content you've bought. 

But if a repair or replacement isn't possible, or doesn’t fix the situation, you can ask for a price reduction. This can be up to 100% of the cost of the digital content.

The retailer will have to compensate you if any device or other digital content you own is damaged as a result of the faulty digital content you've downloaded.

This applies where that damage would not have occurred had ‘reasonable care and skill’ been exercised in the provision of the digital content - even if that content was provided free of charge.

Delivery rights

The retailer is responsible for goods until they are in your physical possession, in the possession of someone appointed by you to accept them or delivered to your nominated safe place. 

This is because your contract is with the retailer, who you bought the goods from.

So, if your goods are still undelivered and you would like to make a complaint, you should complain to the retailer - even if you think it’s down to a poor service from the courier. 

If you’re in the unfortunate position to have had your parcel stolen, your rights will depend on whether you gave the retailer or courier permission to leave your parcel there.

Examples of giving permission include:

• You selecting an option on the retailer's website that confirms you're happy for your goods to be left with your nominated neighbour if you're not in. Usually you'll then be asked to give some basic information about your nominated neighbour, so the retailer can notify the courier where to leave your goods. (eg. Mrs Jones at number 48.)
• You responding to a 'Sorry we missed you' email from the courier, confirming that you're happy for the courier to leave your goods in your 'safe place' when they attempt to redeliver the goods tomorrow. Usually you'll then give some basic information about your safe place so the courier knows where it's safe for them to leave your goods. (eg. behind the big blue flower pot at the back of the house.)

Read our delivery rights guides for more information on what to do when things go wrong, including what to do if your online order hasn't arrived.

Late deliveries 

There is a default delivery period of 30 days, during which the retailer needs to deliver unless a longer period has been agreed. 

If the retailer fails to deliver within the 30 days, or on the date that has been agreed, you can do the following:

• If your delivery is later than agreed and it was essential that it was delivered on time, then you have the right to terminate the purchase and get a full refund.
• If the delivery isn’t time-essential but another reasonable delivery time can’t be agreed, you’re also within your right to cancel the order for a full refund. 

Find out more: Consumer Contracts Regulations

Supply of a service

The term 'service' covers a wide variety of services including large and small-scale work you might have carried out in your home or elsewhere. 

From a small repair job on a vehicle with no written details to the installation of solar panels, from a haircut to major building work, all these require you to enter into a contract.

Services can be provided alone or they may be provided with goods, for example, the fitting of a new kitchen. 

What is a service?

Examples of services provided without goods include:

• dry cleaning
• entertainment
• work done by professionals such as solicitors, estate agents and accountants
• building work or home improvements (if you bought the materials and the builder used those).

Examples of services provided with goods include:

• repairs to goods where parts are replaced, eg car repairs
• fitted kitchens or bathrooms
• home improvements involving building and decorating work (if the builder supplied their own materials)
• double glazing

If you have a contract for any of the services above, the Consumer Rights Act sets out minimum standards that apply to the service and also remedies if the trader falls short of these standards.

Minimum standards that apply include:

• The trader must perform the service with reasonable care and skill.
• Information that is spoken or written is binding where the consumer relies on it.
• Where the price is not agreed beforehand, the service must be provided for a reasonable price.
• Unless a particular timescale for performing the service is set out or agreed, the service must be carried out in a reasonable time.

If the service you’re provided doesn’t satisfy these criteria, you’re entitled to the following remedies under the Consumer Rights Act:

• The trader should either redo the element of the service that's inadequate, or perform the whole service again at no extra cost to you, within a reasonable time and without causing you significant inconvenience.
• Or, in circumstances where the repeat performance is impossible, or can’t be done within a reasonable time or without causing significant inconvenience, you can claim a price reduction. Depending on how severe the failings are, this could be up to 100% of the cost, and the trader should refund you within 14 days of agreeing that you're entitled to a refund.

Unfair contract terms

Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act make it easier to challenge hidden fees and charges.

Unless a contract term is both prominent and transparent, it can be assessed for fairness. Find out more in our guide to challenging unfair terms in contracts.

Unfair terms

Some examples of terms that may be unfair under the Consumer Rights Act include:

• fees and charges hidden in the small print
• something that tries to limit your legal rights
• disproportionate default charges
• excessive early termination charges.

If you think a contract term is unfair, you should complain to the trader.

If the trader doesn't agree, we recommend you seek legal advice before breaking the terms of the contract.

As a last resort, you could take the trader to court and the court will decide whether a term is unfair. 

If the court decides that a term is unfair, you may be able to ignore the term or even cancel your contract without having to pay a cancellation fee.