The M&S Christmas TV advert has already hit our screens and the shops are fit to burst with all manner of festive gifts and gadgets - but can buying early affect your consumer rights?
Your ability to get your money back for items can vary greatly depending on where and how you make your purchase. Here’s what you need to know...
Buying online
Buy online, by phone, by mail order or from a TV shopping channel and under the Distance Selling Regulations, you’ve got seven days to return anything you don’t want. But when it comes to Christmas presents, if the person you buy for gets two of the same thing, or you get the wrong size, you can’t get an automatic refund beyond seven days unless the item’s faulty.
Pay the right way for extra protection
Paying by credit card means added protection; as under consumer law if you’re buying something that costs between £100 and £30,000 (even if you only put a portion of the cost on your card), you can get a refund from your credit card provider if the company goes bust, you don’t get the goods or they’re faulty.
Paying by debit card doesn’t offer the same level of protection; but using a Visa debit card means if there’s a problem you can make use of the Visa Chargeback system to get a refund. Ask your bank for details.
And if you’re buying on eBay) make sure you pay by PayPal as this way you can get a refund, (including postage costs), if what you buy doesn’t arrive, is damaged or ‘not as described’ - for example if you’re sold fake goods.
Buying on the high street
Oddly enough you’ve less rights here than buying online, as you’re not automatically entitled to a refund just because you’ve changed your mind; although in practice most shops are more than generous with their returns policies.
The downside of buying early is that you’ll pay full price yet that very same thing that may well end up in the sale bin two weeks later. And if someone wants to return a gift you’ve bought, without the receipt they’ll only get a swap or refund at the sale price.
One way to get round this is by asking for a gift receipt, which does not show the price. Lots of stores offer them and it means anyone can return the item and still get the price you paid or an exchange to that value.
Faulty goods?
You bought it back in October; didn’t open it till Christmas and now that new toaster, coffee maker or whatever just won’t work. Within the first six months there shouldn’t be a problem getting a refund or replacement, but beyond this period it’s down to you to prove any problem is caused by an inherent fault rather than wear and tear.
Always return faulty items with as much of the original packaging as you can along with proof of purchase; either the original receipt or something that shows how much you paid and where and when you bought it like a bank or credit-card statement.
Generous returns policies in the high street
Most high street stores give you around a month to return unwanted purchases. With Next, New Look, John Lewis and Monsoon it’s 28 days, a month with Wallis, 30 days with Argos but just 14 with TK Maxx. One of the most generous is still M&S which came in for criticism after cutting its three month limit to just 35 days – although right now it’s offering refunds and exchanges till mid January 2011.
