There is plenty of confusion out there about what your consumer rights are when you buy a product. Are you entitled to bring it back if you don't like it? How long do you have to complain? Are you eligible for a refund or a repair?
This is your basic guide to what your rights are and when.
Your consumer rights kick in when you buy something that is faulty, isn't as described, or is not of merchantable quality. In other words, it's supposed to work and is supposed to perform as was described to you, either on the box or by the sales assistant.
Your rights do not cover a situation where you just don't like what you bought, or if you bought an item of clothing that doesn't fit or a coffee table that is too big for your living room.
In these circumstances whether you can return something or not depends on the shop's own returns policy.
This is why it's so important firstly to measure the table or try on the clothes and, secondly, to ask what the returns policy is.
Most good shops will have their returns policy written on your receipt or at the till. If not, ask them if you can return the product if you don't like it and if so what the timeframe for returning unwanted goods is.
Many shops will give you a 10 to 28 days returns period. Some will offer a refund or exchange but others will only give a credit note. At least if you know that in advance you won't be disappointed later.
However, if the jumper, table, kettle or camera you bought turns out to be a dud then you are protected by consumer law, no matter what the shop's returns policy is. In such a case you need to know about the three Rs: repair, replacement, refund.
The idea is that the retailer will provide you with a remedy that brings you back to what was agreed originally i.e. that you hand over the money and they give you something that works as it is supposed to. So if you bought a camera two days ago and not all of the functions work then you should expect a refund or a replacement camera. Likewise if your new shoes fall apart after two wears. On the other hand, if your DVD player worked perfectly for several months and then broke down, you should allow the retailer to try and repair it first and if that doesn't work -- ask for a replacement.
When you buy electrical goods they often come with a manufacturer's warranty. Warranties can be very useful as an extra protection or if the retailer goes out of business, for example. But this is in addition to your statutory rights, not instead of them.
So if your washing machine breaks down and you go back to the shop where you bought it, they might tell you to contact the manufacturer and use your warranty.
But let's say your warranty is only for one year and it's now 18 months since you bought the machine, the manufacturer may still be happy to repair it but will probably charge you a fee. Forget it.
The retailer and not the manufacturer is still legally obliged to remedy the situation for you, and so the retailer should provide a repair, replacement or refund at no cost to you.
And for how long can you sing this song? Well, probably longer than you think, although you have to be reasonable and take into account the intended lifespan of the product in question.
Thanks to European legislation (Directive 99/44/EC) you can be sure that wherever you shop in Europe you have at least two years' protection. Bear in mind that this is not a guarantee period but rather the length of time in which you can enforce your rights.
While many member states have adopted this two-year complaint period, it is a minimum standard and so countries are free to have a longer period. In Ireland, under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980, no limitation period is mentioned at all.
However, as per the Irish Statute of Limitations 1957, you have six years in which to make a complaint, and we can rely on this as the European legislation is in addition to and not instead of our existing legislation.
Now you know your rights you have the knowledge to complain effectively -- so do it.
- Tina Leonard