We are well into the Christmas shopping season and have also just experienced another Black Friday, so it’s important to know your rights.

Many of us start our shopping early and like to get prepared for the festive season, so here is everything you need to know on returning unwanted goods from Consumer rights expert and barrister Dean Dunham.

Shopping in store

1. Gift Vouchers:

One of the basic requirements of retailers when you return goods is that you produce the receipt/proof of purchase.

However, when you buy a gift for someone, you don’t want to give him or her the receipt in case they want to return it.

So there is a simple solution in the form of a gift receipt. This is a receipt that the retailer can give you that acts as a proof of purchase without detailing the price paid for the goods.

2. Returning Goods:

Unlike when you shop online you do not have an automatic right to return goods purchased in store, unless they are faulty.

You should therefore confirm with the retailer at the point of purchase that they would accept a return of a gift if the recipient does not like it.

3. Faulty goods:

As with online shopping you always have the right to return faulty goods or goods that do not comply with the law.

The Consumer Rights Act (which applies to all purchases made after October 1) provides that an automatic refund must be given where a fault is found with products within the first 30 days after purchase.

Shopping online

1. The Consumer Contracts Regulations provide shoppers with numerous rights when shopping online, including:

  • The right to return goods (that are not bespoke and not perishable) and receive a full refund, no questions asked, within 14 days of them being delivered to you;
  • The right to receive the refund within 14 days of returning the goods to the trader, and
  • The right to cancel a service contract entered into online within 14 days of entering into it.

2. Online traders must provide you with the following information:

  • A description of what you are buying;
  • The total price of the goods or services;
  • The delivery costs;
  • Details of cancellation rights, and
  • Their full contact details.

If a trader fails to give you the above information it can result in your cancellation rights being extended for up to one year.

3. Traders cannot charge you for additional items added to your order due to a pre-ticked box.

This is fairly common so it’s important to check before you press to complete your order that nothing extra has been automatically added.

4. If goods you buy turn out to be faulty, you have an automatic right to a full refund within the first 30 days thanks to the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Returning goods purchased in a sale

1. Faulty goods:

If you purchase goods that are faulty you have the automatic right, within the first 30 days of purchase, to demand a full refund regardless of whether you paid full or a discounted price.

This is thanks to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which applies to all purchases after October 1, 2015.

2. Non-faulty goods:

If you purchase in store the law does not give you any right to demand a refund unless the goods are faulty.

However, most retailers have generous returns policies so you should check their terms and conditions.

If you purchase online or from anywhere away from a trader’s premises you have the right to change your mind and demand a refund for a period up to 14 days from the date the goods are delivered.

This is thanks to the Consumer Contracts Regulations.

Disputes with retailers

If you cannot resolve a dispute with a retailer you can now take your complaint to The Retail Ombudsman to investigate.

You can either file your complaint online: www.theretailombudsman.org.uk or telephone and ask for a form on 0203 137 8268 .

Dean Dunham is a consumer barrister with 17 years’ experience in consumer law. He is also the Chief Ombudsman of the Retail Ombudsman and the resident legal expert on ITV This Morning. Follow Dean on twitter @deandunham