Return or exchange goods

Purchase with a right to return or exchange – things to think about 

• It’s up to the shop to decide whether you can return a purchase within a specific time period for your money back or an exchange. The merchant also decides on the rules and procedures it will apply for its returns policy. 

• Make sure you know what applies when you purchase a product and that it is clearly stated on the receipt. 

• Save the receipt. 

What does a purchase with right to return mean?

A purchase with right to return simply means that you can return something purchased to the shop and get your money back. The merchant decides on if they want to offer the option to return the item and how many days after the purchase this will be offered.  

What is the right of exchange? 

The right to exchange means that you can return a product to the shop and choose another product instead. It is the merchant who decides if there is a right of exchange and how many days after the purchase this will be offered. 

At times when you want to exchange what you purchased the shop may offer you a credit note, which you can use at a late date to buy something else from the same shop. With a credit note you don’t get a refund of the money paid as you would if the shops return policy gave you a right to a refund. 

The shop decides its returns policy for refunds or exchanges 

There is no law that gives you the right to return goods for a refund or to exchange them. The possibility of a refund or an exchange is up to the individual merchant’s to offer or not. The shop has the right to decide for itself what its policy will be and the terms it wants to offer. For example some merchants offer a the possibility of returning the item for a refund within 30 days, while others do not accept any returns. 

Shops may also have terms and conditions returning an item for a refund or exchange. For example, you may not be allowed to return or exchange the product if you have opened the packaging. In addition, the refund policy sometimes states that any refund will only be sent to the same credit card you used for the purchase. 

What is the difference between a "purchase with right to return" and a statutory “right of withdrawal”? 

Sometimes people confuse a shop offering the right to return with the statutory right to reconsider and withdraw from the purchase, but these are two different things. 

The right of withdrawal is a statutory right you automatically have if you purchase something at a distance, i.e. without dealing with someone while being physically at the company’s business premises. Purchasing online or from a telemarketer are two examples of this. You also have the right of withdrawal if someone from the company comes to your home and your agreement to purchase is made there, referred to as off-premises sales. The right of withdrawal is governed by a statue and is not something companies can decide for themselves. 

For items purchased in person in a shop, you will not have any statutory right of withdrawal. However it is common for shops to offer customers the possibility to return what they have purchased and get a refund or exchange the item. There is however no law requiring shops to offer money back terms or a right to exchange. 

You always have a statutory right to claim redress if a product is faulty 

If the product you have purchased is faulty, you always have the right to claim redress. This applies irrespective of whether the store’s returns policy offers an explicit right to return the item within a certain number of days. 

How to lodge consumer complaint