Your shopping rights in the summer sales
August 17, 2023
The summer sales are still in full swing with bargains aplenty! When snapping up that irresistible sales rack offer, you might well be wondering do your consumer rights change. It’s a common myth that buying in the sales means compromising your consumer rights, but that’s far from the case.
Buying in the sales
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2022, you have strong consumer rights when buying goods and services. When you buy something in a sale at a reduced price, you have exactly the same rights and protections as you do if you bought it at full price.
Learn more about your consumer rights.
Faulty sales item
Businesses cannot say they won’t provide exchanges or refunds during the sales period. This includes faulty items. If a fault occurs within 30 days of buying the product, you can cancel your purchase and get a full refund. The refund must be the actual price you paid and not the sale price it may now have dropped to.
Sometimes a business may agree to sell you an item that has a flaw at a reduced price. For example, you agree to buy a jumper which has a tear in one of the sleeves. In this case, you cannot return the jumper later, claiming that it’s faulty.
Change of mind
It’s easy to get tempted by the summer sales hype and buy on impulse. Buyer’s remorse can quickly set in after forking out for something you don’t really need or want. If you buy in the summer sales online , a cooling off period applies where you can change your mind and get a refund. This period lasts up to 14 days from when you receive the item.
If you buy in person from a shop however and have a change of heart, you cannot be sure of a refund or exchange. It depends entirely on the individual store’s policy. Allowing for change of mind returns is a gesture of goodwill on their part. They are within their rights to change their returns policy during the summer sales. You will need to check the store’s policy before you buy.
Misleading sale prices
Businesses are required to be upfront and not mislead you into thinking you’re getting a better deal than you actually are. It is against the law for businesses to give false or misleading information on sale prices.
They must display the lowest price a product was on sale for in the previous 30 days and base the discount on this price alone. The CCPC can take enforcement action if we find that a business misled you. If you feel that a business has breached your consumer rights, you can report the business to us.
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