What the law says - advice for retailers

It is good business practice to treat your customers fairly. There are many laws and consumer organisations to help protect consumers. The information in this section should help you avoid unhappy customers. There is also guidance on how best to deal with customer complaints.

What the law says

There are three key laws that you should be familiar with. For goods, there is the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended). For services, there is the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 (as amended). For both goods and services, there is the Trade Descriptions Act 1968. There is some information below about these three laws. More details of these and other consumer protection laws are covered in Relevant Legislation.

Goods that you sell or supply must meet three conditions. They must be of satisfactory quality, fit the description and be fit for purpose.

Satisfactory quality covers things like appearance and finish of the goods, their safety, fitness for their normal purposes and the length of time they should continue to do what they are meant to do. Goods must also be free from flaws, even minor ones, except when these are brought to the customer's attention (for example, in the case of shop-soiled goods).
Fit description means that the goods should match any description given to them. This could be on the packaging, on a label, or in any statement the saleperson makes about the goods.
Fit for purpose means that the goods must do what they claim to do. This is in addition to your customer's right that the goods should be fit for their normal purposes.

Services that you sell or supply, like dry cleaning, decorating, building or car repair, must meet the following four main conditions:

You must do the work with reasonable skill and care.
If you didn't agree a specific time limit with your customer before starting the work, you must finish it within a reasonable period. The same principle applies to goods which have to be ordered. If no delivery date is agreed at the time of sale, you should deliver within a reasonable time. If you don't, the customer may be entitled to cancel their order and get their money back.
If you didn't agree a specific cost with your customer before starting the work, your charge must be a reasonable one. If you give your customer an estimate, make sure that they know that you have not given them a quotation. An estimate is a rough guide, but a quotation is the agreed or contract price.
Any materials you use must be of satisfactory quality, correspond with the description and be fit for any particular purpose.

Descriptions you use about goods you're offering for sale must be true. If they're not, you're committing a criminal offence. For services, you're committing an offence if you know or do not care that the statements you're making are misleading. False descriptions can be spoken or in writing.

Refunds, Repairs and Replacements

If a buyer rejects goods because they do not meet one or any of the conditions listed in the law (satisfactory quality, fit description, fit for purpose) and asks for their money back when they have not accepted the goods, you will generally have to make a full refund.

If you don't agree that the goods are faulty, it may be reasonable for you to delay a decision until you have returned them for a manufacturer's inspection. This should take a reasonable time. If there is no dispute, you are obliged to make an immediate refund, although your customer may be happy to accept a free repair or a replacement instead.

If your customer takes an unreasonable time to reject the goods, they may be said to have accepted the goods. Accepting or rejecting goods is a legal point. Under the law, if a buyer accepts goods, they have fewer legal rights than if the goods are deemed to have been rejected. You don't have to give a full refund on accepted goods but you may have to give a partial refund, free repairs or a replacement.

You do not have to do anything for a buyer who has simply changed their mind and no longer wants the goods. However, for goodwill, you may want to offer an exchange, a credit note or a refund.

When you sell goods, you have entered into a contract with the buyer. If there is anything wrong with the goods, it's up to you and not the manufacturer, to put things right.

Items bought during sale time

Someone who buys goods in a sale has exactly the same legal rights as they would have at any other time. However, it is acceptable for you to have a less generous exchange policy on sale goods. You should let your customers know if you change your customer policies at sale times.

You should also note that a buyer cannot complain about a defect which you pointed out before they decided to buy the goods, or which was so obvious that they should have noticed it if they examined the goods.

Proof of purchase

Before resolving a complaint, you may want to check that they did buy the goods from you. However, a receipt is not the only proof of purchase. The customer may also use a bank/credit card statement, a cashed cheque or the word of a person that accompanied them at the time of purchase.

Guarantees

Guarantees from manufacturers do not take away a customer's legal rights: they add to them. A sale is a form of contract and the parties to the contract are you and the buyer. That's why it's you, and not the manufacturer, who is obliged to offer a refund, repair or replacement if a buyer rejects faulty goods where he has not 'accepted' them. Accordingly, you must not try to insist that a claim be made under the terms of the guarantee.

Under the terms of their guarantees, manufacturers usually promise to fix any faults occurring during (say) a 12 month period for free. You should not automatically take the manufacturer's guarantee period as the period of your legal obligation to the buyer. The goods that you sell should do what they are supposed to do for a reasonable time. A manufacturer's guarantee period does not necessarily cover a reasonable period. If you do provide compensation for faulty goods outside a guarantee period, you can use your legal rights as a buyer to try to get compensation from the manufacturer, wholesaler or whoever you bought the goods from.

Warranties

Warranties usually extend the guarantee period by a number of years. Some warranties do not cover the cost of repairing damage caused by normal wear and tear. If you're offering such a warranty, you should make the buyer very aware of this limitation to help avoid any future trouble.

Codes of Practice

Codes of Practice are now quite common. If you have one of your own or belong to a trade association which has a code, you must make sure that you do what your code says you will do.