Retail Wrongs: MSE reveals 30 retailers including Selfridges, New Look and The Range MISLEAD shoppers about their legal online returns rights
New research by MoneySavingExpert.com (MSE) found that at least 30 big retailers are misleading shoppers over their statutory return rights, and that areas of their websites list harsher criteria than the law requires them to offer.
The UK's biggest consumer website scoured the online information of over 400 of the UK's most popular retail brands and found that 30 list online return policies which suggest customers have fewer rights than the law prescribes. HMV, Home Bargains and The Range, for example, all have areas of their websites that state online orders must be returned within 14 days of receipt, when by law customers have up to 28 days after receipt to return an item.
What's more, five of the firms (including Monsoon and New Look) are still listing policies which dismiss consumer rights laws despite being named and shamed by MSE in 2018.
The problem with sites publishing incorrect information is that if shoppers see it, they may think that they are unable to return items when they have legal right to.
Statutory rights always overrule individual retailer policies
The law explicitly outlines the timeframes consumers have to return online purchases. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013:
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Consumers always have 14 days from the day after receiving an item to notify the retailer of a return.
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Shoppers then have another 14 days after that to send the item back for a refund (so a maximum of 28 days in total).
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Stores must inform customers of their legal rights surrounding returns before they make a purchase.
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If shoppers aren’t informed of their cancellation (return) rights (by the failure to display info on websites or on receipts, for example) the return window is extended by 12 months.
In law, 'receipt of goods' happens when the consumer takes physical possession of them. In the case of delivered items, this means the day the item is delivered to the address or the person the consumer specifies.
Some retailers choose to go above and beyond these statutory rights with their own returns policy, eg, Ikea gives you 365 days to return an item, and many companies extend their returns window over the Christmas period. If the retailer does that forms part of your contractual rights.
Crucially though, company policies can never give worse rights than what's set in law. If a retailer insists that its policy stands, shoppers should contact Citizens Advice and report it to Trading Standards. Trading Standards told MSE that it relies on information being given to it, so the more reports it receives, the better.
The rules also apply to goods purchased via 'click and collect'.
Martin Lewis, founder of MoneySavingExpert, said:
"These rules aren't new. It is over a decade since they came into effect. And this isn't about a one-off occasion of a store assistant not being briefed and misquoting the rules in person. These incorrect rules are set in stone on their websites.
"I suspect stores are just trying to publish their own internal returns policies, but those are always trumped by the law, and they have a duty to inform people of their accurate legal return rights. It’s beyond comprehension that some of the nation's big retailers and their lawyers or compliance officers haven't spotted that they're giving out crap information, especially as in some cases they’re still doing it years after we first notified them.
"The big problem with this is that it risks being a deterrent to people legitimately returning online orders, as if they check a shop’s misleading websites, they’ll wrongly think they’re timed out and may not bother.
"So it’s important for people to know that as a legal minimum… while you can only return goods bought in-store if they're faulty… buy something online and you have a no-fault right of return, provided it is not perishable or personalised. You have up to 14 days after delivery in which to tell the retailer you're sending an item back, and 14 days after you tell them to return it.
"We are forwarding our findings to Trading Standards and contacting each store to make sure it is aware of its breach and to ask how and when it'll correct them."
Retailer | What its website says | What it gets wrong |
|---|---|---|
Benefit | "If you wish to return a product, please do so within 30 days from the ship date for a refund." | The clock starts ticking once you receive the item, not from the date it's dispatched (shipped). |
Boden (also called out in 2018) | "If you return an item in its original condition within 90 days of receipt, or 14 days for sale items, we'll give you back the amount you paid for the item." | The information about sales is wrong. The law gives you 14 days to change your mind about sale items and a further 14 days to return them, just like non-sale items. |
Bondi Sands | "If you do not wish to keep a product ordered on Bondi Sands website, you may return new and unused items within 14 days of the date of receipt." | You have 14 days from the date of receipt to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item – a maximum of 28 days total. |
Caffè Nero | "All items must be returned in original condition with all packaging, tags and seals in place (where possible) within 30 days of the original order." | The clock starts ticking once you receive the item, not from the date you placed the order. |
Carluccio's | "You can return goods to Carluccio's Online within 14 days of delivery." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
CEX (1) | "Any unwanted online order can be returned for a full refund by going into any CEX store or by posting the item(s) back to us within the first 14 days of the item(s) being delivered." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Early Learning Centre | "The Entertainer and Early Learning Centre are happy to accept back any unwanted items, supplied to consumers, for refund within 28 days of purchase." | The clock starts ticking once you receive the item, not from the date of purchase. |
Evans | "Standard returns policy is 21 days for online orders." | You have 14 days to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item, so a maximum of 28 days. |
Everything5pounds.com (no longer trading) | "Unwanted items may be returned for a full refund within 14 days from the date an order was received." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
ForbiddenPlanet.com (1) | "The Customer must return the item to Forbidden Planet Ltd within 14 days of receipt to qualify for a refund." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Freemans | "FGH standard policy is 14 days from delivery." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Grüum | "If you're not completely happy with your Grüum products, you can return them in the package they arrive in within 14 days." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Guinness | "Items must be sent back to us within 14 days of receiving your order." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Harvey Nichols | "All items should be returned new and unused, with the Harvey Nichols tag intact and with the original packaging within 14 calendar days from the day after you receive your order." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
HiPP Organic | "All of the items need to be returned in their original, unopened condition, within 14 days of them being delivered to you." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
HMV | "We're happy to accept returns for unwanted items provided that they're returned within 14 days of receipt." | We don't care what you're happy with; the law says you must accept returns within 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Home Bargains | "You can return your order, or part of it, for any reason within the specified period of time after delivery (shown in table below). Via EVRi/Courier: 14 Days. To Store: 28 Days." | You have 14 days to change your mind, and a further 14 days to return the item, so a maximum of 28 days. |
Hotpod Yoga | "Returns must be made within 14 days from the delivery date." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Hush (also called out in 2018) | "All full price purchases must be returned to us within 28 days, and sale purchases must be returned to us within 14 days." | The information about sales is wrong. The law gives you 14 days to change your mind about sale items, and a further 14 days to return them, just like non-sale items. |
Jessops | "If you have purchased a product online and for whatever reason you change your mind, you have the right to return your product to us within 14 days from the day the product was delivered to you." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Joules (also called out in 2018) | "Sale items should be returned within 14 days of receipt for a refund." | You have 14 days to change your mind about sale items, and a further 14 days to return them, just like non-sale items. |
Monsoon (also called out in 2018) | "Send them to us exactly as you received them in a new and unused condition within 30 days of despatch for full price items and within 14 days for sale/reduced items from date of despatch." | The clock starts ticking once you receive the item, not when it's dispatched. Also, you have the same rights with sale items bought online as with non-sale items. |
New Look (also called out in 2018) | "You can return sale items within 14 days, this applies to online and in-store purchases." | The law gives you 14 days to change your mind about sale items, and a further 14 days to return them, just like non-sale items. (Note: In-store purchases don't have the same rights in law. In this case, the store is being more generous than it needs to be.) |
PerfectDraft | "You can return the item(s) to us within 14 days of receipt for a refund." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Poundland | "You can return most products that you buy on our website to us within 28 days from the date of purchase." | The clock starts ticking once you receive the item, not from the date of purchase. |
Robert Dyas | "It is easy to return your unwanted goods within your 14-day 'right to cancel' period." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Ryman | "... offer a full refund when wish to return an item within 14 days." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Selfridges (1) | "Products must be returned in a saleable condition within fourteen (14) days of receiving or collecting your order." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
The Range | "You'll need to return your item to us or our The Range Marketplace Partner within 14 days of receiving it." | You have 14 days from delivery to change your mind, then a further 14 days to return the item. |
Victoria's Secret | "If you want to return your order you must do so within 28 days (7 days for sale items)." | You have the same rights with sale items bought online as with non-sale items. You have up to 28 days to return. |
(1) ForbiddenPlanet.com, CEX and Selfridges described statutory returns rights correctly in some places (eg, the T&Cs), but gave incorrect info elsewhere (eg, in the FAQs).
In addition (though not included in the table above), several retailers referenced outdated policy on their websites, namely the Distance Selling Regulations, which were replaced in 2014 by the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
For further detail on the investigation and findings, see MSE's news story. Further guidance on consumer rights and how to complain to retailers can be found in MSE's guide.
For any further comments and interviews, please contact the MSE Press Office on 0203 846 2796 or email press@moneysavingexpert.com.
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For further comments and interviews, please contact:
Press Office
Tel: 0203 846 2796
press@moneysavingexpert.com
Notes to Editors:
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To conduct its research, MSE reviewed the returns policies of 123 retailers on YouGov's Most Popular Retail Brands list, plus checks on a further 300 retailers featured on MSE's Deals pages.
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Your right to return items you've bought online also apply to other types of 'distant contract', ie, sales made without the trader and consumer being physically in the same place. This covers items ordered over the telephone or via mail order.
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The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 doesn't apply to certain goods such as perishable or personalised items, newspapers and magazines (unless they are part of a subscription), or sealed audio, video or computer software which has since been opened. These can only be returned if they're faulty, or if the retailer's policy allows it.
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