Consumer rights

If you've got gift vouchers or cards, use them as soon as possible in case the store collapses. You may think that's a long shot, but a long list of firms have gone into administration in the past few years, including Wilko, Made.com, Joules, Missguided, Debenhams and House of Fraser.

When firms go into administration, it's perfectly legal for them to stop accepting gift vouchers, rendering them as worthless as the plastic or paper they're printed on.

What are my gift voucher rights if the company is in administration?

When this happens, the firm no longer exists in its previous form, so it doesn't have to fulfil all its promises, such as honouring gift cards.

A gift card is simply a promise that allows you to spend a certain amount in a store or on a website. Under insolvency law, it's up to the administrator whether to accept vouchers. In many cases, administrators stop accepting them.

Don't throw them away

Saying this, don't throw your vouchers away. Some administrators have changed their minds regarding gift cards, while other stores may start accepting them. With HMV, customers were given the option to exchange HMV gift cards bought at Tesco, Asda or Boots for vouchers for one of those stores.

Can I get my money back if gift cards are not accepted?

You do have a chance, but be prepared for the worst.

For purchases, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 states your credit card company must refund all purchases between £100 and £30,000 if you don't get the service or item you paid for.

However, the law is grey around gift cards. It's worth trying under Section 75, but there are no guarantees.

Alternatively, customers have the 'chargeback' option on credit and debit cards. If you claim within 120 days of something going wrong, Visa, Mastercard and American Express may give you your money back, regardless of the cost (other than a £10 minimum on Mastercard). Unlike Section 75, this is a customer service promise, not a legal requirement.

If you're not covered on plastic, you can try to claim the cash from the administrator by becoming an 'unsecured creditor'. Here, you'll be added to the administrator's list of people it owes money to. But don't get your hopes up of this working.

Should I buy gift vouchers?

It's safest to stay clear of gift cards. Cash is boring, but is safer, more flexible and guarantees a gift of some sort.

With a gift voucher, if the company goes bust, there's no guarantee the voucher will be valid or accepted. Certainly, if you know or hear that a company may be in trouble, it's best to avoid buying gift cards or vouchers from them at all. Always do a Google search on the company before buying to double-check.

But we understand people want to buy them. If that's you, consider general vouchers valid at a host of stores, or just buying for mega-companies such as Amazon, Asda, John Lewis, M&S and Tesco. But even then, there's no 100% guarantee.

The "as described" part of the SAD FART rules is crucial.

Imagine you buy speakers for your TV, take them home and they don't connect to your specific television.

If you've proof (take notes if possible) the store said 'it'll definitely work with your telly', then it's not "as described", so you can return it. Yet if you didn't ask, and it's not in the literature, and the speakers still work if correctly plugged in to a compatible device, it's your problem – not the store's.

If it breaks the SAD FART rules, your agreement's with the shop you bought it from, NOT the manufacturer. So the retailer MUST deal with it – don't let it palm you off.

For more info, see the Know who's responsible section below.

If a freebie comes as part of a purchase – for example, a laptop with a mobile broadband contract – you've exactly the same SAD FART rights as if you'd bought it.

For more info, see Do I have rights if a freebie was faulty? below.

Pay for an item worth £100 or more on a credit card and the card company's jointly liable with the retailer if something goes wrong. This gives you extra legal rights – see our Section 75 guide for more. Though only do this if you can clear the card in full next month to avoid interest.

Even if you don't have a legal right, companies' reputations depend on giving decent service. So you can always ask – and tell them you're disappointed if they don't help.

Even if the item's second-hand or reduced, it doesn't mean you get second-rate consumer rights, except where the seller pointed out the specific problems before you bought.

The same consumer rights rules apply to second-hand and sale goods from shops. They must be of satisfactory quality and, if they're faulty, you can return them.

If you buy a used motor from a trader or grab a £700 'sale' telly with 30% off and it goes kaput once you get home, then take it back and complain.

It's worth stressing that the second-hand price will be taken into account. So if you buy a car for a fiver, you wouldn't expect it to run normally. Second-hand cars are one of the most complained-about issues – see these Citizens Advice and Gov.uk guides for more info, plus our Best way to buy a car guide.

Watch out too if the goods were uber-cheap because of a blindingly obvious flaw. In this case, the shop could refuse to refund you.

When goods are faulty, if you return them within six months, then it's up to the shop to prove they weren't faulty when you bought them. After this, the burden of proof shifts and it's up to you to prove they were faulty when you bought them.

But that's not all. There's another piece of legislation called the Limitations Act (it's the Prescription and Limitation Act in Scotland) that can help you out.

You have up to six years after you bought goods to complain. In Scotland, it's five years after you first realised there was a problem.

This comes in handy if you buy goods, but don't use them for a few months or if something breaks after the six month rule and the fault was likely to have been there all along. Yet the longer it's been and the less durable the item, the harder it'll be to fight for a full refund. In such a case, you might have to accept a partial refund or credit note.

There are quite a few exceptions, but they are usually in niche areas:

• Fresh food and flowers

• Personalised or perishable goods

• Accommodation/transport/leisure services purchased for a particular timeframe

• Newspapers and magazines (unless they are part of a subscription)

• Sealed audio, video or computer software that has been opened

• Buying or building property or paying rent

• Medical products and services

• Hiring a taxi, boat or plane

• Goods that fluctuate in price (such as foreign exchange)

• Emergency repairs and maintenance

• Financial products (which have different rights)

• Package holidays or timeshares (which also have different rights)

• If you have examined the goods in a shop then ordered from the same retailer online and this inspection was specifically noted as part of the purchase contract

• If you reserve items online but pay for them in store

• If you buy something at an auction

The business will give you a cancellation form, which it must acknowledge receipt of. You can use this if you like, or you can write to seller instead. Some businesses may allow you to cancel by phone.

Your time to cancel starts from the day you send a form, letter, email or fax, not the day the seller receives it. It's your responsibility to prove you cancelled on time so ensure you get a confirmation from the company.

As soon as you've cancelled, take good care of all of the goods, as you have to return them in reasonable condition (but not necessarily in the same packaging) and within 14 days. If the goods are damaged the seller can take the relevant cost from your refund.

The seller must then pay back any cash within 14 days of it receiving the goods or being told you want to cancel a service or digital contract.

Your refund must include the least expensive delivery option but if you chose a more expensive delivery you'll need to cover the difference. Be sure to specifically ask for delivery to be included as some stores don't add it automatically.

You'll also usually be asked to pay for return delivery, unless the seller doesn't say this in its T&Cs, or the goods were faulty.

If you pay online and then collect goods from a store or an outlet, you've got the same rights as you do when receiving the goods to your home. You still have 14 days to change your mind after receiving them, and a further 14 days after notifying to send them back.

You're not obliged to check the goods when you collect them (though you might like to do so in case, for example, you find them damaged). Whether you check them or not, your rights aren't affected.

Note: if you simply reserve an item online, then come to the store to pay for it, you don't have the right to change your mind and return it for a refund.

It depends whether it was reasonable for you to open the packaging. 

For example, if you're sending a toy back because it was the wrong colour, it would be reasonable for you to open the parcel and take it out of the bubble wrap, but it would not be reasonable for you to remove the toy from a sealed clear plastic bag as you would have been able to see it was the wrong colour without taking it out.

The trader could knock money off your refund if they think you opened parts of the package unnecessarily, as they can claim it has reduced its value.

If you or the seller specified a certain delivery date (for example, in time for Christmas or a birthday) but your order wasn't delivered on time, you've the right to a full refund. If no date was specified at all, then delivery should be within 30 days.

If you're thinking of grabbing something on eBay or Vinted, the key is the difference between purchases from business sellers and from private individuals.

If there's one thing to remember, it's that items from business sellers have the same protection as buying from a shop (statutory rights, cooling off and so on), whereas purchases from private individuals count as second-hand. For more info, see the eBay and second-hand buying tips guide.

Vinted is comprised of private sellers only, so the second-hand rules apply there too. More info in our Vinted buying and selling tips blog.

For credit agreements, such as loans, credit and store cards, since 2011 the Consumer Credit Act has given 14 days from receipt of the executed agreement or notification of the credit limit on a credit card to cancel.

If you do change your mind you'll need to pay back any money borrowed and return (or make alternative payment arrangements) any linked goods, for example, a cooker purchased with a store's loan.

You've no right to cancel a package holiday unless the operator has made a major change to your holiday. Check your terms and conditions as you may also lose any deposit you have already paid.

Package holidays are those that have been prearranged for an inclusive price and include at least two of the following: transport, accommodation, excursions or car hire (see the Cheap package holidays guide).

Most timeshares, however, give 14 days to change your mind due to the Timeshare Regulations. For more information on timesharea and your right to cancel, see the Government legislation website.

When complaining, don't get angry. Be cool, calm and rational and you'll be more likely to get results than ranting and raving. Throw a temper tantrum and the company may be perfectly happy to lose your custom so it gets rid of you.

Decide the answer to these three questions before you start:

Do you want to exchange the goods/keep the digital content/continue the service? If you could get the goods fixed, the digital content replaced or have the service improved, would you be happy to accept that? If the answer's yes, life's easier.

Do you want a full refund? While you may want a full refund, you're not always entitled to it if they can fix the problem. Having said that, sometimes it's just easier for them to pay up to have the problem solved.

Do you want compensation and, if so, what kind? Do you want money over and above just fixing or replacing a product, for the time you've spent sorting it or the distress you've been caused? While this can happen, it certainly complicates things. Be reasonable and be sure you genuinely feel you've been unfairly put out.

In a nutshell return something in 30 days and in most cases you'll get a full refund. Miss this and your rights reduce.

Therefore the best route is simple...

Complain the instant you realise there's a problem. The longer it's left, the more likely you'll lose your rights.

The longer it's been and the less durable the item, the harder it'll be to fight for a full refund. Yet whatever you request, the retailer must sort it within a 'reasonable' time. So while two weeks to fix a car brake fault is acceptable, two weeks to clean it isn't.

What if you've taken longer to return the goods?

If you take longer than 30 days to return the item, you'll have to choose between a repair or a replacement. The retailer can veto either though if it's impossible to carry out a repair or the cost of a replacement is much higher than that of a repair.

If the item is still dodgy after just one attempt at a repair or replacement, the repair or replacement isn't possible or it hasn't been carried out quickly enough you're then entitled to ask for a refund – this could be the full amount within the first six months, or otherwise is likely to be a partial refund.

This could be tricky, especially if it's a car or your bank. But the less you use something because of your annoyance, the more it adds weight to your complaint.

Do be careful about payment here, though. If you've not paid in full, beware cancelling payment as the company could continue to chase you for money, which may end up affecting your credit rating.

Note down what went wrong, who you spoke to and when and what you agreed, if anything. This is more important if your original agreement was made verbally, as your complaint will be harder to prove.

Stash pics and other evidence to back up your case, such as receipts or terms and conditions. Receipts are not essential to have (or give, although nearly all stores do), but proof of purchase – a cheque book stub, bank statement or credit card statement – usually is. Don't post originals to sellers, because you'll need a backup.

Note down any extra costs you've had to pay, such as phone calls or replacing damaged items, so you can ask for the cash back. Ask to be reimbursed for additional costs. In the case of holidays or fun activities, it's possible to get extra cash for inconvenience or distress.

If the seller is forcing you to pay for something you're not happy to cough up for, you have two options. One is to refuse and suggest they take you to court for the rest. The other – possibly a better option if they have something of yours, such as a laptop in for repair – is to say you are "paying under protest". This will help your case if you need to take your complaint to court.

The sign's everywhere, but many customers and staff don't have a clue what it means. Yet every consumer should try to have at least the basic rights in their mental arsenal. The key is to understand there are two main factors at play.

Shops' own returns policies

Buy something in a store and UNLESS it's faulty, you have NO LEGAL RIGHT to return it. Yet, to protect their reputation, many stores DO allow it under their returns policies. When this is published, it becomes a legal part of your purchase and contract, so they're bound by it.

Your statutory rights

When goods are faulty many staff wrongly think their returns policies still rule, but the law overrides any shop procedure. Under the Consumer Rights Act you've a legal right to a refund if you return faulty goods quickly enough.

Many of us have bought something only to later decide it's unsuitable or unneeded. Yet shops are under no obligation to take your goods back, just because you've changed your mind, only when they're faulty.

The exceptions to this are when buying online, mail order or financial agreements, when you often have cancellation rights.

But even when you don't have rights, plenty of companies do still give refunds. These are mainly high street stores with returns policies allowing you to simply take back whatever you want within a set timeframe. You're less likely to be able to change your mind for a service contract that's started, though.

These goodwill policies have encouraged more and more customers to expect this as a right, even though it doesn't always apply.

This doesn't mean you can't ask, though. Companies would rather keep customers happy than be sticklers for the rules. They consider all customers to be potential repeat customers who will use their services or buy their products again and again.

Scottish bank notes aren't legal tender... even in Scotland. In fact, confusingly there are no legal tender notes in Scotland – Bank of England notes are only legal tender in England and Wales.

Yet that doesn't mean Scottish bank notes can't be used in transactions. They are a legal currency defined by the UK Parliament, and perfectly acceptable for transactions across the UK – though technically a shop can refuse to take any note, English or Scottish, and just not sell you the goods.

Legal tender technically just means that by law it cannot be refused as a settlement of debt, so a store can accept any currency it likes – such as euros – if it decided to. See the Bank of England for more details.

Sorry, that's an urban myth. Shops don't have to sell anything to you if they don't want to, regardless of price. Yet deliberately misleading you is criminal.

• First let's look at a genuine mistake – a £50 jacket racked up in a long line of other coats all at £500. Here, you have to accept the shop's error. If it does take your money and later says that it shouldn't have though, it doesn't matter – the contract's made and it's yours.

• However, if the shop was intentionally misleading – let's say it ran a price promotion promising lots of goods at dirt-cheap prices that fail to emerge, or you complained and it put the goods back on the shelf at the same price – then it's a potential criminal offence and Trading Standards officers can send in their heavies to investigate.

• Online is where things get slightly more tricky – your rights are the same, but when the retailer's deemed to have 'accepted' your order is much less clear-cut. There's no overarching rule and it's a point which hasn't yet been fully settled in law.
  
  Don't think it's simply when you enter your card details – it could be when you get a confirmation email, some retailers reserve the right to cancel right up until delivery and others even include a specific clause in their T&Cs to cover price glitches, saying they don't have to sell if the price was low due to an error. So it all comes down to checking the T&Cs and seeing at what point the contract becomes legally binding.

Finally, if you spot a mispriced mistake, don't be afraid to haggle. Although it doesn't have to, the retailer may sell it to you at the knock-down price as a gesture of goodwill.

This is a tricky area in consumer rights. Technically when something's free there's no contract with the supplier, so you're not entitled to get a faulty item fixed if you didn't hgave to pay for it.

Yet if it was a free gift as part of a purchase – for instance, if you sign up for a mobile contract and get a laptop with it – that's different. Here, you've exactly the same SAD FART rights as if you'd paid for it. Most sellers are aware of this, but, if they try to fob you off, stand your ground.

On the surface, the answer is no as you've no contract with the seller – it's the person who pays for the item who has the contract and will need to sort out any problems.

Yet for faulty items this can be overcome either with a gift receipt, or (if the shop doesn't offer one) if the buyer tells the seller they are passing on the rights by "conferring the benefit of the contract" under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties Act) 1999.

In plain English, this means you need to make it clear – ideally in writing – you're buying for someone else by stating their name or giving a particular description, such as them being a family member, for example, getting the store to write "this is a gift for Martin Lewis" on the receipt at the time of purchase. This extra term then becomes part of your contract too.

Therefore if the item turns out to be faulty, you as the recipient (with a gift receipt) should be able to return the item for a refund (though the retailer may insist that the payment be refunded to the same card).

However if the gift was bought online and you simply don't want it, rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations only apply to the original purchaser, so the store may insist that they be the one who return it.

As with other rights, stores do often provide over and above their obligation. Yet there's no harm in remembering to tell them it's a gift if you buy an expensive present for someone.

For more on this, see Returning unwanted gifts.

If you're simply exchanging goods that aren't faulty – then yes, as you have no legal rights to exchange non-faulty items, so if that's the store policy, that's it. If you do get a credit note – watch out for the restrictions as to how and when you can spend it.

Yet if the goods are faulty (in other words, they break the SAD FART rules) then your statutory rights override the store's policy. Provided you take it back in time (see act as soon as possible) you have a right to a full refund.

Your statutory consumer rights always apply. A trader can offer different rights if it wants, but only as long as they are on top of your statutory rights.

Yet some companies do try to say your statutory rights are not valid because there's a term in your contract that says so; for example them stating the following, which are called exclusion clauses:

If there are exclusions, your contract should also include the following words to show that written terms are not as important as consumer laws:

Companies try to get away with these terms in their contracts relying on lack of knowledge and consumer apathy to put consumers off making a claim. But exclusion clauses are often invalid and you can still complain.

While it may sound reasonable for loss or damage to be a consumer's responsibility, and in many cases it is, providers are also responsible for providing a reasonable duty of care for you or your possessions. So, for example, while they wouldn't be responsible if a member of the public swiped your bag while left unattended, they would be at fault if the bag was locked away where only their staff had access to it.

In most cases, you need to take action yourself following the steps in this guide. But it's a good idea to report suspected problems to your local Trading Standards office as it could also be a criminal offence to try to exclude something.

The individual terms in your contract should not create an advantage for the seller and a detriment to the consumer. If they do, they can be considered unfair under Part 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

There's no better case to illustrate the issue of unfair contract terms than the bank charges campaign. Here, a major legal battle went through the UK courts to try to determine whether it was fair for the banks to have been levying charges on consumers of up to £39 for a breach of overdraft.

The case was based on a previous version of the law, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, but it was very similar in content. Although this test case did not win, it highlights a crucial point – you can challenge the fairness of any term you feel is unfair.

We're not saying this is easy to do – in fact it may be an uphill struggle. Yet knowing your rights and threatening action can sometimes be enough to get a complaint sorted.

There's no hard and fast rule on what is unfair, yet some examples of unfair contract terms include:

If you think a term in your contract is unfair, point it out to the retailer and ask for it to be taken out, or for compensation if it causes you imbalance. Unfortunately if it disagrees, only the courts can decide if a term is unreasonable and unfair so you will need to start county court action to find this out.

There's also the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, which say businesses must not mislead consumers or subject them to aggressive commercial practices such as high pressure selling techniques. If you think you have been treated unfairly, contact Citizens Advice to discuss your individual case.

No. You're not buying things in the same way – yet overall, you probably have more rights as under banking regulations you have a right to be "treated fairly" and this can be adjudicated by the free Financial Ombudsman Service.

If your problem is with a financial company, read the Financial rights guide or, if relevant to you, our guides on PPI reclaiming or Council Tax rebanding.

If you think you have been treated badly by a financial company, write to it to complain.