Faulty, unwanted or late - your online shopping rights explained

Most people negotiate with a retailer’s returns policy as though it were the law. It is not. A returns policy is what the shop offers; your legal rights sit underneath it and cannot be reduced by it. When an order arrives faulty, arrives late, or simply turns out to be wrong, two pieces of legislation decide what you are entitled to, and both give you more than the average help page suggests.

Changing your mind: the 14-day cooling-off period

The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you the right to cancel most online orders for any reason at all. You do not need a fault, and you do not need to explain yourself. The clock runs for 14 days from the day you receive the goods, and once you have told the retailer you are cancelling, you have a further 14 days to send them back.

The refund must include the standard outbound delivery charge you paid, though not the extra cost if you chose next-day or premium delivery. Return postage is normally yours to pay, unless the retailer said otherwise or the item was faulty. The retailer has 14 days from receiving the goods back, or from proof of postage, to refund you.

Not everything is covered. Personalised or made-to-order items, perishable goods, sealed hygiene products once opened, and sealed audio, video or software once unsealed are all outside the right. Nor does it apply in a physical shop, where returning something simply because you have changed your mind is a matter of the retailer’s own policy.

When the goods are faulty

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. When they are not, you have a 30-day right to reject them and get a full refund, counted from delivery. This is the strongest remedy available and the one retailers are least likely to mention, so use it inside the window rather than accepting a repair by default.

After 30 days, the remedy changes. The retailer gets one attempt at a repair or replacement, and if that fails you can ask for a price reduction or reject the item. In the first six months, the law assumes a fault was present at delivery and the retailer has to prove otherwise. After six months the burden flips to you, which in practice means an independent report for anything expensive.

One point is worth stating clearly because manufacturers’ warranties obscure it: your claim is against the retailer who sold you the item, not the brand that made it. A shop that tells you to contact the manufacturer is describing its own preference, not your obligation.

How long each remedy lasts

The time limits are the part people most often get wrong, so it helps to see all four together.

Time since delivery	What you can insist on
0 to 14 days, no fault needed	Full refund, including standard outbound delivery
0 to 30 days, faulty	Full refund, no repair required first
30 days to 6 months	Repair or replacement; if that fails, refund or price reduction
6 months to 6 years	Same remedies, but you must prove the fault was inherent

The six-year figure is the limitation period in England, Wales and Northern Ireland; in Scotland it is five years. It is not a guarantee that anything lasts that long, only the window in which a claim about an inherent fault can be brought.

Your rights, counted from delivery

1. Day 0

   The goods arrive

   Both the cancellation clock and the fault clock start.

2. 14 days Change of mind

   Last day to cancel

   No reason needed. You then have 14 more days to send the item back.

3. 30 days Faulty goods

   Right to reject ends

   Until then, a fault gets you a full refund with no repair first.

4. 6 months Faulty goods

   The burden of proof moves to you

   Until then, a fault is assumed to have been there at delivery.

5. 6 years Faulty goods

   Time limit for a claim

   Five years in Scotland, and only for a fault that was inherent.

Late or missing deliveries

Unless you agreed a different date, the retailer must deliver within 30 days. Miss that, and you can set a new reasonable deadline; miss that too, and you are entitled to cancel and get your money back. If the delivery date was essential, such as for a birthday or a wedding, and you made that clear when ordering, you can cancel immediately when it is missed.

Goods remain the retailer’s responsibility until they are in your hands. A parcel left in a bin, taken from a doorstep or lost in the network is the retailer’s problem to resolve, not yours, with one exception: if you specifically instructed the courier to leave it somewhere, the risk moves to you. “Delivered” on a tracking page is not proof of delivery, and the retailer has to show it actually reached you.

If the retailer will not co-operate

Put the complaint in writing, state which right you are relying on, and say what you want and by when. Referring to the Consumer Rights Act or the Consumer Contracts Regulations by name changes the tone of the reply more often than you would expect, because it moves the conversation off the returns policy.

If that fails, the payment method is your next lever. A credit card purchase over £100 brings your card issuer into the dispute, and card payments can generally be reversed through chargeback. Our guide to Section 75 and chargeback sets out which applies and how to claim.

Beyond that, Citizens Advice runs the consumer helpline and can refer cases to Trading Standards, and many retailers belong to an alternative dispute resolution scheme that gives you a free adjudicator. The small claims track of the county court is the backstop for anything substantial, and for straightforward faulty goods claims it is designed to be used without a solicitor.

Buying from a marketplace or a private seller

Who you bought from matters more than which website you were on. A marketplace listing sold by a third party is a contract with that seller, and the platform is not the retailer. Your statutory rights still apply if the seller is a business, but enforcing them across a border is harder, and the platform’s own buyer protection scheme may be the practical route.

Buying from a private individual is a different matter entirely. The requirement is only that the goods match their description, so “satisfactory quality” and “fit for purpose” do not apply. Anyone buying second-hand electronics privately is taking on a risk that the same purchase from a business would not carry.

Summary

Fourteen days to change your mind, thirty days to reject anything faulty outright, and up to six years for an inherent defect, all enforceable against the retailer rather than the manufacturer. Retailers can offer more than this and many do; none of them can offer less. Know which of the three situations you are in, put it in writing, and use your card issuer as the second line. Browse the current deals or find a shop on the stores page.