Under EU law you often have the right to return items. Now that Christmas is over, it is a good time to know what your rights are.
If an item turns out to be faulty or does not look or work as advertised, the seller must repair or replace them at no cost, according to EU law. And if that is not possible within a reasonable timeframe, you may be entitled to a full or partial refund.
The basic coverage under EU law is a minimum guarantee of two years, valid from the moment of purchase. In some cases and in some European countries, you may get extra protection.
Irish consumer rights laws protect consumers for up to six years after the purchase of a faulty good, according to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
A survey by the CCPC found that many consumers do not know their rights and especially don’t realise that bad items can be returned so long after purchase.
For goods bought online, there is a standard 14 day “cooling off period” under EU law. But this excludes hotel bookings, car rental and flights as well as personalised goods and some other types of products.
The two year guarantee for faulty items or for goods which are not what they claimed to be does apply online in the same way as for products bought in a shop.
“Regardless of whether you have a guarantee or warranty, if a retailer sells you a faulty item, then they are responsible for resolving the issue – you do not have to deal with the manufacturer or warranty provider”, advises Grainne Griffin from CCPC.
A third of respondents to CCPC’s survey said they do not slip receipts in with Christmas presents which can make it harder to return unwanted gifts.
Instead many decide to give unwanted presents to someone else, or to charity.
More than one-third of women and around one-quarter of men said they would “regift” unwanted Christmas presents.
One in ten said they would stick the unwanted present in a drawer and forget about it rather than asking for a receipt to refund or exchange it.
Another type of Chrsitmas present to watch out for is gift vouchers. The CCPC found that many people had had negative experiences trying to claim vouchers.
“Our research showed that a quarter of consumers have lost a gift card before they had the chance to use it and 17 percent found the business had closed down.”
“If you have received vouchers or gift cards this Christmas, make sure to use them as soon as you can,” Grainne Griffin advises.