Claims Against Faulty Goods & Services

Making a Claim in the County Court can be confusing and is not as straight forward as is sometimes made out.

Claims are decided on applicable law and it is important that any claim is set out correctly.

We at Money Claims Help attempt initially to keep you out of court and to try and persuade the defendant that it is in his/her interest to either reach an agreement with you or alternatively pay in full what is owed to you. If this is successfully done there is no court case and no further charges with you receiving the money.

Failing this we will assist you not just in making your claim but also every step of the way by assisting you in completing all the allocation questionnaires and other court direction forms that require completion from the court which if not filled out correctly or by the deadline stated your claim can be struck out.

The Consumer Rights Act gives you a clear early right to reject goods that are unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, and get a full refund.

Contact the retailer you bought the goods from and tell it about the problem and that you want to reject the item and get your money back.

Your right to a quick refund is limited to 30 days from the date you took ownership of the product (this could be the date of purchase or the date it was delivered to you – whichever is later).

This right doesn’t apply to faulty digital content. The retailer has one opportunity to repair or replace digital content that is of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as Under the Sale of Goods Act (which applies to goods bought before 1 October 2015), the time limit was a far less clear-cut three to four weeks.

You have the right to reject your item and get a refund within 30 days of possessing the goods.

You could also ask the retailer to repair or replace your item within six months of purchase.

Your rights against the retailer can last for up to six years, but after the first six months the onus is on you to prove a fault was present at the time you took ownership of the goods.

You can also use your guarantee or warranty if your product develops a fault.

If you’re outside the 30-day right to reject, you have to give the retailer one opportunity to repair or replace any faulty goods or faulty digital content which are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described.

Tell the retailer whether you’d prefer a repair or a replacement, but bear in mind that it has the final say.

The retailer can also refuse if it can show that your choice is disproportionately expensive compared with the alternative.

If you discover the fault within the first six months from delivery, it’s presumed to have been there from the time you received it – unless the retailer can prove otherwise.

During this time, it’s up to the retailer to prove that the fault wasn’t there at the time of delivery – it’s not up to you to prove that it was.

If the attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful, you can then claim a refund, or a price reduction if you wish to keep the product.

The retailer can’t make any deductions from a refund in the first six months following an unsuccessful attempt at repair or replacement.

If you’ve owned the item for less than six months, the retailer must give you a full refund if an attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful.

The retailer can’t make any deduction from a refund in the first six months following an unsuccessful attempt at repair or replacement.

The only exception to this is motor vehicles, where the retailer can make a deduction for fair use after the first 30 days.

It doesn’t matter whether you bought your goods before or after 1 October 2015 – in the first six months from when you buy something, the onus is on the seller to prove your defective product was of satisfactory quality when you received it.

It’s not for you to prove that the faulty item was not of satisfactory quality in order to get it repaired or replaced during the first six months after purchase.

If a defect develops after the first six months, the burden is on you to prove that the product was faulty at the time the goods were delivered to you.

In practice, this may require some form of expert report, opinion or evidence of similar problems or defects across the product range.

The retailer can also make a deduction from any refund for fair use after the first six months of ownership if an attempt at a repair or replacement is unsuccessful.

You have up to six years to take a claim to the small claims court for faulty goods in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and five years in Scotland.

This doesn’t mean that a product has to last six years – just that you have this length of time in which to make a claim if a retailer refuses to repair or replace a faulty product.

The truth is, the law doesn’t explain how you can prove the fault was present at the point of purchase, which can make it problematic when you’re asked to do so.

Guidance has tended to focus on getting an independent report from a repair shop or expert, but this advice dates back to a time when these were a common presence on high streets.

You could be hard pressed to find one now. But it’s worth looking in your local area for a repair shop if you need to get an objective opinion.

Whether you pay depends on when you found the fault and whether you want a refund, a repair or a replacement.

If you want to return your faulty goods for a refund, a repair or replacement, you should be refunded the delivery cost you paid to get it sent to you.

If you paid for enhanced or express delivery and you’re returning the faulty goods early on, this will also be refunded to you.

But if you’ve had the goods for a while and they’ve only just developed a fault, you probably won’t be able to claim back the initial delivery costs for getting the goods to you.

This is because you’ll have benefited from owning the product for a while already.

In some situations the retailer – or you – might want or need to send the faulty good to a manufacturer for closer inspection of the fault.

This is so that an expert can confirm whether the fault was present when you purchased it.

If the fault developed within first six months of you owning the product and you’re looking for a repair or replacement, it’s down to the retailer to check the fault in order to demonstrate the product wasn’t faulty when you received it.

Because of this, the retailer will usually want to get it checked by a manufacturer. The retailer has a legal obligation to cover these costs.

So, if they ask for you to return the faulty item to the manufacturer, get confirmation from the retailer that they’ll refund the cost of doing so.

The retailer has to cover the cost, so if it refuses to do this complain to its customer services team and refuse to send the faulty item without confirmation you’ll be compensated.

If the fault developed after the first six months of you owning the product, the onus is on you to prove the fault was present at the time you took ownership of it.

So, you should expect to pay for any reasonable steps and delivery costs to prove the fault was present at the time of purchase.

It’s always best to notify the retailer that you will be claiming any such costs back from the retailer in the event that the goods are found to be faulty.

If you manage to prove this, you can contact the retailer and ask them to reimburse you these delivery costs, plus any costs charged for inspecting the goods.

It’s always best to agree the approach the retailer will use to establish whether or not the goods are faulty.

If you don’t want to go down the route the retailer has suggested, make sure you’ve agreed a new approach with the retailer beforehand. This includes making sure costs are reasonable.

If the retailer has already repaired or replaced the faulty good and wants to send it back to you, there should be no cost to you.

The retailer must pay the costs of repairing or replacing your faulty item and they must also pay to deliver it back to you.

If you’re being asked to take something back in store and that would be a significant inconvenience to you, you can suggest a reasonable alternative.

For example, you can suggest posting the goods back and that you expect the cost of doing this to be paid back.

Being able to show a receipt for the faulty goods you purchased may speed up your claim, but it is not essential to have one.

In many cases it would be unreasonable for a retailer to expect you to have kept your receipt, especially if the goods develop a fault after several months.

If you want to return faulty goods without a receipt, proof of purchase – such as a bank statement – is enough evidence to prove you purchased the goods.

The seller’s returns policy can’t require customers to take vouchers where an item has been returned because it is faulty.

The Consumer Rights Act specifies the rights that consumers have if products develop a fault and the seller can’t remove or reduce these.

If you’re having problems and the shop won’t refund then approach MONEY CLAIMS HELP as the retailer is breaching your statutory rights.

It’s worth telling the shop that you’re going to do this, as it could mean your complaint is then dealt with.

If you get no response from the retailer, or if it has gone bust, and you paid for an item costing more than £100 with a credit card, you can take your claim to the card company under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.There are restrictions on this such as if you have paid by PAYPAL or through an intermediary travel agent.

If you have paid by credit card contact us and we will assist in your joint claim against both the retailer and the card company.

If you have paid by Debit Card we can assist you in using Chargeback is not enshrined in law, but it’s part of Scheme Rules, which participating banks subscribe to.

Court should be a last resort and you should do everything you can to resolve the dispute before taking this step. (see above)

If all your attempts to exercise your rights fail or the retailer doesn’t respond, you should contact us so we can consider how best to assist you in your claim.