Right you lot! Yes, you! You WILL be educated on this - like it or not
(and when you've read it you can do the survey!)
So you've bought something, it's gone wonky or not the right colour / size or whatever and you're livid. Well here's a quick guide on what to do IF:
- The goods are not as described
- The goods are faulty / not durable / fit for purpose etc
- Basically - they are not what you asked for.
1. You are only entitled to a refund if the goods have not been accepted (which means that you have not treated them as yours). For simple items, this is a very short time. For more complex items, such as computers, TVs, washing machines, it is longer. But it is down to a court to decide really - there are no hard or fast rules.
- Just a note on delivery notes : These often say that you have the item and are happy with them. Well if you've just ordered a 40 m squared carpet then you may find it rather difficult to open and examine it there and then
.... Delivery notes only mean that the item has been received, and anything else on them about you examining them and being happy means diddly squat.
2. Otherwise, it will be a repair, replacement or partial refund (or damages (hardly used now)). It is down to whoever sold it to you to decide which one, but it must be proportionate to other remedies and must be convenient. Also, it is down to the SELLER to sort it out, not you, so them saying "call the manufacturer" is not acceptable.
2 and a bit - with any goods where you are told about a fault or other problem before buying it, you cannot take it back because of this if you were told about it before. It must be specifically drawn to your attention, so a pair of jeans that say "marked" is not good enough - it must point at the specific marks. You can still return an item if there are other problems.
3. Within the first six months, it is for the SELLER to disprove that there is a fault or whatever, not for you. After 6 months, it is down to you to prove there is a fault. Sometimes this can be done by saying "there is no way I could have caused this".
4. These rights are set in stone. They are included automatically into most sale contracts and cannot be removed. You cannot even agree to have them removed. Anything that purports to remove these rights is ineffective. Sellers should ot therefore say "oh well if you haven't got a manufacturers warranty, tough". Warranties are ADDITIONAL to your statutory rights.
5. Proof of purchase does not mean "receipt". It means anything that demonstrates that you bought the item, the price, the date and the seller (Asda won't take a faulty toaster from Tescos!). Proof can therefore take many forms, so long as it demonstrates the above. Credit card statements, witnesses or even the sellers own records should be adequate.
So, what next. Well, this is only a brief guide covering the most common problems. There is plenty of information, template letters and other advice on the forum and elsewhere, but myself or other posters will happily provide the info to the specific circumstances.
Also report the incident to Consumer Direct if they fail at the first option to resolve the situation. This means that they get valuable information on who are not doing what they should do (useful for Trading Standards), and also helps with your own specific case.
There! That wasn't hard was it? Noooo! Like I said, it is a brief and general guide, but it is a starting point and may answer some queries.
After a repair / replacement or refund? READ! 
