ConsumerWise hub

Consumer Rights

Your rights when buying goods, services and digital content - and what traders must do when things go wrong.

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13 guides and resources.

Start with the problem you recognise. Related pages cross-link to templates, tools, official sources and escalation routes.

Goods

Faulty, unsafe, short-lived or misdescribed goods: rejection, repair, replacement, repeat faults, proof and final remedies.

Services

Poor workmanship, incomplete work, delays, quotes, extra charges, damage, repeat performance and price reductions.

Digital content

Apps, downloads, games, streaming and other digital content: quality, compatibility and remedies.

Refunds & returns

When you can reject, return, repair or replace something - and when a change-of-mind return is different.

Repairs & replacements

When repair or replacement is the right remedy, when it must be free, and when you can move to a price reduction or final rejection.

Guarantees & warranties

Why a manufacturer warranty is additional to statutory rights rather than a replacement for them.

Unfair terms

When consumer contract terms may be unfair, non-binding or insufficiently transparent.

Misleading practices

Misleading actions, omissions, aggressive practices, fake reviews and price transparency under the current unfair commercial practices regime.

Subscriptions

Free trials, automatic renewals, cancellation barriers, recurring payments, price changes and charges taken after cancellation.

Online & distance sales

Online, phone and mail-order contracts: cancellation, returns, delivery charges, exclusions, digital content and retailer refusals.

Cooling-off rights

The 14-day cancellation framework for many distance and off-premises contracts, plus important exceptions.

Delivery problems

Late, missing, damaged or misdelivered goods and who bears the delivery risk.

Food delivery & takeaways

Missing, wrong, late, cold, poor-quality or unsafe takeaway orders and what to do when a refund is refused.

Use the right remedy

Start with what you bought, how you bought it and what has gone wrong.

Consumer rights are not a single refund rule. The available remedy can change depending on whether the problem concerns goods, services or digital content, whether the purchase was online, when the fault appeared, what the trader promised and whether you are rejecting for a fault or simply changing your mind.

Something is faulty30-day rejection, repairs, six-month proof rules, repeat faults and final remedies for faulty goods.A service was poorPoor workmanship, unfinished work, delay, unexpected charges or damage: identify the failure before choosing the remedy.A subscription keeps charging meFree trials, renewals, cancellation, recurring payments and what to do when billing continues.I bought online, by phone or mail orderCheck whether the 14-day cancellation route applies, what you can return, who pays postage and what the trader can deduct.I paid by creditCheck whether Section 75 or another payment remedy creates a separate route.

If the trader refuses

Turn the right into an evidence-led complaint.

Keep the order, product description, terms, receipt, photographs, diagnostic reports and correspondence. State the right or contractual promise you rely on, what happened, the remedy you seek and why that remedy follows. A trader saying “our policy does not allow it” does not displace a statutory right.

Where the trader still refuses, consider any applicable ADR scheme, card or finance remedy, regulator intelligence route and court action. The correct route depends on the transaction and sector.

ConsumerWise method

Do not start with the argument. Start with the record.

Start with the transaction itself: what you bought, what the trader promised, what went wrong and what outcome you want. Consumer rights often provide a direct remedy before any ombudsman or court route becomes necessary.

Evidence basics Build a chronology