Faulty goods within 30 days: when must a UK shop refund?

A customer reports a fault a few weeks after delivery and asks for their money back. Your shop normally offers repairs, while the supplier wants to inspect the product under its warranty. Neither policy answers the first question: is the customer exercising a valid short-term right to reject? For a UK consumer sale, identifying that remedy changes the decision you need to make and the dates you need to preserve.

Can a customer reject faulty goods instead of accepting a repair? #

The short-term right to reject is a statutory remedy under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Business Companion’s guide for sellers in England and Wales, linked from GOV.UK, explains that a consumer can reject qualifying goods during this period and obtain a full refund. A repair-first shop policy cannot simply replace the customer’s valid choice of that remedy.

Start with the alleged breach: the goods may not meet satisfactory quality, the purpose made known to the trader, or their description. A preference about colour discovered after delivery is different from supplying a colour that contradicts the order. The customer’s word faulty is a starting description; match the issue to the contract and product rather than treating every unwanted item as the same kind of claim.

The remedy concerns goods supplied to a consumer. A business purchase needs its own assessment. There are also limits to a defect claim, including customer-caused damage and faults properly brought to the customer’s attention before sale. Establish what was supplied and what went wrong. Do not assume that a fault described within the first month automatically means every legal condition is satisfied.

When does the 30-day period actually start? #

Section 22 of the Act, checked on 10 October 2026, sets out the starting point. The thirty days begin with the first day after all the specified events: transfer of ownership, or possession for the listed types of financing or hire contract; delivery; and notification that required installation or other trader action enabling use has been completed.

For an ordinary online sale, the dispatch date printed on your invoice therefore does not settle the deadline. Check delivery and any further contractual action. If you agreed to install the product, keep the completion notification with the sale. Installation also needs a legal distinction: Business Companion explains that incorrect installation alone does not trigger this particular short-term remedy. Do not treat every installation complaint as identical to a defective product.

Section 22 also deals with goods reasonably expected to perish sooner: their short-term period ends at that shorter expected limit. That does not shorten the period for non-perishable goods supplied alongside them. A blanket thirty-day statement for every item in a mixed order can therefore be misleading. Identify the product involved before choosing the date to put in your response.

Does agreeing to a repair use up the customer’s remaining days? #

No. Under section 22, the period stops running for the waiting period when the consumer requests or agrees to repair or replacement. That waiting period begins with the day of the request or agreement and ends with the day the consumer receives the goods supplied in response. Your workshop’s intake date is not the statutory starting event for this pause.

If those goods still do not conform, the deadline is the later of seven days after the waiting period ends and the original deadline extended by the waiting period. Northern Ireland’s official nidirect guidance also explains the remaining-period-or-seven-days rule. A customer who accepted an attempt at repair does not necessarily lose the rejection option while that attempt is under way.

Does the customer need to prove the fault was there at delivery? #

Business Companion expressly distinguishes the short-term right to reject from the six-month reverse burden of proof. For short-term rejection, the consumer must prove that the defect was there at delivery. For the specified other remedies, such as repair or replacement, a defect discovered within six months is generally presumed to have existed at delivery unless the trader proves otherwise or the assumption is inconsistent with the circumstances.

Keep the two questions separate: proof that the customer bought the item from you, and evidence about the alleged non-conformity. GOV.UK’s retailer guidance says proof of purchase can be a receipt or other evidence, such as a bank statement. An absent paper receipt is not a useful shortcut around checking the actual order and complaint.

Ask for information that addresses the reported fault: what the product does, what the description promised and when the problem appeared. Evidence does not always require a technical report; assess what is reasonably available in the case. If you disagree about misuse or the cause of failure, explain the factual disagreement. A statement that your manufacturer has not approved the claim does not by itself explain whether the statutory remedy applies.

Who pays the reasonable cost of returning rejected goods? #

Section 20 of the Act requires the trader to bear reasonable return costs, with the specified exception for costs incurred by the consumer returning the goods in person to the place where they took physical possession. It also requires the consumer to make rejected goods available for collection, or to return them as agreed where such an agreement exists.

How soon must the shop refund an accepted rejection? #

Section 20 requires the refund without undue delay and, in any event, within fourteen days beginning with the day the trader agrees the consumer is entitled to it. For money paid under the contract, the same payment means must be used unless the consumer expressly agrees otherwise. The trader must not impose a fee in respect of this refund.

Can a UK webshop budget for a replacement without charging the customer? #

For a compatible small parcel weighing 2 kg, the AirPost index retrieved on 10 October 2026 listed United Kingdom → United Kingdom at €2.96, excluding the platform fee. Add €0.85 and the reference becomes €3.81. The index reports these amounts in euros; this is not a sterling quote or a currency conversion.

If the customer chooses an eligible replacement and you arrange a new small parcel with the recommended packing payment of €2.25, that outbound calculation is €6.06, before materials and other agreed items. A return service needs its own suitable arrangement. Your spending on a replacement does not become a fee you can add to a statutory refund.

With outsourced packing and dispatch, a local sender can prepare orders from stock you place with them. Agree any return receipt separately. The guide to returns without a warehouse covers that practical arrangement; use the dates and remedy in this article to decide the faulty-goods claim itself.

Do faulty-goods rights disappear after thirty days? #

No. The initial rejection period and later remedies are different. Depending on the circumstances, repair or replacement can be required, with further remedies if those fail, are unavailable or are not provided within a reasonable time without significant inconvenience. nidirect explains that the consumer does not have to give the trader unlimited attempts. Do not turn the expiry of the short-term period into a statement that the product has no legal protection.

Check an earlier repair agreement before deciding that thirty calendar days since delivery ended the short-term remedy. Conversely, do not promise an unconditional full refund for every later failure: the applicable remedy and evidence need assessment. Identify the stage of the claim in your reply so the customer understands whether you are considering short-term rejection, repair, replacement or a later remedy.