Have you ever had issues returning an unwanted Christmas present? I’m looking for shoppers to help out with our research.
We’ve all been guilty of a bit of last-minute Christmas shopping but, as it turns out, it could actually work to your advantage.
An acceptable time to start discussing Christmas is always up for debate, but as we head towards November we know that many of you are getting your shopping started or, in some cases, finished!
However, how many people have considered that getting your Christmas shopping sorted as early as September and October, as a small number of people said they had in our survey, could potentially lead to issues when it comes to returning faulty or unwanted goods?
Returns policies
Many retailers will often extend their returns period over Christmas to account for unwanted gifts, but sometimes it’s only for a week or two.
While online retailers have to give you 14 days for a full refund or exchange, you’ll need to check with each individual shop if you’re buying in-store.
Anything you buy will be covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which gives you six months to return faulty items fot a refund, exchange or credit note.
However, that does mean that if you were especially well-organised and bought the unknowingly faulty gift before June, you’ll be outside of that window around Christmas Day.
Your experiences
Have you ever run into problems when returning a gift after Christmas? If so, how did the retailer deal with the problem? Did they accept the return?
I’m looking for shoppers who’d be willing to speak with Which? about their experiences to potentially feature in a future issue of Which? Magazine, and here on Which? Conversation.
If you’ve got a Christmas returns story to tell, let me know in the comments and I’ll get back to you!