Written for owners of independent shops and small chains in the UK: convenience and grocery, newsagents and off licences, fashion, gifts, hardware, and garden and farm shops.
The short version
- Count 30 days from the day after delivery.Within that time (shorter for perishable goods), a customer can reject faulty goods for a full refund, with no fee (As of Oct 2026).
- Offer one repair or replacement after 30 days.At your cost; if it fails, a price reduction or refund. Faults within six months are presumed present at delivery unless you prove otherwise.
- Own the problem, and drop 'no refunds'.The customer's contract is with your shop, not the maker. Swap a 'no refunds' sign for your change-of-mind policy and a line on legal rights.
A common wrong answer on a shop floor is "contact the manufacturer". The customer's contract is with your shop, not the maker, and the law sets out exactly what you owe and when. The rules apply across the UK.
What goods must be
Goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for any purpose the customer made known to you, and as described.
Consumer Rights Act 2015 ss.9 to 11, 19(14), 20(15) to (17), 22 to 24
What you owe, and when
- The first 30 days: the short-term right to reject.The customer can reject faulty goods for a full refund. The 30 days start the day after ownership passes and the goods are delivered (and installed, if you were to install them). The period is shorter for goods expected to perish sooner. Refund without undue delay and within 14 days of agreeing it is due, to the same payment method unless you both agree otherwise, with no fee.
- After 30 days: one repair or replacement.At your cost. If that fails, the customer can have a price reduction or reject the goods for a refund (the final right to reject).
- The first 6 months: the fault is presumed yours.A fault that shows within 6 months of delivery is presumed to have been there at delivery, unless you prove otherwise or that is incompatible with the goods or the fault. A final-rejection refund in that period normally has no deduction for use; motor vehicles are the exception.
- Up to 6 years.Claims can be brought for 6 years in England and Wales and 5 in Scotland.
Inside 30 days the short-term right to reject still applies. Had it failed on day 70, you would offer one repair or replacement, with the fault presumed present at sale; if that failed in month 5, a full refund with no deduction.
Repairs and other services
If you also sell a service, such as repairs, alterations or key cutting, it must be done with reasonable care and skill. If it is not, the customer can ask you to do it again or have a price reduction.
Your returns policy and your signs
There is no legal right to return goods bought in a shop because the customer changed their mind. But a returns policy you state binds you as written. Online, phone and off-premises sales carry a 14-day cancellation right, which is a different set of rules.
A 'no refunds' sign
A 'no refunds' sign misstates the customer's statutory rights. It is a misleading action, and the term does not bind the consumer anyway.
DMCC Act 2024 s.226; Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.31
The first misstates the customer's rights. The second is accurate and still limits change-of-mind returns.
Gift vouchers: no UK law sets a minimum expiry, but state the expiry and any restrictions when you sell one, or it is a misleading omission.
Asked in Greymill
Who owes her: you. Her contract is with your shop, not the manufacturer.
How: back to her card, with no restocking fee, without undue delay and within 14 days of agreeing the refund is due.
Had it leaked on day 70: you would offer one repair or replacement first, at your cost, with the fault presumed to have been there at sale.
Take down the 'no refunds' sign. It misstates customers' legal rights, so it is misleading, and it does not bind them anyway.
Put up instead: your change-of-mind policy, plus a line saying faulty goods are dealt with under customers' legal rights.
Happy to word the new till notice for you now.
Ask it about your own business
Paste this into Greymill with your own figures, and Contracts & Disputes works it through for your business.
I run a shop in the UK. A customer bought [item] for [£] on [date] and has brought it back because [describe the fault]. They want [a refund, repair or replacement]. Tell me what I legally owe them, draft a short reply, and check my returns policy wording: [paste].
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Open the interactive lesson · Every shops and physical retail lesson · What Greymill knows about the trade
Sources
The primary sources behind this lesson, checked Oct 2026.
- CRA 2015 ss.9, 10, 11 (Faulty shop goods: proof within six months, repairs and refunds)
- s.22(3), (4) (Faulty shop goods: proof within six months, repairs and refunds)
- s.20(15), (17) (Faulty shop goods: proof within six months, repairs and refunds)
- ss.23, 24 (Faulty shop goods: proof within six months, repairs and refunds)
- s.19(14), (15) (Faulty shop goods: proof within six months, repairs and refunds)
- s.24(10), (11) (Faulty shop goods: proof within six months, repairs and refunds)
- regs 4, 6A, 10 (Payments, surcharges and gift VOUCHERS)
- DMCC Act s.227 (Payments, surcharges and gift VOUCHERS)
- FCA DISP 2.7.3R (small business definition) (Payments, surcharges and gift VOUCHERS)