The Consumer Rights Act 2015

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 has now come into force and it helps to provide protection for consumers in a digital age. Now, customers who buy faulty goods are entitled to a full refund up to 30 days after their purchase.

Given the fact that a great deal of media is being sold as digital content, the Act affords new protection when purchasing items such as music, movies, games, apps or e-books. Purchasers of such digital content now have the right to a repair or replacement for faulty downloaded or streamed material.

When it comes to refunds, until now there has been no defined period that is available to consumers and in fact many different retailers would offer different limitations on offering such a refund. While a consumer is entitled to a full refund within the first 30 days, once this time has elapsed the retailer will have one opportunity to repair or replace a faulty item. The decision to repair or replace will be entirely up to the customer. If the repair or replacement does not work then, once again, the consumer will be entitled to a refund. 

One of the biggest parts to the new Act is the new approach that can be taken by customers on unfair terms in contracts. Customers can now challenge hidden fees and charges; and if they are found to be unfair then the companies can be prevented from enforcing them. The small print has always been important, but if a consumer can show that there were fees and charges that were not made clear to them when entering into the contract, there will be issues for the seller looking to rely on such clauses.