All businesses dealing in the retail sale of goods cannot:

• Display a notice
• Publish an advertisement aimed at consumers
• Supply goods, container, document to consumers, bearing a term rendered void that attempts to restrict a consumer's right to claim a

1. refund
2. repair
3. fauly goods or misdescribed under the Sale Of Goods Act

Unless any notice or statement has a statement that the consumer's rights are not affected.

The consumer will usually be entitled to a full refund. Notices which say, directly or indirectly, that refunds will not be given are illegal. It is not even permissible to have a notice or term of business stating "no refunds unless goods are faulty" since this only covers one of the three rights and attempts to exclude the other two.

Examples of illegal statements:

• No refunds
• No sale goods exchanged or money refunded
• Sold as seen
• No refunds or exchanges without a receipt

There are many more phrases which would be unacceptable.

Further guidance is available on ‘Returns Policies – guide for retailers’.

Returns Policy

The ‘best notice is no notice’. However, the following is a suggested notice for your guidance only and no liability is accepted for any actions arising from the use of the notice.

"We will only give refunds on goods sold and found:

• to be not of satisfactory quality
• not fit for the purpose for which they were sold
• not to correspond with their description
• not to correspond with a sample on display, or
• to be sold without authority to sell

and are returned within a reasonable time.

If goods are returned for any other reason, refunds or exchanges will be at the discretion of the management.

Any request for redress must be accompanied by a valid receipt or other proof of purchase.

Please remember you are not entitled to a refund if:-

• you have simply changed your mind
• you have damaged the goods after you have bought them or,
• you were aware of the defect before you bought the goods.

This does not affect your statutory rights under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)".

Further guidance is available on ‘Returns Policies – guide for retailers’.

If you would like more information as a first step we recommend visiting the London Trading Standards Authorities (LoTSA) website and Trading Standards Central website where a range of advice is given on issues important to businesses and consumers such as price marking and fair trading. If you do not find the information you require or would like an information pack, please contact Trading Standards.