A customer returns a faulty kettle, a subscriber reports a broken app, and a homeowner challenges poor workmanship. These complaints look different, but each can trigger responsibilities under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. For UK businesses, compliance is not simply about having a generous returns policy. It means supplying what was promised, applying the correct consumer remedies and avoiding contract terms that undermine statutory rights.
The Act applies mainly to contracts between traders and individuals acting wholly or mainly outside their business or profession. It covers consumer purchases of goods, services and digital content. Business-to-business contracts generally follow different rules, so identifying who bought what is the first step in handling a dispute correctly.
Goods must meet legal standards, not just advertised promises
Products sold to consumers must be of satisfactory quality, fit for their usual purpose and any particular purpose made known to the seller, and match their description, sample or model. Quality includes safety, durability and freedom from defects, judged in context. A second-hand item may show reasonable wear, but describing it as used does not excuse an undisclosed serious fault.
The retailer is normally responsible to the consumer, even if a manufacturer produced the defective item. Directing customers exclusively to the manufacturer’s warranty is not an acceptable substitute for their statutory rights.
What happens when goods are faulty?
For most faulty goods, consumers have a short-term right to reject within 30 days, with special timing rules for matters such as installation and perishable products. After that period, they can generally request a repair or replacement at the trader’s expense. The chosen option need not be provided if it is impossible or disproportionate compared with the alternative.
If one repair or replacement does not resolve the problem, or the remedy cannot be supplied within a reasonable time without significant inconvenience, the customer may be entitled to a price reduction or final rejection. Any deduction for use on final rejection is subject to specific restrictions, including special rules for motor vehicles.
For faults discovered within the first six months, the law generally presumes the problem existed at delivery unless the business can show otherwise; that presumption does not govern the initial 30-day rejection right. Beyond six months, the customer will usually need to establish that the fault was present at delivery, even if it was hidden.
Services require reasonable care and skill
A plumber, designer or repair workshop must perform a consumer service with reasonable care and skill. Information given about the service can become contractually binding if the customer relied on it. Where no price or completion time was agreed, the law requires a reasonable price or reasonable time, as appropriate.
If work falls short, the customer can ordinarily require repeat performance without additional charge, within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience. If putting the service right is impossible or cannot be done on those terms, a price reduction may be due. That reduction can reach the full price when justified, although the Act does not guarantee every customer’s hoped-for outcome.
Digital content has a different remedy route
Paid downloads, apps, games and other qualifying digital content must be satisfactory, fit for purpose and as described. If the content is defective, the primary consumer remedies are repair or replacement, rather than an automatic 30-day right to reject. A price reduction becomes available where those fixes are impossible or not provided within a reasonable time without significant inconvenience.
A different rule can apply if the trader had no right to supply the digital content: the customer may be entitled to a refund. Where faulty digital content damages a consumer’s device because the trader failed to exercise reasonable care and skill, the Act may also require repair of the damage or compensation. Goods containing faulty digital elements, such as a smart appliance, can engage the remedies for goods.
Unfair terms cannot cancel statutory protections
Standard conditions, signs and website notices must be fair and transparent. Under consumer law in the UK, an unfair term that creates a significant imbalance to the consumer’s detriment is not binding on them. A bold sign saying “no refunds under any circumstances” does not remove the right to a remedy for faulty goods.
Check clauses that permit unexpected price changes, impose excessive cancellation charges, or allow the business to escape responsibility when something goes wrong. The Competition and Markets Authority updated its unfair contract terms guidance in July 2026.
Build a complaints process around the remedy, not the receipt
Consider an online shop selling a £120 coffee machine. Four months after delivery, the heating element fails during ordinary use. Telling the buyer that the 30-day refund period has expired misses the point. The business should consider repair or replacement and the six-month presumption, rather than automatically refusing assistance.
An effective consumer complaint handling procedure starts with the purchase date, product or service description, alleged fault and requested remedy. Staff should then identify the relevant legal route, explain their decision and keep a record of repairs, replacement attempts and refunds. A bank statement or order confirmation may establish a purchase; the original paper receipt is not always essential.
Make a returns and refunds policy easy to find, train frontline teams to distinguish statutory entitlements from goodwill exchanges, and review supplier contracts separately.
Do not confuse faulty purchases with change-of-mind cancellations
The Consumer Rights Act is not the only regulation affecting customer sales. Most online and other qualifying distance sales carry separate 14-day cancellation rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, subject to exceptions. A customer who merely changes their mind about an in-store purchase usually has no automatic refund entitlement unless the store’s own policy provides one.
For an ecommerce business, reviewing online selling obligations alongside the Act helps prevent conflicting advice in checkout pages, confirmation emails and customer-service scripts.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Consumer Rights Act apply to small businesses?
Yes. A sole trader or small company selling to consumers must follow the relevant provisions. The size of the business does not remove its responsibilities.
Can a business insist on dealing with the manufacturer?
No. Where the customer bought goods from your business, their statutory claim is generally against you as seller. A manufacturer’s guarantee may provide additional help, not replace that claim.
Must businesses refund every customer who complains?
No. The correct remedy depends on what was supplied, what went wrong and when. Faulty goods, poor services and defective digital content follow different routes; a change of mind is not itself proof of a defect.
How long can a customer bring a claim?
For many contractual claims, the relevant limitation period is six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, while Scotland has different rules, generally involving a five-year prescriptive period. These are not product guarantees: the customer must still show a legally relevant breach.
Make compliance part of everyday trading
The most useful Consumer Rights Act business practice is a consistent response to problems: check the applicable standard, determine the remedy, communicate clearly and put justified complaints right promptly. That approach protects customers while giving staff a defensible, practical process for resolving disputes.