We live in the golden age of online commerce, when we can have and endless number of items delivered to our door, ordered from the comfort of our homes or offices, but in using such services, it is important to know your rights as a consumer.
In terms of purchasing items online, the law is quite clear, and also (somewhat unusually perhaps) quite simple. The golden rule is this: when you buy something online you have 14 days to change your mind. The company is obliged to return what you paid, and you do not owe them any kind of explanation. You are legally obliged to change your mind without giving a reason. Of course, you will have to return the item.
How to return a purchase made online
We neither see it nor touch it, but we buy it. Spending money at the click of a button carries risks and until the product arrives at home we do not know exactly if we have made the right choice. That is why the Law protects the consumer.
The 5 consumer rights in online purchases
- Online stores are required to send an acknowledgment of receipt or confirmation.
Keep this document in case you have to claim later.
- From the moment the product arrives at your home, you have 14 calendar days to return it free of charge. You do not have to give any explanation: you simply exercise your right of withdrawal.
- They must refund the payment within 14 days.
- The products you buy online have the same legal guarantee as any other product purchased new: 3 years if the product was purchased after January 1, 2022. If there is any defect, it is the seller’s responsibility to exchange it for the same new product or repair it.
- If the online store does not correctly inform you that you have 14 days to return without giving explanations, the Law punishes them by making it more difficult: the term is extended to 12 months.
What items cannot be returned?
There are some exceptions where the store is not required to refund your money: music, video, software, video games: when you remove the seal, you lose your right of withdrawal. Press and magazines, custom products, food and other fast expiration products.
Who pays the shipping costs in a return?
It is clear that if you order it within the term (14 calendar days) they must refund the price of the product. They can offer you alternatives (purchase voucher, substitution for another item…) but you can always refuse and demand your money.
They are required to reimburse you for the initial shipping costs, but they can make you pay what it costs to ship the product from your home to the store’s headquarters (return costs).
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