Glossary · UK
What is Consumer Rights Act 2015?
The main UK law setting out consumers' legal rights when buying goods, digital content or services, including that goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described.
Full Definition
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the main piece of UK legislation governing contracts between businesses and consumers for the sale of goods, digital content and services, consolidating and updating earlier laws such as the Sale of Goods Act 1979. For goods, it implies statutory terms into every contract that the goods must be of satisfactory quality (accounting for price, description and any relevant circumstances), fit for any particular purpose the consumer made known to the seller, and as described; for services, it implies a term that the service must be carried out with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time if no time was agreed, and for a reasonable price if none was agreed. The Act sets out a tiered set of remedies for faulty goods: within the first 30 days of purchase, a consumer has a short-term right to reject the goods and get a full refund; after 30 days (and up to six years from purchase in England and Wales, five years in Scotland), the consumer's primary remedy is to request a repair or replacement, and only if that fails, is not done within a reasonable time, or causes significant inconvenience can the consumer then claim a refund (which may be reduced to account for use, if this is after the first six months) or a price reduction. For the first six months after purchase, the burden is on the retailer to prove the fault was not present at the time of sale (or did not arise from a cause present at that time) if it wishes to refuse a remedy; after six months, the burden shifts to the consumer to show the fault existed at the point of sale, which can require expert evidence. The Act also governs unfair contract terms, making terms that are not "individually negotiated" and that create a significant imbalance to the detriment of the consumer potentially unenforceable, and gives consumers similar quality rights for digital content, such as apps, ebooks and streaming services, including a right to a repair, replacement or refund if downloaded content is faulty. These statutory rights exist regardless of, and cannot be reduced by, any separate manufacturer's warranty or the retailer's own returns policy, both of which can only add to, not take away, the consumer's legal rights.