Myths about your consumer rights during Black Friday Sales
As we approach one of the biggest days of the year in the shopping calendar, Dean Dunham is making sure consumers are not put off by the myth that shoppers have fewer Consumer Rights when they purchase products or services in sales. Dean Dunham refutes the myth on LBC’s latest Consumer Hour Show with Clive Bull.
“There’s a huge myth that many consumers think that when you buy in the sales like on Black Friday, your consumer rights are less. That’s not true,” Dean says.
Here are four Key points you should consider before you spend your hard-earned cash this Friday.
1. Faulty goods – What happens if you buy something on Black Friday and it’s faulty?
“Some consumers think ‘tough luck’, but that’s not true,” Dean said. “The Consumer Rights Act which is the law that covers this activity clearly says that it doesn’t matter if you buy something in the sales, your rights are the same.
“If something goes wrong in the first 30 days, you have an automatic right to a refund. Thereafter, up to six months, you have a right to exchange/refund or to have it repaired, but unfortunately, the retailer gets to choose which one and after that you have to prove why it went wrong,” he added.
2. Returning faulty goods – What are your rights when returning a product?
“It’s important to do that [return products] very quickly. If you buy online you get 14 days, from the day you receive your goods, to change your mind – no questions asked. So that’s a good reason to buy online,” Dean highlights.
3. Deliveries – When can you expect to get your product(s)?
“Make sure you specify when you want the goods to be delivered. If they are late and you haven’t specified a date, then there’s nothing you can do,” Dean explains.
4. Scams – What if I think a Black Friday sale is a scam?
“This is a day [Black Friday] where scams are everywhere. Be careful,” Dean warns consumers.
Fraudsters are busy during big retail events like Black Friday so it’s important to look out for online scams and email scams. If you think a deal is too good to be true on a website, then make sure you follow this advice below.
You can check to see if a website is safe by checking the URL. Look at the address bar of the website you are on and check to see if the URL starts https://www. – you will notice that a secure website will have an ‘S’ after the’HTTP’ part and will look like this ‘HTTPS’. This is very important especially if you are on a payment page of a website. Another thing to look out for is the padlock symbol in the address bar which also indicates that a web page is secure and you can be confident in using its payment system.
Read more consumer advice articles here.
