If you’ve received a gift this Christmas that’s not quite up your street, you may be able to take it back – even if you didn’t buy it. Helping people ensure they don’t lose out, Money Saving Expert (MSE), founded by Martin Lewis, has said there is a way to do it.
However, you will need a follow a set of rules first. In their consumer rights Q&A under the title ‘can I return goods that are a gift?’, the money gurus explain that normally you can’t return a gift.
That’s because you didn’t buy it, so you don’t have a contract with the store. The person who bought it would need to return it if there’s an issue.
But, if the gift is faulty, there’s a way around this – and there may be hope if you just simply don’t want it. If the store gives a gift receipt or if the buyer tells the seller that the item is a gift (and mentions your name), you might be able to return it.
This makes the gift giver’s purchase your contract, too. This is done “by ‘conferring the benefit of the contract’ under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties Act) 1999,” the experts explain.
So when buying an item for someone, they need to make it clear it is a gift. When doing this, the person should mention – in writing ideally – the person’s name or a description, such as that they are a friend or family member.
MSE says “this extra term then becomes part of your contract too.” So if the gift is faulty “you as the recipient (with a gift receipt) should be able to return the item for a refund (though the retailer may insist that the payment be refunded to the same card).”
If it’s not faulty and you don’t want it, MSE stress that your rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations only apply to the original purchaser. This means the person who bought it may have to return it.
If it was a freebie, there’s technically no contract with the supplier, “so you’re not entitled to get a faulty item fixed”, MSE say. But if it was a free item with a purchase such as a free laptop when you take out a phone contract, that’s different.
The MSE website states you have “SAD FART rights” just as you would do if you paid for it. The site urged people not to let sellers fob them off.
What does MSE’s SADFART stand for?
- S atisfactory Quality
- A s
- D escribed
- F it for the purpose
- A nd last a
- R easonable length of
- T ime