With
Christmas just around the corner, lots of us will be out buying presents for
friends and family. Hopefully we get it right and the presents are appreciated by the intended recipient. However make sure you know
your rights if you need to return the items after Christmas for whatever
reason.
If
the item is faulty or was not as described information on your rights can be
found on the Citizen Advice website here.
When
buying from a retail store, please note that you do not have a legal right to a
refund or replacement if you simply change your mind.
The
store may however have their own returns policy offering a refund or
exchange for a limited period of time and some stores provide an extended time
to return goods over the Christmas period to allow for the return of unwanted
Christmas gifts. It is always worth asking BUT you are reliant on the
individual store's policy!
If
you are buying online or at a distance you get a 14 day cooling off period
which starts the day after you receive the goods. If the
trader has not given you all the required legal information relating to your cancellation
rights then you may have longer to return the goods.
If
you would like more advice on your rights then you can contact the
Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 03454 04 05 06.
None
of us can resist a bargain, especially when we have lots of presents to buy at
this time of year for family or friends.
The
latest craze this year and one of the must buy presents of 2015 is a
'hoverboard'. Please be careful that you do not buy a cheaper and
potentially unsafe version. The following links take you to recent
articles warning about the safety of some ‘hoverboards’ that are available.
Thousands of unsafe 'hoverboards' detained over past seven weeks
Avoid Christmas hoverboard horror
Trading Standards officers seize 15,000 unsafe hoverboards
Useful advice and guidance when purchasing a hover board can be found here.
When
buying presents or novelty Christmas decorations you must ensure that children
cannot easily access the batteries. A recent press release we issued about the
dangers of button batteries can be found here.
The
National Trading Standards eCrime Team have issued a press release about a
recent scam which warns consumers about emails from the Australian Competition
and Consumer Commission (ACCC) offering compensation to victims of computer
software service fraud. For more information you can find the press release here.
The following press releases have been issued by our colleagues in the West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service.
‘Check your tumble dryer’ urges Chief Fire Officer after safety notice
Wheat bag warning after lucky escape for elderly lady in Goring
Trading
Standards Officers work hard to protect consumers and legitimate
businesses by taking appropriate action to tackle unfair and illegal
trading.
The
following links takes you to recent Trading Standards press releases:
Heartless conman jailed for six years after robbing his ‘customers’
Facebook seller caught with fake DVDs
Investigation shows sheep meat being sold as “goat”
Shopkeeper fined for selling illegal tobacco
You
can keep up to date with what Trading Standards are doing by following us on
Twitter. All our latest tweets can be found here.
You
can find the latest information on products and food items which have been recalled
for safety reasons by clicking here.
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you are not already subscribed to this newsletter and you would like to
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