Black Friday (23 November 2018) has become the UK’s biggest shopping day as retailers slash their prices to kick off the gift buying season with many stores already offering their deals.

With this in mind, Coventry Trading Standards service has put together the answers to the five most asked questions about consumer rights:

1. What happens if my purchase is faulty?

In the first instance, talk to the retailer. You have 30 days in which to reject something that’s faulty and get your money back. Your rights don’t end after 30 days but, from then on, the retailer has the option of repairing or replacing the faulty product, rather than having to give you a refund.

2. What if I change my mind about what I buy on Black Friday?

When buying goods – make sure that you find out the retailer’s returns policy. Shops aren’t required by law to have a policy but if they do they must stick to it. Most shops’ returns policies have time limits for returning non-faulty products, often 28 days.

Sometimes, in the run up to Christmas, they may extend this period - so you might have more time to take things back. You can often find the last date printed on the receipt.

If you buy online, you have additional rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations. These give you 14 days from the time of delivery to return the product for a full refund, even if it’s not faulty.

3. I’ve paid for a new music album and downloaded it. It’s not working properly. What can I do?

In 2015, the Consumer Rights Act introduced new digital rights. This essentially means that anything you download or stream – including apps, music, movies, games or ebooks – is now covered by the legislation. If you buy, the retailer now has one opportunity to repair or replace any goods or digital content that are of unsatisfactory quality, unfit for purpose or not as described, before you can demand a refund.

Crucially, for the most part, these rights only apply to digital content you pay for, not the free stuff.

4. What if there’s a problem with my Black Friday delivery?

If your parcel doesn’t arrive in time, has gone missing, is stolen from your doorstep or arrives damaged - call the retailer. It’s their responsibility to deliver your goods to you.

5. How do I avoid scams on Black Friday?

If you see a deal which looks too good to be true – it probably is!  We advise caution if you see any Black Friday deals advertised on social media or anywhere else that look too good to be true. 

Read more information from Trading Standards on your consumer rights.

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Coventry Trading Standards is warning people to be aware of cold callers pretending to represent trading standards who are using  iTunes‘ gift card scams’ involving the purchasing of fake vouchers.

This follows a report from Norfolk where a local resident received a call which claimed to be from Trading Standards. It was claimed they were going to attend the resident’s property with a cheque for £5,000 due to an overpayment at the bank.

The cold caller then said that the resident had to purchase a £100 iTunes voucher in order to receive the cheque and that they would then call back the following day to collect the code from the voucher.

Trading Standards advise that fraudsters are now moving onto iTunes gift cards to collect money from victims because they can be easily redeemed and quick purchases can be made with them. The scammers don’t need the physical card to redeem the value and instead get victims to read out the serial code on the back over the phone. iTunes owners Apple say that gift cards can only be used to purchase goods on the iTunes store so should not be used for any other kind of payment.

On its support page, Apple said some fraudsters were using the same trick to persuade people to pay off hospital bills, bail money, debt collection fees and utility bills.

Since last October, there has been new wording on the back of iTunes vouchers warning buyers not to share the code with anyone else.

No trading standards would ever call residents in connection with refunds for banking charges, fees or overpayments and will never require residents to purchase gift cards.

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On 31/10/2018, Acti-Vape UK Limited and Anthony Devine (Assistant) pleaded guilty to charges at Coventry Magistrates to an offence of selling e-cigarette liquid containing nicotine to a young person under the age of 18.

Acti-Vape UK Limited trade as Acti-Vape, Walsgrave Road Coventry.  

On 10 March 2018 a covert visit was made by a 16 year old young person accompanied by Trading Standards Officers. The young person was sold Atlantis Zeus Juice  which states that it contains 3mg/ml of nicotine by Anthony Devine for £4. Signs in the shop stated ‘no ID no Sale’ but no ID was requested. 

Acti-Vape UK Limited was fined £1500, and was order to pay £547.24 in costs with a £150 victim surcharge. 

Anthony Devine was fined £300 and ordered to pay £547.24 in costs with a £30 victim surcharge. 

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SlimFast is recalling its Advanced Vitality Strawberry + Blueberry Burst Meal Replacement Powder Shake Vegan because it contains milk protein which is not mentioned on the label. This means the product is a possible health risk for anyone with an allergy or intolerance to milk or milk constituents. The affected product has been sold by Amazon, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Tesco.

Batch Codes: 8291, 8292, 8293, 8294

Best Before Date: end: October 2019

Advice: If you have bought the above product and have an allergy or intolerance to milk or milk constituents, do not drink it. Instead return it to the store from where it was bought for a full refund. No receipt is required.

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