How to buy in sales Returning faulty sale goods

Your rights returning faulty sale goods

Many shops will try to grab our attention with sales. But how do we know we're getting a real bargain?

The Sale of Goods Act applies to sale and non-sale items and says they must be

• as described
• of satisfactory quality
• fit for purpose.

You have the right to claim for a refund, replacement or repair if sale goods are faulty. A retailer cannot try to limit your rights in sales, for example cannot say 'no returns on sale items'. If retailer tries to do this they are committing an offence, and could be prosecuted by trading standards officers.

Traders sometimes display signs in sales saying that if you return an item you'll be refunded the most recent sale price. If you are returning something faulty you bought in a sale and within a reasonable time (three or four weeks) you should be reimbursed the full amount you paid. 

However, you cannot claim under the Sale of Goods Act for faults you were told about before you bought the item. So if, for example, a vase in a sale has a chip in it, and you were told about this you don't have a right to a refund or replacement. The same applies if you find a fault in an item in a sale and ask for a discount.