Consumer Rights and Defective Goods in England

If you own a business in England that sells goods to consumers, you may wish to familiarise yourself with your customers’ rights. Specifically, their rights if you accidentally supply them with a defective good. Understanding these rights is important because it will help you minimise your liability and improve your business’s customer standing. This article will explain some of the key points related to consumer rights and defective goods in England. It will also explore potential consequences if you sell defective goods to a consumer.

Relevant Transactions 

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out the definition of defective goods (or defective products) in England and applies to all consumer contracts. A consumer contract is any contract for the sale of goods you make with anyone that is not operating a business themselves. Some common examples include:

• selling homemade pottery at a local craft fair; 
• building and selling custom gaming computers for personal use;
• manufacturing and selling musical equipment. 

Importantly, goods are different from services like providing a recruitment service or bookkeeping business. If your business provides a service rather than goods, the rules governing defective goods do not apply to you. Additionally, sometimes you may supply both goods and services in a single transaction. For example, if you are a tradesman. Again, there are different laws for the supply of goods and services than just goods alone. 

Separately, the rules outlined in this article do not apply to private transactions. This refers to a deal between two individuals in their private capacity. For example, if you occasionally sell watches to other individuals, you are not likely to be bound by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. However, if you have a company that regularly sells watches, your company will be bound. Similarly, if you regularly sell watches in your personal capacity, the law may conclude you are operating as a business. This would mean you have to abide by the law.

What Are Defective Goods?

The law requires that all goods sold to consumers must be:

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

We will consider these elements in more detail. 

What if I Have Sold Defective Goods?

If you sell a good that does not meet all three of these elements, you are in breach of the contract. Importantly, you cannot try and contract out of these terms. This is what the law means when it says these terms are implied in the contract. Therefore, as an example, say you have a well-displayed sign in your store that says, “All sales are final — no exceptions!”. Even if the customer has read this, the product you sell to them must not be defective. Otherwise, you will be in breach of the contract. 

If you breach a term of the contract, the customer is automatically entitled to certain rights. These rights depend on when the customer purchases the product from you. 

There are exceptions to these rules. For instance, say you operate a grocery store and a customer buys a bushel of bananas. After 20 days, they cannot try and reject the bananas because they are overripe. Likewise, if you sell undergarments and the customer tries them on, you will not have to refund the product if they are unhappy. 

Defective Goods: Further Considerations 

In addition to the rights above, you may face additional liability in certain circumstances. As a general rule, if a defective product results in damage to the customer or their property, you may be liable. 

For example, say you sell a defective washing machine that leaks and damages the customer’s flooring. If they alert you within 30 days from the date of purchase, they can demand a refund, as well as require you to pay to repair the floor. After 30 days, they can demand you replace or repair the machine as well as pay for new flooring. 

Minimising Losses

With all of this in mind, the consumer also has a duty to mitigate any loss that they suffer as a result of the defective product. In the leaky washing machine example, the customer cannot sit by and let the leak get worse. If they do, you may not have to fix their floor because the law says they should have minimised their loss. 

Key Takeaways

As a business owner in England who is selling products to consumers, understanding consumer rights and your legal obligations is essential. The goods that you sell, therefore, must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described. If you sell a defective good, your customers can reject the good and demand a refund within 30 days from the purchase date. After this, they can demand a refund or replacement within reason. 

If you need help understanding how the Consumer Rights Act applies to your business, our experienced regulatory and compliance lawyers can assist as part of our LegalVision membership. For a low monthly fee, you will have unlimited access to lawyers to answer your questions and draft and review your documents. Call us today at 0808 196 8584 or visit our membership page.

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