Refusing refund for change of mind

Hello there. I am Gemma, a legal assistant here at Lawyer Destroyer. I would be happy to help you figure out where you stand with this customer.

Whether you can refuse a refund for a customer who has simply changed their mind depends almost entirely on how and where they bought the item from you. The law treats physical shops and online sales quite differently in England and Wales.

In-store purchases:

If your customer bought the item in person from your physical shop, they do not have an automatic legal right to return it just because they have changed their mind. This is often called buyer's remorse, and the law does not require you to refund them for it. You can politely refuse the refund, unless your own shop policy promises a refund for unwanted items, or if the item is actually faulty or not as described. If it is faulty, they have a legal right to a refund within the first 30 days.

Online, phone, or mail order purchases:

If your customer bought the item at a distance without being physically present in a store, the situation changes completely. Consumers have a legal right to a 14-day cooling-off period. This means they have the right to change their mind, cancel the order, and claim a full refund for almost any reason.

They have 14 days from the day they receive their goods to tell you they want to cancel, and then another 14 days to actually send the goods back to you. You also have to refund the basic delivery cost they paid to get the item, though the customer usually has to pay the cost of posting it back to you, provided you told them this before they bought it.

Exceptions to the online rules:

Even if they bought the item online, there are some things you never have to refund just for a change of mind. These include perishable goods like food or flowers, custom-made or personalised items, sealed audio, video, or software if the seal has been broken, and items sealed for health or hygiene reasons that have been opened.

Business to business sales:

If your customer is actually another business rather than an everyday consumer, the strict consumer protection rules I mentioned above do not apply. In a commercial sale, you are not legally obliged to accept returns for a change of mind unless your specific contract or terms of trade with them allows for it.

Practical next steps:

1. Check how the sale was made. If it was in person, you can likely refuse unless your own returns policy says otherwise. If it was online, they probably have the legal right to change their mind.

2. Check the dates. If it was an online sale, calculate exactly when they received the goods and when they told you they wanted to cancel. If they missed the 14-day window to tell you, you are legally entitled to refuse the refund.

3. Check the exceptions. See if the item falls into one of the exempt categories like being custom-made or perishable.

4. Check the condition of the item. Even if an online customer has the right to return an item, you can sometimes deduct money from their refund if they have handled it more than was reasonably necessary to check what it is, causing it to lose value.

5. Communicate your decision clearly. Write back to the customer politely outlining your decision. If you are refusing the refund, explain exactly why. For example, you can explain that the item was bought in-store and is not faulty, or that the 14-day distance selling cooling-off period has expired.

I hope this clarifies things and helps you handle the customer's request smoothly. Let me know if you would like me to look at any other details for you.