Sale Of Goods Act
What are your rights when buying goods?
The law says that goods you buy must be:
- as described - this means that they must meet the description given to them either on the label, on notices in the shop or verbally by the retailer;
- of satisfactory quality - they must be of a standard that a reasonable person would consider satisfactory from the point of view of appearance, finish, freedom from defects, safety and durability;
- for the purpose - they must do the job they are supposed to do.
If goods that you buy do not meet with these conditions you have the right to ask the retailer for your money back, or for a replacement that meets the conditions. If the retailer will not do this you should contact the Office of Fair Trading for more advice.
These rules also apply if you buy goods from the UK either in person or at a distance through catalogues or the Internet for instance but think seriously before you buy anything off-Island:-
If things go wrong you can obviously return small items by special delivery post but you will have to pay for this as the law is quite clear that it becomes your responsibility to return items to the retailer. The retailer does not have to pay for return postage or arrange for faulty items to be collected.
This could of course be expensive with larger items. Also bear in mind when buying a large item that it may need servicing or repairing at a later date so before you buy off-Island make sure that there is a local service agent.
Remember though that goods bought from abroad will be covered by that country’s laws and even if these same standards apply it could be difficult for you to get your complaint dealt with or to take legal action.
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