The short-term right to reject under the Consumer Rights Act 2015

Date: Friday 06 November 2015

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Following on from the last update about the short term right of consumers to reject goods, a question was received about who is responsible for getting the vehicle back to the dealer should a customer exercise their right to a refund.

Section 20 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 deals with issues around the right to reject, be that the 30 day short-term right to reject or the final right to reject.

The law states:

&ldquo,The consumer has a duty to make the goods available for collection by the trader or (if there is an agreement for the consumer to return rejected goods) to return them as agreed.&rdquo,

It goes on to say:

&ldquo,Whether or not the consumer has a duty to return the rejected goods, the trader must bear any reasonable costs of returning them, other than any cost incurred by the consumer in returning the goods in person to the place where the consumer took physical possession of them&rdquo,.

So, unless you expressly make clear in your pre sales information that the customer must return a rejected vehicle to your showroom, all they have to do is tell you where the vehicle is and let you collect it. So, even if they live 500 miles away, it is still your responsibility.

The recommendation is for companies to review their sales documents and, if necessary, to add a term which is drawn to the customer&rsquo,s attention that they must return the vehicle if they want to reject it.

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