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If a repair or replacement fails, you can ask for a refund (the "final right to reject") or keep the goods and ask for a price reduction. After six months you keep these rights, but you have to show the fault was there when you received the goods.
You can use it if, after one repair or one replacement, the goods still are not right; if repair and replacement are both impossible; or if the seller has not repaired or replaced them within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience to you.
You choose. A refund means returning the goods. A price reduction means keeping them and getting back an appropriate amount, which can be up to the full price if the goods are of little use to you. The seller must pay within 14 days of agreeing you are entitled to it.
If you use the final right to reject within six months of delivery, the seller cannot take anything off your refund for the use you have had. The exception is motor vehicles, where a deduction for use is allowed. After six months, the seller can deduct a reasonable amount for the use you have had.
For the first six months the law presumes a fault was there from the start. After that, you need to show the goods had a fault when you received them, rather than wear and tear, misuse or accidental damage. An independent report, such as an engineer's report, can help if the seller disputes it.
You can bring a claim up to 6 years from the date of the breach (usually delivery) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and usually up to 5 years from when you became aware of the problem in Scotland. That does not mean goods must last that long. How long they should last depends on what is reasonable for that kind of product and its price. See the guides for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Yes, if the fault was there when you received it or it has not lasted as long as it reasonably should. You can ask for a repair or replacement, but after six months you need to show the fault relates back to the sale rather than wear and tear or damage.
Not if you use the final right to reject within six months of delivery, except for motor vehicles. After six months the seller can deduct a reasonable amount for the use you have had.
Not always, but after six months it is up to you to show the fault was there from the start. If the seller disputes it, an independent report is often the most persuasive evidence.
There is no fixed period. It depends on what a reasonable person would expect for that type of product at that price. A premium washing machine should last longer than a cheap phone charger.
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Open Be Consumer WiseBrowse all guidesReviewed 2026-09-23. General legal information about UK consumer rights, not legal advice.
