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Your rights when you buy from a catalogue

A catalogue purchase is a consumer contract like any other, and a catalogue account is a credit agreement on top of it. This page sets out the specific law behind cancelling, returning faulty goods, and claiming against the credit provider when something goes wrong.

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Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013

The 14-day right to change your mind

When you buy from a catalogue, whether by post, phone or online, you are buying at a distance: you have not seen or handled the goods before ordering. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you a statutory right to cancel that order within 14 days, for any reason, without having to say why. This is separate from your rights if goods are faulty, which are covered elsewhere on this page.

  1. When the 14 days start

    The cancellation period runs from the day after you receive the goods. If your order arrives in several parts, the 14 days start from the day you receive the last item. You do not need to have opened or used the item to cancel within this period; the right exists precisely so you can look at the goods properly before deciding to keep them.

  2. What the right covers

    The right applies to most goods bought from a catalogue for delivery to your home, and it covers a genuine change of mind. It exists because you had no opportunity to inspect the item before buying, unlike a purchase made in a shop.

    Covered

    Standard catalogue items: clothing, homeware, electricals and similar stock goods.

    Not covered

    Personalised or made-to-order items, perishable goods, and sealed goods you have unsealed for hygiene reasons, such as underwear or earrings.

  3. Telling the retailer you are cancelling

    To use the right, you need to tell the retailer clearly that you are cancelling, within the 14 days. A phone call, email or the cancellation form supplied with the order all count. You do not need to have sent the goods back within that same 14 days, only to have told the retailer you no longer want them.

  4. Returning the goods and who pays postage

    Once you have told the retailer you are cancelling, you then have a further 14 days to send the goods back. Who pays for that return depends on what the retailer told you before you ordered.

    Retailer covers return postage

    Many catalogue retailers offer free returns as a matter of policy, though this is a business choice rather than a legal requirement.

    Retailer does not cover it

    You pay the cost of sending the item back, unless the retailer failed to tell you in advance that you would have to, in which case the retailer must cover it.

  5. Getting your refund

    The retailer must refund you within 14 days of receiving the goods back, or of you providing evidence that you have sent them, whichever is sooner. The refund must include the original standard delivery charge, though not any extra you paid for faster delivery. The retailer can withhold the refund until the goods are received back or evidence of return is provided, but not beyond that.

This describes the statutory position under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. If a retailer disputes your cancellation, Citizens Advice can help you work out the next step.

Faulty goods and the 30-day right to reject them

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out what you can do when something bought from a catalogue turns out to be faulty, unsafe, or not what it was described as. It applies to the catalogue retailer as the seller, whatever the goods cost and whatever page you found them on, and it exists alongside any right to cancel a distance purchase or claim against a credit provider under section 75.

The 30-day short-term right to reject

If goods are faulty when they arrive, or develop a fault within the first 30 days, you have the right to reject them and get a full refund. The retailer cannot insist on a repair or replacement instead during this period; the choice is yours. This 30-day clock runs from delivery, so keep the delivery date and any confirmation email as your reference point.

The six-month reversed burden of proof

After 30 days, the position changes but the protection does not disappear. Up to six months from delivery, if a fault appears, the law presumes it was there when the goods were supplied unless the retailer can show otherwise. In practice this means the retailer has to prove the item was fine when it left the warehouse if they want to refuse a repair, replacement or refund. Within this six-month window the retailer normally gets one attempt at a repair or replacement first; if that attempt fails, you can then ask for a refund, and after six months the burden of proving the fault existed at delivery shifts back to you.

What to say and where to take it

State clearly which right you are using: rejection within 30 days, or a repair, replacement or refund under the six-month provision. Put it in writing and keep a copy. If the retailer refuses a claim you believe is valid, Citizens Advice and the Financial Ombudsman Service can help you take a complaint further, and both are covered in the complaints section of this guide.

Section 75 protection: when the credit provider is jointly liable

What section 75 does

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes the credit provider equally responsible with the retailer when something goes wrong with a purchase made on credit. If the goods are faulty, never arrive, or the retailer misdescribes them and then stops trading, you can put the claim to the lender instead of, or as well as, the shop. The lender cannot simply refer you back to the retailer, because the law makes them jointly liable for the same breach of contract.

The £100 to £30,000 threshold

Section 75 applies only to a single item with a cash price of more than £100 and not more than £30,000. It is the price of the individual item that counts. What matters is the cash price of the item itself at the point of purchase.

Why this depends on how your account is arranged

Section 75 was written for arrangements involving three parties: you, the retailer, and a separate lender with an existing business relationship to finance purchases at that retailer. Some catalogue accounts work this way, with the credit supplied by a finance company linked to the catalogue. See how catalogue credit is structured for how these arrangements typically work. Where that separate lender exists, it is jointly liable under section 75 and you can claim against it directly.

Other catalogue accounts are different: the catalogue company is both retailer and lender, running the credit facility itself. In that case section 75 does not give you anything extra, because the company you would already claim against for faulty or misdescribed goods and the company holding your credit agreement are the same business. Check your credit agreement or account terms to see which structure applies before assuming there is a second party to claim against.

How to make a claim

  • Set out what went wrong and when, in writing, to the credit provider named on your agreement.
  • State the price of the item and the date of purchase.
  • Ask for a written response and keep a copy of everything you send.
  • If the credit provider refuses or does not reply within a reasonable time, you can take the complaint further.

This section explains how section 75 works in general terms. It is not financial advice for your specific purchase, so for help deciding what to do about a particular account, see MoneyHelper (moneyhelper.org.uk) or check whether a lender is authorised on the FCA register (register.fca.org.uk).

Making a complaint

How to complain about a catalogue purchase

If a retailer has refused a refund, rejected a faulty item or ignored your cancellation notice, there is a set order to follow before anyone outside the retailer gets involved.

  • Put the complaint to the retailer in writing

    State the right you are relying on, whether that is the 14-day cancellation right, the short-term right to reject under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, or a section 75 claim, and what outcome you want.

  • Give the retailer a chance to respond

    Retailers have their own internal complaints process, and most disputes are resolved at this stage without needing anyone else.

  • Check whether the retailer belongs to an alternative dispute resolution scheme

    Many retailers name a scheme in their terms and conditions or on their website, and using it does not cost you anything.

  • Take a credit-related complaint to the Financial Ombudsman Service

    This applies where the dispute involves the credit agreement itself, such as a section 75 claim against the credit provider, and only once the retailer or lender has had a chance to answer your complaint or eight weeks have passed.

  • Contact Citizens Advice if you are not sure which route applies

    Citizens Advice can help you work out whether a complaint belongs with the retailer, the credit provider, an ADR scheme or the ombudsman.

This is general information about the complaints process, not advice on your individual case. For guidance specific to your situation, see MoneyHelper at moneyhelper.org.uk.

Rights are one part of the decision; what the credit costs is the other

The sections above set out the law and where it protects you, but this is general information rather than financial advice. For help with a specific decision, MoneyHelper (moneyhelper.org.uk) and the FCA register (register.fca.org.uk) are the places to check. If a retailer or credit provider turns down a complaint you believe is right, Citizens Advice and the Financial Ombudsman Service can take it further.

Use the catalogue account cost calculator to see what spreading a purchase over several months would cost with your own figures. Check the regulatory updates page for changes to the consumer rights and credit rules covered here.