What to do if you have a problem with your Black Friday purchase

(Image credit: Getty)

published 23 November 2018

If the activity on this website alone is anything to go by, lots of you are grabbing some great Black Friday bargains this year. But what if you've bought something you regret later? What if your order doesn't arrive? What redress do you have and how can you put things right? Adam French, Which? consumer rights expert, has the following advice for shoppers this Black Friday.

Your Black Friday deal doesn't arrive

'If there’s a problem with your Black Friday delivery, it’s the retailer rather than the courier’s problem to sort out. So if your parcel doesn’t turn up on time, goes missing, arrives damaged or is stolen from your doorstep, let the retailer know,' advises Adam.

You want to return a Black Friday online purchase

'If you buy online, you have better rights to return unwanted products thanks to the Consumer Contract Regulations,' says Adam. 'These give you the right to cancel your order, even if there is nothing wrong with the item. You can cancel your online order at any time from the moment you paid and up to 14 days from the date the goods were delivered to you. Once you've notified the retailer that you'd like to cancel, you then have a further 14 days to return the product.'

You want to return an in-store Black Friday purchase

'Shops aren’t required by law to have a returns policy for in store sales but, if they do, they must stick to it. Make sure you check how much time you’ve got to get your money back on a non-faulty product. Often retailers extend the returns period over Christmas, but make sure to check this on your receipt.'

Shop Black Friday like a pro

For more information on how to get the best deals – and check the deals you're nabbing are real deals – don't miss our feature on the dos and don'ts of shopping on Black Friday.

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Lucy is Global Editor-in-Chief of Homes & Gardens having worked on numerous interiors and property titles. She was founding Editor of Channel 4’s 4Homes magazine, was Associate Editor at Ideal Home, before becoming Editor-in-Chief of Realhomes.com in 2018 then moving to Homes & Gardens in 2021. She has also written for Huffington Post, AOL, UKTV, MSN, House Beautiful, Good Homes, and many women’s titles. Find her writing about everything from buying and selling property, self build, DIY, design and consumer issues to gardening.