Shopping in the sales
What are your rights when shopping in the sales?
When you shop in the sales, you have the same consumer rights as you would when buying at full price. You are entitled to a refund or exchange for faulty goods, even if bought in a sale.
Always check a store's returns policy before buying sale items and be aware that sale prices must be genuine, with discounts based on the lowest price in the previous 30 days.
Can you return sale items if you change your mind?
If you buy products or services online, over the phone or on your doorstep, you have a cooling-off period where you can change your mind and get a refund. This applies whether or not you buy during a sale. Read more about your rights when you buy online, over the phone or on your doorstep.
If you buy in person from a shop, you are not automatically entitled to a refund or exchange if you change your mind. Each business can decide whether to offer change of mind returns or cancellations, and they may have a different returns policy during sales. Always check the shop’s returns policy before you buy. Allowing for change of mind returns is a gesture of goodwill, and businesses are within their rights to change their policy during sales. Read more about changing your mind.
What if the item you bought in the sales is faulty?
You have the same rights if you buy a faulty item in the sales as you do at any other time. Businesses cannot refuse to provide exchanges or refunds for faulty items just because they were bought in a sale. If a fault occurs within 30 days of buying the product, you can cancel your purchase and get a full refund. The refund must be for the price you paid, not the current sale price. However, if you knowingly buy an item with a flaw (for example, a jumper that was on discount because of a tear), you cannot return it later for that specific fault. You can find more information about your rights when an item you bought has a fault in our faulty goods section.
How should sale prices be displayed in shops?
Shops must clearly display the price of any goods they sell. When running price promotions or ‘special offers’, it is against the law for shops to give false or misleading information on prices. When selling goods at a sale price, businesses must display the ‘prior price’. This should be the lowest price the goods were on sale for in the 30 days before the sale started. For example, if a laptop is advertised as ‘was €700, now €500’, it must not have been available for less than €700 in the 30 days before the sale. More information can be found in our pricing section.
What should you do if you think a business is breaking consumer rights law during a sale?
If you believe a business is not following the rules on pricing during a sale, you can report the issue to us.
Next steps to resolve your consumer rights issue
- Contact the business informally first, explain the problem and try to work it out.
- Keep a record of all contact and communications in case you need to escalate your complaint later.
- If the problem is not resolved, make a formal written complaint to the business. You can use the CCPC complaint letter templates which outline your consumer rights to help you.
- If you paid by card, you may have the option to request a chargeback from your bank or financial services provider.
- If your claim is for €2,000 or less, you can use the small claims procedure.
- If the problem is not easily resolved, we encourage you to also report the business to the CCPC. Your report will inform our advocacy and enforcement activities.
- For more guidance, please visit our how to resolve an issue section.
