Repairs and replacements

What are your consumer rights for repairs and replacements of faulty goods?

If you report the fault within 30 days of when you bought or received the product, you are entitled to cancel your purchase and get a full refund. Consumer law calls this your ‘short-term right to terminate a sales contract’. You can get a repair or replacement instead of a refund if you prefer.

However, it’s not always obvious straight away that a product you bought is faulty. You should expect a business to solve an issue with a faulty product for up to six years after purchase if the goods might reasonably be expected to last that long with normal use.

After 30 days, when you report an issue with a product, the business can propose a repair or replacement. The business that sold you the goods is responsible for repairs and replacements. They shouldn’t tell you to contact the manufacturer instead.

It’s up to you whether you opt for a repair or a replacement, but you cannot insist on a solution that isn’t possible. For instance, you can’t insist on a replacement item if it’s no longer available.

Also, a business can refuse to repair or replace the goods if the cost would be ‘disproportionate’ compared to an alternative solution, taking into account the value of the goods and how significant the issue is.

Serious faults and repairs

A serious fault is one that severely affects your ability to use the item you bought. For the most serious faults, you do not need to accept a repair or replacement, you can get a refund instead.

This applies in situations including:

Where you have no confidence in the business to repair the product
Where the fault creates a safety risk
Where it is impossible to use the item and you cannot reasonably trust that a repair or replacement will resolve this.

What to do if your product has a serious fault

Contact the business immediately and explain the problem with the product and say that you are terminating the sales contract due to the serious nature of the fault and want a refund. This is part of your consumer rights when buying goods. It’s a good idea to do this in writing if possible. You can use our letter templates to help you. The business must refund you within 14 days of getting the goods back.

What are your rights if a business is repairing a faulty product they sold you?

Repairs must be done, free of charge, in a reasonable amount of time and without significant inconvenience to you. What is a reasonable amount of time depends on the nature of the repairs and the type of product. Repairs must be done in the shortest time needed to complete them.

You must make the faulty product available to be repaired, and the business must cover the costs of returning the goods, and uninstalling them if this is needed.

Your right to have an item repaired by the business who sold you the product takes priority over any manufacturer’s warranty or guarantee you might have received when you made the purchase.

You have the right to a repair even if you don’t have a warranty

You bought a games console, but after six months it stops loading games. When you take it back to the shop, the assistant asks you if you paid for an extended warranty when you bought the console. You didn’t. However, under consumer law, the shop should still arrange for the console to be replaced or repaired.

What if a faulty product needs to be repaired again or multiple times?

Sometimes an item might need to be repaired more than once, either to fix the same issue or address a different one. A business can offer you a further repair but you do not have to accept multiple repairs if you no longer have confidence in the business to repair the goods, you can reject their offer of any further repairs and ask for a replacement item.

What if the business refused a repair or replacement or a repair or replacement is impossible?

A business has a right to refuse a repair or a replacement if it is impossible to carry out or would be too costly compared with the full value of the item. In this situation, or if a repair or replacement cannot be done within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience, you have a right to:

A full refund, if you return the faulty item
A partial refund and you decide to keep the item. Learn more – Getting a price reduction

What are your rights if a business offers to replace a faulty product they sold you?

If you are willing to accept a replacement, you must make the product being replaced available for collection or return it yourself. You should receive the replacement within a reasonable period and without significant inconvenience.

Who pays the cost of returning a faulty item?

The business must pay for the return cost if sending the faulty item back or reimburse you if you pay the cost up front.

What if the faulty product needs to be uninstalled or removed by a professional?

If the faulty product was installed and needs a professional to remove them, the business is responsible for uninstalling the product and installing any repaired or replacement product or paying the costs of these.

What are your rights if the issue with the faulty product is not resolved by a repair or a replacement?

You are entitled to a partial refund. A partial refund is when you keep the item but there is a reduction in the price to reflect its lower value because of the fault. Find out more about getting a partial refund on our getting a price reduction page. For serious faults you can get a full refund.

Can you withhold payments?

If you are paying in instalments, or you haven’t fully paid for the goods, you have the right to withhold payment until the business resolves the issue. If you bought or received the item in the past 30 days, you may prefer to get a refund as per your consumer rights. If you decide to withhold payment, you should tell the business that you intend to do so. If the issue is then resolved and you receive the product in working order, you must pay the agreed amount. The amount that you can withhold is based on the reduced value of the goods because of the fault or defect. The reduced value depends on the type of item and how much it differs from what was agreed at the point of sale.

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.