Consumers 'Do Not Read Refund Policies'

We have all been there; on a shopping trip bought an item of clothing and it’s the wrong size. Do we just live with it and give it away as a present the next time someone has a birthday or do we exercise our consumer rights and take the offending garment back to the shop for a refund.

Most consumers admit to not reading the return and refund policies they receive when they buy an item, it has been reported. A survey by a leading online insurance company shows that around seven out of ten of UK consumers do not know their rights when it comes to bringing back unwanted goods. It adds that over a quarter of people have struggled to return an unwanted item, while nearly half state that they have signed up for a service without looking around the market for a better deal.

A spokesman from the company commented that people in the UK have an impulse attitude when it comes to shopping.

"We've also dropped our guard when it comes to 'sensible' habits like shopping around and as a result we are getting stung by shops' returns policies," she said.

The survey also revealed that more than nine out of ten consumers have made regrettable impulse purchases last year and as many as two thirds claimed to have made three or more impulse purchases in the same period.

More than a fifth of people admitted that the reason they made impulse purchases was because it was easy with credit cards, whilst over a quarter agreed that it was the convenience of online shopping. Worryingly, roughly one in seven people admitted that they sometimes don't think about the price, with slightly more only realising that they can't really afford the item after they have made their purchase.

It seems we should be curbing our impulse buying as money charity Credit Action has revealed that the UK's personal debt mountain currently stands at more than £1.3 trillion.

If you would like to know more about your rights why not ask AnswerBank Law.