Before buying a gift we should ask about the shop’s return policies.

Now that the Christmas season is only a month away, we must start thinking about the gifts we need to buy. Purchasing gifts is no easy task and may be quite time consuming. It is a kind of purchase that requires a lot of thinking and there is always the risk that the person receiving the gift may not like it.

To minimise the risk of wasting our money on unwanted gifts, it is important that when we make these kind of purchases we take a number of precautions to ensure the possibility of exchange or refund.

Before buying a gift we should ask about the shop’s return policies. We should inform the seller that the item we are buying is a gift and specifically ask whether it can be returned or not.

If the answer is yes, then we should ask about the possible solutions the shop offers. This is very important because legally, retailers have no obligation to offer us a remedy when we want to change an item just because the person for whom we bought it either did not like it or did not need it.

Consumer law protects us and gives us the right to request a remedy free of charge only when the product purchased either has a latent defect and/or is not in conformity with the contract of sale.

But despite the fact that they have no legal obligation, most retailers do accept goods back as long as their customers adhere to specific terms and conditions. These may vary significantly from one shop to another.

Most retailers offer customers the possibility to exchange an item for another of equal value, or offer a credit note that may be redeemed during a specified period of time. Some even offer a cash refund for returned items. We should therefore check about the shop’s return policies before buying anything we are not sure about.

We should also ask the seller how the unwanted good must be returned. For instance, does the receiver of the gift need to present the gift receipt to be able to exchange the gift? By when should the unwanted gift be returned?

Despite the fact that they have no legal obligation, most retailers accept goods back as long as customers adhere to specific terms and conditions

Most shops also request that non-faulty goods may only be returned if they are unused and in perfect condition with their undamaged original packaging. It is important that we pass on this information to the person to whom we give the gift.

Some types of products that are not exchangeable, such as made-to-measure or personalised items. Items that come into physical contact with the body, such as earrings, make-up and underwear are often excluded from return policies for hygienic reasons. So we should double check that an item is exchangeable before the sale is concluded.

In case of gifts purchased online we have additional legal rights. Online sellers are legally obliged to give us a cooling-off period during which we can return purchased goods without giving a reason or incurring charges. This period of time is 14 days if the product is purchased from an EU member state.

The cooling-off period starts on the day the buyer receives the goods. If this period elapses before we actually give the gift to the intended recipient, then it can become quite difficult to exchange the unwanted gift unless the company has return policies that allow exchanges even after the cooling-off period expires.

When buying online we should bear in mind that unless the goods are damaged or not in conformity with the contract of sale, we may be requested by the seller to pay for the transport of the goods back to the seller. The online trader is obliged to inform us about these costs; if not, they must be paid by the seller.

odette.vella@mccaa.org.mt

Odette Vella is senior information officer, Office for Consumer Affairs, Malta Competition and Consumer Affairs Authority.