Q: I recently bought a water heater from a local shop and a few other accessories for €384. Upon installation, I realised that I won’t need most of the purchased accessories. I therefore went back to showroom and asked for a refund of the unwanted and unused accessories.

Unfortunately my request was denied as the seller said cash refunds were against the company’s policy.

I was not informed about this policy when buying the goods and did not ask about it anyway.

Did the seller have the right to deny me a cash refund? I was given a credit note instead but would prefer a cash refund since I won’t need any other items from this establishment.

A: Sellers are only obliged to provide a cash refund if the product purchased by the consumer either results defective or does not conform to the contract of sale.

Furthermore, a cash refund may only be claimed when neither repair nor replacement are possible solutions or if opted for could cause a significant inconvenience to the consumer.

If the decision to buy these accessories was yours and you did not make a pre-sale agreement with the seller to give you a refund should you not need these accessories, then legally the seller is not obliged to accept these goods back and issue a refund.

By offering you a credit note, the seller is, in fact, doing more than what he is legally obliged to, as in such circumstances consumers are not legally entitled to claim a remedy.

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