Q: If a customer buys an item on a normal shopping day, but returns it during the sale period, what is the customer is entitled to? Are shoppers entitled to the amount they would have paid? Or are traders to refund them the discounted value?

A: The answer depends on the reason why an item is returned. If the product is returned because the consumer has simply changed his mind or has made a wrong choice when he purchased a specific item, then legally consumers are not entitled to a remedy or compensation.

In these situations traders are free to apply their own return policies and, depending on the agreement reached with the consumer at the time of sale, shop owners should act accordingly.

This means that if the trader has promised the consumer a money refund should the latter decide to return the purchased product within a specific period of time, or to allow exchange of the product with another of the same value, then such 'agreements' should be honoured.

Hence, if a trader does not promise a consumer a full money refund should the product purchased be a bad choice, it is up to the trader to decide whether to give back the original value of the product or the discounted price.

If, however, the reason why the item is returned is because the product has resulted defective or is not in conformity with the contract of sale, if the product can neither be repaired nor replaced, the consumer is entitled to the total amount paid at the time of purchase, even though the product has been discounted.