Q: I recently bought a dress for a family wedding. When I showed it to my sister, I found out the dress she bought for the wedding was the same colour and the style was also similar. Before going back with the dress to the shop, I would like to know what my rights are.

Since I only bought the dress a couple of days ago, can I ask for my money back, or at least a credit note?

A: Since there is nothing wrong with the dress you purchased, but you simply made the wrong choice, unless you had a specific agreement with the retailer to give you the money back or a credit note in case you decided to return the dress, legally you cannot expect a solution to your problem.

Our legal rights for replacement or refund only apply when either the product purchased proves to be defective or different from what was agreed during the sale. When neither of these is the case, as consumers we have no other option but to rely on the shop’s customer care policies.

Ideally, however, we should find out about these possible solutions before we make the purchase. If we think the shop’s standard policies are not sufficient enough, we should specifically request the possibility of a refund or credit note if the product proves unsuitable for our needs.

If our requests are not met by the retailer, we might wish to reconsider whether or not to proceed with the purchase. This is especially so if we are not completely convinced with the kind of purchase we are making.