08-07-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Martin Lewis is reporting 30 huge shops to Trading Standards
Talking about online sales - apart from perishable or personalised orders, where the rules differ - he says: "you have an absolute right to change your mind, and you have 14 days after delivery.
"Important, it's after delivery, not after order, in which to tell them you're sending an item back, and 14 days after the point at which you've told them to actually send it back, which means maximum of 28 days.
30 retailers including Selfridges, New Look and The Range are publishing misleading (worse) return rights information on their websites than you legally have. Find which stores to be careful of, and what your rights are.
For the full list of stores go to — Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) July 7, 2025
"Now, as an aside, if you buy something in store, you have no of return, and there'll be people with jaws dropping over that you have no right to return items bought in store.
"Some stores will allow it as part of their returns policy, and if they publish that returns policy, it's part of the contract, but you can't take back goods bought in store unless they're faulty."
He continues: "What they're putting on their websites are the their return rights, right if you're buying something in store, but it doesn't apply if it's faulty. Let's give you a few examples of where it's wrong. Let's take Monsoon. Got it written in front of me. Monsoon says, 'send them to us exactly as you receive them in a new and unused condition within 30 days of dispatch'. Well, first of all, it starts at receipt. It doesn't start at dispatch.
"For full price items and within 14 days for sale reduced items from the date of dispatch," he corrects. "Online, by law, you've got 14 days to notify them and a further 14 days to send it back.
"What they have on their website is wrong. It is not your legal right.
"New Look, 'you can return sale items within 14 days'," again, he corrects them, adding in what the policy should be. "No you can notify within 14 days, you got another 14 days to send back."
Then he adds another: "The Range: 'you need to return your item to us at our range marketplace partner, within 14 days of receiving'.
"No you have 14 days of receiving it to notify as you're sending back, and a further 14 days to send it back. And we found 30 examples. And what's really frustrating here is two of those. I mentioned Monsoon and New Look.
"My team and I last did this in 2018 and both of those had it wrong then, and we never found that at the time, and they still wrong now. So we're taking our dossier of evidence and giving it to Trading Standards."
READ MORE:
The stores with incorrect returns policies listed:
This is the full list, from Money Saving Expert's website.
Benefit
Boden
Bondi Sands
Caffè Nero
Carluccio's
CEX
Early Learning Centre
Evans
(no longer trading)
(no longer trading)
Freemans
Grüum
Guinness
Harvey Nichols
HiPP Organic
HMV
Home Bargains
Hotpod Yoga
Hush
Jessops
Joules
Monsoon
New Look
PerfectDraft
Poundland
Robert Dyas
Ryman
Selfridges
The Range
Victoria's Secret
Several retailers referenced outdated policy on their websites, namely the Distance Selling Regulations, which were replaced in 2014 by the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
