You are a supplier of goods to customers – whether through a retail outlet at your business premises or online. The customer wants to return the goods purchased. Do you have an obligation in law to always allow the customer to return goods or are there exceptions? And what about the refund – should it be in full or can you deduct a “handling fee”? For defective goods, are you allowed to rather replace the goods? Can a customer return goods several months after the purchase date? These are all frequently asked questions in the industry which every new (or established) business should consider.
The Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (“CPA”) provides for a right to return goods only in specific circumstances. There is no such thing as an unlimited or “blanket” return right, even though customers often may think this is the case. Be careful though – the situation changes when it comes to online purchases.
The first thing to remember is that customers indeed have a “cooling off” right, but only in the following circumstances:
- If not an online sale, a 5 day cooling off period for sales resulting from direct marketing applies (this means that the supplier directly approached the customer to sell him/her the goods and the customer bought the goods as a result of the marketing) – cooling off right in terms of the CPA.
- If an online sale, a 7 day cooling off period applies in general (no marketing requirement as per the CPA) but note that some exceptions apply and not all goods can be returned in terms of this right – cooling off right in terms of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (“ECTA”).
During the cooling off period, the customer has the right to a full refund when returning the goods and does not need to give a reason why the goods have been returned. However, the customer will have to pay the costs associated with returning the goods to the supplier. With all the other return rights in terms of the CPA discussed below, the cost of the return will be on the supplier.
In addition to the cooling-off periods, customers may return defective goods in accordance with the so-called CPA implied warranty of quality (the “CPA warranty”). This means, that if there are any defects in the goods within the first 6 months after purchase or delivery (the later date), the customer can return the goods based on the CPA warranty. Whether a customer can return goods within the 6 month period or not will, however, have to be assessed on a case by case basis and there are certain exceptions that could apply. The supplier is entitled to first investigate the complaint and run tests to determine whether a defect is indeed present. If the customer caused the damage to the goods, it goes without saying that the supplier should not be liable and the customer should not be able to rely on the CPA warranty.
In the case of a return of defective goods, the CPA does not give a supplier a first right to repair or replace and provides the customer with the right to return the goods that does not meet the quality requirements for a (i) refund, (ii) replacement or (iii) repair – at the customer’s choice, not the supplier’s. However, the customer’s right to return goods in terms of the CPA warranty will not apply where the goods have been altered, contrary to the instructions of the supplier.
Customers may also return goods if the customer indicated the purpose for which it wanted to use the goods at the time of purchase and the supplier confirmed that the goods will be suitable for that purpose, but it then turns out that the goods cannot be used for the purpose initially intended.
Make sure you know your rights as a supplier and exercise all options when a customer cries “Consumer Protection Act”!
Lastly, suppliers often offer more return rights than the rights afforded to customers in terms of the law. These are regulated through “Returns Policies”. Next time we will do a post on “What should your Returns Policy look like?”.
