Return and exchange of good quality goods within. Returning an item to a store - how long does it take to return an item? How long does it take to return a good quality product to the store?

Having made an unsuccessful purchase, many are thinking about the possibility of meeting the return deadline. The conditions for the return of the purchase and the terms are established by the consumer protection law (hereinafter referred to as the Law). Here the interests of both parties, the buyer and the seller, are taken into account.

What determines the return period

The legislator provides 2 grounds for the return of goods, affecting the time of the return:

Return of goods of proper quality.
Return of goods of inadequate quality.

In the first option, an item is returned that does not suit the client in one or more of the following parameters: shape, size, style, color, and so on.

A prerequisite for the return of the products in question is the observance of certain conditions:

the product is new, which means that it has not been used;
consumer properties, presentation are not lost;
the completeness has not been changed (all tags, tags, packaging, instructions, etc. are available).

It will not be possible to return food and goods from the list approved by Government Decree N 55.

In the second case, products are returned that have various disadvantages... For example, defects in clothing and shoes found during wearing.

Return of quality goods

The terms for the return of goods of good quality are regulated by Art. 25 of the Law. The buyer can return or exchange quality goods before the expiration of 14 days. The first day of this period is the day following the day of the purchase. However, the customer can also make a similar statement to the store on the day the purchase was made. If the shift has not ended, the money for the goods is refunded from the same cash register from which the check was issued. Therefore, contacting the store with the problem under consideration on the day of purchase is the most quick way her permission.

It is important that if a quality product is returned, the seller, if he has a product with similar characteristics, suitable for the client in size, style and other indicators, exchanges the product for a suitable one. If such a product is not available, then, at the request of the buyer, the terms for the exchange of the goods are postponed until its receipt or the purchase price is returned.

Terms of refund for good quality goods - 3 days.

Returning the purchase to the store, you must draw up an application in 2 copies (1 for each of the parties), on the copy of the buyer, the representative of the store puts a mark on the receipt of his copy.

The buyer must have an identity document:

the passport;
iD of a serviceman, police officer;
foreign passport, etc.

Return of a defective product

If defects are detected in the purchased item, the consumer has the right:

Refuse the product, demanding monetary compensation for its value.
Require replacement with a similar product or another model, taking into account the possibility of additional payment or compensation for the difference in cost.
Demand a reduction in the price of a low-quality product or the elimination of identified defects at the expense of the store.

What is the time frame for returning the goods to the store if a defect is detected and informing the seller about your requirements?

If the purchased item shows any quality defects, then this product should be returned to the trading company. Usually defective products are subject to return within the period during which the warranty is valid. As a rule, this is prescribed in the warranty card when making a sale. If this period is not specified, then for the reasons under consideration, the store's customer may submit claims within a period of up to 2 years from the date of purchase of the product, the quality of which does not correspond to the declared one.

The warranty period should be considered from the date of transfer of the item to the buyer, if there is no documentary evidence of this event, then from the date of the product release. For seasonal products, the warranty period starts from the beginning of the relevant season, taking into account the climatic zone in which the customer lives. For example, for winter goods purchased in the summer, this period in central Russia will begin on November 1.

The period for refunding money for goods of inadequate quality is established by Art. 22 of the Law. It is 10 days from the date of the consumer's request. If the seller does not fulfill the legal requirements of the client within the prescribed period, he will have to pay a penalty equal to 1% of the purchase price for each day of delay.

The refund period also depends on whether an examination of the goods has been ordered.

If a simple defect is revealed, for example, the sole of a shoe comes off, then this thing can be accepted for return without the appointment of an examination.

If there is a complex defect, an examination is required. For complex goods, its duration is up to 45 days from the date of the claim. Based on the results of the examination, a decision is made to satisfy the buyer's requirements or a reasoned conclusion is drawn up in writing.

Separately, it should be noted that the return of purchased expired food products, medicines, perfumes or household chemicals is made immediately, since these goods should not be on display.

Distance shopping

The conditions established for the return of products purchased from online stores are slightly different. How much time can a client spend on resolving the issue of returning a quality product in this case?

According to Art. 26.1 of the Law, the term for returning the goods includes all the time before the customer receives the purchase and another 7 days from the date of receipt of the product, and if the terms and conditions of the return were not communicated to the customer in writing, that is, against signature, then the term for returning the purchase is increased to 3 months.

It is not possible to return only products with individually defined characteristics, in which the purchased items can be used by a specific person.

The requirements for a returned purchase do not differ from those established for goods purchased in the traditional way.

The seller makes a refund to the client within 10 days. Shipping cost is non-refundable.

The return of defective products purchased through online stores is governed by Art. 18-24 of the Law and corresponds to the previously stated information.

The terms for returning the goods by the client are regulated by law. In case of disputes or in a situation of inaction of a store representative, you may need to consult a lawyer or go to court to protect your interests.

Consumer rights when returning goods

The rights of the buyer when returning the product and then replacing it with an analogue with more suitable characteristics are protected at the level of federal law. This is a well-known fact (practically), but not all citizens (and sellers) are aware of certain nuances of the relevant legal act.

The Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" obliges the owners of outlets to accept and exchange goods, even if they are of quite good quality, do not require repair and replacement for a functionally complete one. There are enough reasons for such a procedure. The buyer's right to return the goods arises if the item purchased by him does not correspond to the desired parameters: shape, size, style, color or configuration. The period during which a person can return the goods is 14 days. There are, of course, a number of legal restrictions on product returns. Namely:

presentation is in order, all factory stamps and other external signs are unchanged;
there is a receipt confirming the purchase in a particular store (in some cases, you can do without it - more on this below);
the product is not included in the list of those approved by law that cannot be returned (below we will consider examples of such products).

All that needs to be done is to bring the purchased item to the store, contact the seller and give him a statement in the prescribed form, if, of course, the owner point of sale will not give its copy (usually they do). Some lawyers recommend making a copy of the document and asking the seller to put a store stamp on it (which would indicate the fact of receiving the application). If for some reason the store representative does not want to accept the application, you need to send the document by registered mail with notification. To, if necessary, present evidence to Rospotrebnadzor or in court.

The legal rights of the purchaser then take effect. He can choose a product with optimal characteristics.

When the product is out of stock

It is possible that an analogue of the replaced product, the characteristics of which would suit the buyer, are temporarily out of stock. What to do? Lawyers recommend again to pay attention to the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights". In its 25th article it is said that in the absence of goods that the buyer wants to see in return, there are grounds for terminating the contract of sale.

Actually, in this case, the seller is obliged to return the amount paid for the product within three days from the moment the buyer pays him a visit with a request to exchange the goods. Another option is to negotiate. The seller, having received the desired characteristics of the goods and his contact details from the buyer, may oblige himself to inform his client about the fact that the desired product has entered the sale as soon as it is delivered by the supplier.

If the seller does not want to respect the buyer's rights when returning goods or exchanging them, then the store's customer has the right to apply to Rospotrebnadzor, the court or the prosecutor's office with a corresponding complaint.

Items that cannot be exchanged

Above, we have outlined a number of legal restrictions on the return of good quality goods. However, the buyer's rights are also limited to a special list of products that, due to their operational characteristics, cannot be exchanged due to discrepancies in style, shape, color, etc. Let's list them:

goods whose purpose is to carry out preventive as well as medical procedures without going to a doctor (at home)
personal hygiene items;
perfumery, cosmetics;
clothes made of cotton, linen, silk, wool or synthetics;
products made from materials related to the non-woven type (braid, various ribbons, jewelry, lace);goods whose purpose is to carry out preventive as well as medical procedures without going to a doctor (at home);
personal hygiene items;
perfumery, cosmetics;
clothes made of cotton, linen, silk, wool or synthetics;
products made from materials related to the non-woven type (braid, various ribbons, jewelry, lace);
wires, cables and cords;
linoleum, carpet and other finishing materials of this type;
socks, underwear, knitwear;
dishes, plastic boxes for food and other similar goods;
washing powders, soap;

Grounds for return

Above, we determined that it is possible to return a product of proper quality only if the seller has nothing to offer in return. There are no other options for the “cashing out” procedure. But it is quite another matter if a product purchased in a store has shortcomings - this is how the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" denotes the fact that the product is not functional, has external damage - in a word, it is unsuitable for use.

What are the consumer's rights when returning goods of inadequate quality? In accordance with the law, the customer of the store can choose one of five possible scenarios:

agree to a free repair;
reduce the cost (return part of the money paid for the product);
replace the product with the same one, but of proper quality;
take an analogue (with a surcharge or with a partial refund);
demand a sum of money for the goods back.

Which of these options should be prioritized? Any. Moreover, by the law of consumer rights when returning goods of inadequate quality, it is assumed that the customer of the store is not obliged to motivate the choice of one or another scenario. By the way, all expenses for the transportation of the product to be returned are fully borne by the seller.

As a rule, the choice of one of the above options for the implementation of the consumer's right when returning the goods depends on the degree of damage to the product. In some cases - on its market availability. If, say, a person bought the latest version of an iPhone, and the city has already snapped up the rest of the devices, then, probably, he will agree to repair or replace the device with a new one.

When the law is on the seller's side

Of course, there are also seller's rights when returning goods. The store is obliged to follow the procedures prescribed by law only if the product is damaged through no fault of the buyer. Expertise is called upon to reveal the correctness of someone's side, if everyone insists on their position.

Another important nuance. The seller's rights when returning the goods will be reliably protected if the customer at the time of the purchase of the product was informed that the purchased item has defects (those that gave rise to its return). Records in the receipt and in the documents attached to the product can be evidence that the store has informed in advance about the relevant features of the product.

Sometimes the type of outlet where the item was purchased matters. IN jurisprudence there are cases when the client was deemed informed about the defects of the goods only because he purchased it in thrift store... And therefore the seller's refusal to return money for the product was recognized as legitimate.

At whose expense is the examination?

The main controversial point in the event that there is a cancellation of the transaction purchase and sale, is the fact of recognition of the goods as having defects. As we said above, in such cases, an examination is usually carried out. And the seller must pay for it, since he doubts the buyer's theses. If the results of the examination do not suit the buyer, he has the right to challenge them in court (by proposing at the hearing the conclusions of other qualified specialists in the study of the goods).

If the seller's experts found that the product was spoiled by the buyer himself, then the second will have to pay all costs, which, in addition to paying for the services of specialists, may include the costs of delivering the goods to the place of examination. It is possible that the amount of expenses will exceed the price of the product. And therefore, lawyers recommend buyers to use expertise in the case of exceptional confidence in their rightness.

So when should the money be returned for a return? Let us list the cases provided for by law.

1. If the product is of inadequate quality, and at the same time the seller agrees that significant defects in the goods have arisen through no fault of the buyer.

2. If the thing is not functional, and the examination established that such a situation arose due to the actions of the seller.

3. It is always possible that the court will take the side of the buyer. Therefore, a realistic option is that the examination will not be in favor of the store's client, but the judge comes to the conclusion that it is the seller who is wrong.

Financial nuances

In a number of cases, between the buyer and the store, which seems to have agreed to return the money paid for the goods, there are disagreements about the amount of the refund. The reason for this is that the product, by the time the client brought it, has greatly risen in price or has fallen in price. In the first case, the buyer may not like that he will receive a smaller amount on hand than he could. In the second, the seller will most likely not want to endure the costs and will insist on returning the product at the current, lower price.

However, the buyer's rights to return the goods are such that only he can expect to be compensated for the potential discrepancy in value. That is, if the price at the time of settlement is higher, the buyer receives the amount reflecting it. If it is lower, then the one that you paid.

Another financial nuance. A lot of goods are bought on credit today. What are the rights of buyers when returning a phone, computer, coffee maker, printer or kettle purchased with a bank loan? The law says - they should not be infringed. If the goods were purchased on credit and turned out to be of inadequate quality, then the store is obliged to pay the client not only the amount in accordance with the cost, but also compensate the interest and related loan costs.

We meet deadlines

How long does it take to take an inadequate product back to the store? How do the buyer's rights when returning a product under warranty relate to this? The rules established by law regarding the timing are as follows.

1. Return of damaged goods belonging to the category of "technically difficult" (about them a little later) is possible within 15 days from the date of purchase. This rule does not apply to cases where the product has so-called "significant" flaws (if in a nutshell - a completely unsightly appearance and complete absence functions). If the buyer did not have time, then the rules in accordance with the guarantee apply. There is also a norm regarding this aspect. If the store undertook to carry out repairs under warranty, but did it for more than 30 days in 1 year, then the buyer again gets the right to return money for the goods.

2. Return of damaged goods that do not belong to the category of "technically difficult" is possible within the period of the established warranty or expiration date (and if there is no information about either one or the other, then within 24 months from the date of purchase).

3. Many buyers are concerned about the question: when returning the goods, when should the money be returned? The law requires the seller to do this within 10 days of the customer's request.

Technical difficulties

We said above that the law somewhat complicates the return of so-called “technically complex” goods. To return the amount paid for them, the buyer must have time to take them to the store within 15 days after purchase. What are these products. Their list is as follows:

aircraftsequipped with an electric engine or an internal combustion engine (that is, not turboprop);
cars, motorcycles and others vehiclesdesigned for driving on highways that are classified as public roads;
tractors and other agricultural machinery;
snowmobiles and their analogues;
floating craft with an internal combustion engine;
navigation devices;
personal computers all types;
sets of satellite TV;
game television consoles;
tVs, projection displays;
photo and video cameras, equipment for them (all digital);
kitchen appliances, water heaters.

The main criterion for recognizing technology as "complex", which is noted by many experts - various kinds of "electronic" filling.

With and without check

By default, the return of the goods (as well as the exchange) is possible if the buyer presents a receipt for it. However, the consumer's rights when returning goods without a receipt can nevertheless be realized if the store is convinced of the fact of purchasing the product in a different way.

Most often this is the testimony of the people accompanying the buyer, and in some cases - the seller who released the goods.

Back online

Special trading rules apply to purchases in online stores. In this case, another regulatory legal act is connected to the Federal Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" - "Rules for Remote Sale", which are approved by the Russian government. According to the law, the customer of the online store has the right to return the ordered goods without explaining the reasons and indicating the reasons within 7 days from the moment the product is received.

But that is not all. If the online store forgot to put a duly completed instruction on the citizen's right to return the goods within the specified time in the box with the delivered product, then the purchase can be returned within 3 months.

Presentation does not matter

Interestingly, when returning a low-quality product, it is not at all necessary that it be in a marketable condition. It doesn't matter what the thing looks like, the main thing is that, due to its external features and functions, it is clear that it is not functional. The seller undertakes to accept the product if it has deficiencies in addition to those that give rise to talk about its low quality.

Andrey, hello!

The procedure for refunding funds in the event of deficiencies in a product included in the list of technically difficult ones, based on the provisions of the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of 10.11.2011 N 924, differs significantly from a similar procedure, where the subject of the transaction is an ordinary product.

In accordance with Art. 18 of the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights", the consumer has the right to refuse a technically complex product and return the money contributed under the concluded agreement, in the presence of any kind of deficiencies within a period of up to fifteen days, calculated from the date of its transfer to the consumer. But, if the shortcomings are revealed already at the end of the indicated period, a refund is possible, but if there is one of the following grounds:

identification of a significant shortage of goods;
exceeding the terms of repair of goods established by the provisions of the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights";
the lack of a real opportunity to use the product during each year, if it is under warranty, for a total of more than 30 days as a result of the repeated correction of defects of a different nature.

The seller, if desired, has the right to count on the return of the goods with defects to him, while the consumer is transferred within ten days from the date of submission of the corresponding request cash in person or by transferring to the current account. The seller is obliged to meet the established deadlines, even despite the right to carry out quality checks and obligations regarding the examination of the goods at his own expense in the event of a dispute regarding defects.

Submitting a claim is not an obligatory procedure when resolving a conflict between a consumer and a seller of goods or a provider of services or works. The consumer is authorized, bypassing it, to immediately go to court with statement of claim to restore their rights. Nevertheless, a competently drawn up claim reminds the seller, the manufacturer of the goods, as well as the performer of the relevant work, services, that they can be brought to administrative, civil, criminal liability in accordance with the legislation of the Russian Federation, which follows from Art. 43 of the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights". In some cases, compliance with the described procedure allows the issue to be resolved peacefully, which significantly saves time for both parties.

So, a claim should be made in any form indicating the circumstances, date, place of conclusion of the contract, the essence of the claimed claims (shortcomings of goods, services, works, violation of delivery times or correction of shortcomings), consumer requirements based on the norms of the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights" , the timing of their execution. The seller (executor) should be informed about the intention to go to court in case of ignoring or refusing to satisfy the requirements, as well as with a complaint to the controlling authorities and the possible consequences associated with the listed measures. Be sure to sign the document and indicate the date of its preparation.

Submit in person or through an authorized representative to the seller (performer) in duplicate, one of them remains with the consumer with a mark of receipt, date, signature. Upon receipt of a refusal to record the fact of receipt of a claim or if it is impossible to submit a claim in such a way that occurs with distance purchases, the claim is sent by registered mail with notification and a list of attachments. Both of the described options for delivering a claim allow in the future, in court proceedings, to refer to the refusal or ignorance of the seller / contractor to satisfy the requirements voluntarily and additionally present a claim to collect a fine in favor of the consumer in the amount of half of the amount of the satisfied claims in accordance with Art. 13 of the Law "On Protection of Consumer Rights".

Andrey, if you have any questions, ask, I will be happy to answer. You can also write to me in the chat and order a personal consultation or preparation of a document on your question. All the best!

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