“I’m delighted that pressure from MoneySavingExpert’s investigation has forced these firms to finally correct their websites, some of which had been wrong for at least seven years,” he says.
Earlier this year he told viewers that many popular shops, including Selfridges, Harvey Nichols, Joules, Monsoon, Home Bargains, The Range and New Look, were denying their customers basic online consumer rights.
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.
“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.
I’ve just withdrawn my complaint to Trading Standards as all 28 shops & stores (including big names) we outed for giving unlawful and incorrect information on Return Rights have corrected their website. Full info including list of stores here… https://t.co/VdxhKaFGpL
— Martin Lewis (@MartinSLewis) November 24, 2025
“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 continued: “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.”
Martin has listed all the retailers who now have the correct policies listed:
- Benefit
- Boden
- Bondi Sands
- Caffè Nero
- Carluccio’s
- CeX
- ELC
- Evans
- Forbidden Planet
- Freemans
- Grüum
- Guinness
- Harvey Nichols
- HiPP Organic
- HMV
- Home Bargains
- Hotpod Yoga
- Hush
- Jessops
- Joules
- Monsoon
- New Look
- Perfect Draft
- Robert Dyas
- Ryman
- Selfridges
- The Range
- Victoria’s Secret
Recommended reading:
Know your rights this Black Friday and Christmas
Ahead of Black Friday (28 November) and Christmas, anyone looking to purchase goods online should be aware of their minimum legal rights, which overrule firms’ returns policies. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013:
- Consumers always have 14 days from the day after receiving an item to notify the retailer of a return.
- They then have another 14 days after that to send the item back for a refund (so a maximum of 28 days in total).
- Receipt of goods happens when the consumer takes physical possession of them. In the case of delivered items, this means the day the item is delivered to the address or the person the buyer specifies.
- Stores must inform customers of their legal rights surrounding returns before they make a purchase.
- If shoppers aren’t informed of their cancellation (return) rights (for example, by the failure to display info on websites or on receipts), the return window is extended by 12 months.
Some retailers may choose to go above and beyond this, which then forms part of your contractual rights. For example temporarily extending returns policies over the festive period (often offering returns until January).
It’s worth noting that the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 doesn’t apply to certain goods, such as perishable or personalised items, newspapers and magazines (unless they are part of a subscription), or sealed audio, video or computer software which has since been opened.
These can only be returned if they’re faulty, or if the retailer’s policy allows it.
