What are your shopping rights?

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By Jenny Culshaw BBC News Trading Standards and Citizens Advice can help

We all get gifts at Christmas that we do not really like and even the odd one that is broken. But do you know when it's actually worth fighting your way through the January sales to try to get an exchange or refund?

Your rights are based around two main points - why you want to take the item back and where it was bought.

UNWANTED GIFTS

If you want to take something back that has nothing wrong with it, for instance a jumper you just don't like, you actually have no automatic right in law to do so. Whether you can change it or get money back depends on the customer service policy of the individual store.

You need to check you comply with their conditions, for instance a time limit, and you will probably need a receipt. It's more likely stores will take back own brand goods than others.

BROKEN GIFTS

If you've an item that is obviously faulty when you receive it, under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 the shop it was bought from should resolve your problem.

Do not let them fob you off by telling you to contact the manufacturer. If you have the receipt you should be entitled to a refund or you could accept a repair or replacement.

Officially it should be the person who bought the item who goes back to the shop but if you have the receipt they should help you.

If you don't have the receipt they, again, are more likely to help if it's an own brand product and may dispute your claim if you can't prove the item was bought from them. A credit or debit card statement might work. If you don't get a solution you are happy with, you may need to write to head office.

PROBLEMATIC GIFTS

If a fault becomes evident in a product after you've started using it, you are still entitled to a repair or replacement. In the first six months the onus of proof is on the store to dispute any claim, after six months you will have to prove that the item was faulty when purchased.

A repair should be carried out within a reasonable period of time and without causing you significant inconvenience. Any repair should restore it to a satisfactory condition. If this does not happen, you are entitled to a replacement or compensation.

The trader may make a reduction from the price you paid to allow for the use you have had. Again, the problem is one for the retailer, not the manufacturer.

WARRANTIES

If you have bought, or have been bought, a warranty for a product, your rights under that warranty are in addition to your other consumer rights. A warranty doesn't affect your legal right to reject a faulty product.

ONLINE

If the goods were bought online - your may find yourself with even more rights to return. You're covered under something called the Distance Selling Regulations. This means you have a seven day cooling-off period in which you can change your mind about a purchase - whether there's something wrong with it or not.

This may be too short a period for Christmas gift but could be useful for new year purchases. Be warned though this does not apply if you buy from private individuals or via an auction process.

If you don't get an acceptable response from a shop or online retailer you can take the matter further - contact your local Citizens Advice Bureau, Trading Standards or Consumer Direct or if you're in Northern Ireland - Consumerline should be able to help you.