Consumer Rights Act time limits checker

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives four separate clocks, all started by delivery rather than by the day you paid. Goods delivered on 14 August 2026 can be rejected until 13 September 2026 for a refund in full. Until 13 February 2027 any fault is treated as present on delivery, so the trader has to prove otherwise. A final rejection made by 14 February 2027 returns the whole price, with no deduction for use. The outer limit is the limitation period: a court claim can be started until 14 August 2032 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. None of these is a guarantee that goods last that long. They are deadlines for acting on goods that were not of satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose or not as described when they arrived.

Each date here is counted the way the Act and the Limitation Act word their periods, and the known answers the checker must reproduce are listed under checked cases.

This first right lasts 30 days, and day one is the day after the goods arrive (section 22). The clock only starts once ownership has passed to you and the goods have arrived. Where installation was agreed, it also waits until the work is finished and you have been told.

• Rejecting means a refund of the full price, paid within 14 days of the trader agreeing, with no deduction.
• Perishable goods, such as fresh food or flowers, only keep the right for as long as they could reasonably be expected to last.
• A trader may agree a longer period, but a term that cuts the 30 days short does not bind you.

If you ask for, or agree to, a fix or a swap inside the 30 days, the time stops for the waiting period. That period starts on the day you ask and ends on the day the goods come back to you, both days included. Asked on 1 September 2026 and returned on 10 September 2026, goods delivered on 14 August 2026 can still be rejected until 23 September 2026 if the fault remains.

A short repair never leaves you with only a day or two. If the goods still do not conform, you get at least 7 days after the waiting period ends. Back on 3 September 2026, the same goods could be rejected until 16 September 2026.

A fault that appears within 6 months of delivery is taken to have been there all along (section 19). The burden of proof then sits with the trader, who must show the goods were fine on delivery or that the fault could not have been present then.

After that date the roles swap, and you need to show the fault was inherent rather than caused by wear, misuse or an accident. A fault first noticed on 20 March 2027, for goods delivered on 14 August 2026, falls after the presumption, which ended on 13 February 2027. An independent report from a repairer is the usual evidence.

Once the 30 days have gone, the trader gets one chance to put things right, by mending the goods or sending new ones. If that fails, or it takes too long or causes significant inconvenience, you can choose a price reduction or the final right to reject (section 24).

A final rejection within 6 months of delivery means the whole price back. After that the trader may reduce the refund to reflect the use you have had. A motor vehicle is the exception: a deduction for use can apply from the start, because a car loses value with every mile.

The Act itself sets no end date for repair, replacement or a price reduction. The limitation period does. Under the Limitation Act 1980 a claim for breach of contract must reach court within 6 years of the breach, and Northern Ireland has the same rule. Goods faulty on delivery are in breach on that day, so the checker counts from delivery.

Scotland works differently. Under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973 the obligation is extinguished after 5 years, which moves the same delivery to 14 August 2031. That clock can start later where the loss was not known about, so treat the date as the earliest likely end. Most of these disputes go to the small claims court.

Second-hand goods bought from a trader carry the same rights and the same deadlines. What changes is the standard: satisfactory quality takes account of the price, the age and the description, and faults pointed out before the sale do not count.

• Second-hand goods sold at a public auction you could attend in person fall outside most of these rights.
• Durability is part of satisfactory quality, so a fridge that dies after two years may still be a claim if fridges of that price usually last longer.
• Digital content, such as an app or a download, has no right to reject: the remedies are repair or replacement, then a price reduction, with the same 6 months presumption.
• Contracts made before 1 October 2015 fall under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 instead.

A manufacturer's guarantee is a separate promise from the maker, binding from the day of delivery (section 30). It adds to your statutory rights against the trader and never replaces them. An extended warranty is a paid service contract, and much of what it covers the Act may already give you for free.

The EU right to repair directive adds 1 year to the legal guarantee after a repair, for contracts from 31 July 2026. No UK law has adopted it. A repair here changes none of the dates above, apart from the pause in the first 30 days.

A claim is made against the seller, not the manufacturer. Citizens Advice runs the consumer helpline for England and Wales and passes cases to Trading Standards, and Advice Direct Scotland does the same north of the border.

• Many traders offer alternative dispute resolution, and new rules for approved schemes have applied since 6 April 2026.
• Paying by credit card can add a claim against the card provider under section 75, within that section's price limits.
• How each deadline in this checker is counted, and why, is set out in the methodology.