‘Consumer rights’ were laid out in the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and then amended in the Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. Put simply these Acts specify that buyers have the right to expect that the goods they buy are:
“... of satisfactory quality”
Goods shouldn’t contain any defects at the time of purchase, unless they were obvious to the buyer or were pointed out by the trader and then accepted by the buyer (as in the case of ‘seconds’ or ‘shop soiled’ goods). If the goods are found to be faulty or damaged and this wasn’t pointed out at the time of purchase this is a breach of contract and it gives the buyer ‘the right of rejection and cancellation of the contract’, ie the right to obtain a full refund.
“... fit for all intended purposes”
If goods turn out to be unsuitable for their intended use or develop a fault in an unusually short period of time, the buyer has a right to a refund or damages. If some time has passed since the purchase was made, yet the fault is still deemed unreasonable for the use the item has had, then the buyer has a right to just damages. This means that the trader might repair the goods or, if this is not practical, pay compensation (adjusted if necessary to allow for any use already obtained from the goods).
A good example would be a pair of shoes that came apart after being worn only a couple of times – they were obviously not fit for the intended purpose and the buyer has the right to a refund or damages (which may take the form of replacement). If the same thing happened after, say, a couple of months light wear, then damages might be due.
“... as described”
All goods must live up to any description or claim made of them - on the packaging or a display sign or by the trader. If any description that cannot be easily confirmed by superficial examination at the time of sale proves later to be false, the buyer has ‘the right of rejection and cancellation of the contract’, ie the right to obtain a full refund.
Let us say, for example, you buy a shirt that a trader has told you is 100% cotton. On arriving home and opening the packaging that it’s wrapped in you find that the shirt’s label shows it to be cotton and polyester. You have the right to take it back and demand a full refund.