Consumer Rights Act 2015: A Guide for UK Businesses

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015) is the primary piece of consumer protection legislation for goods, services, and digital content sold to consumers in the UK. Understanding it properly helps businesses avoid Trading Standards investigations, chargebacks, and reputational damage.

1. Overview of the Consumer Rights Act 2015

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 consolidated and modernised three older pieces of legislation:

• The Sale of Goods Act 1979
• The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA)
• The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCR)

Crucially, the CRA 2015 applies only to business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions — where the seller is acting in the course of a trade, business, or profession, and the buyer is acting outside their trade, business, or profession. Business-to-business (B2B) contracts are governed by the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and UCTA 1977, which remain in force for commercial transactions.

The CRA 2015 covers three categories of contract:

1. Contracts for goods — sale, hire, hire purchase, transfer of ownership
2. Contracts for services — work, installation, and mixed goods/services
3. Contracts for digital content — downloads, streaming, apps, games, software

2. Goods Must Be...

Under CRA 2015 sections 9–18, goods sold to consumers must meet three core statutory standards:

• Satisfactory quality — goods must meet the standard that a reasonable person would consider satisfactory, taking into account price, description, and any other relevant circumstances. Quality includes appearance, freedom from defects, safety, durability, and fitness for all the purposes for which goods of that kind are commonly supplied
• Fit for particular purpose — if the consumer tells the trader about a specific purpose before buying, the goods must be fit for that purpose. This standard applies even if the goods are fit for their common purpose
• As described — goods must correspond to any description given by the trader, including in advertising, packaging, or verbal representations. Sample goods must match any sample shown

These rights cannot be excluded or restricted in consumer contracts. Any term that attempts to do so is automatically unfair and of no effect. These same quality standards apply to digital content under sections 34–36 of the CRA 2015.

3. The 30-Day Right to Reject

The CRA 2015 introduced a clear short-term right to reject for faulty goods: consumers can reject goods that do not conform to the contract within 30 days of the later of: the day the goods were delivered, installed (if under the contract), or the ownership was transferred.

Key features of the 30-day right:

• The consumer is entitled to a full refund — the trader cannot make any deduction for use of the goods during the 30-day period
• The period may be shorter for perishable goods that deteriorate quickly (e.g. fresh food)
• If the consumer requests a repair or replacement within the 30-day period, the clock is paused while the repair or replacement is awaited, then resumes when the goods are returned or the replacement is delivered
• The burden of proof in the first 6 months after purchase rests on the trader to show the goods were not defective at the time of sale. After 6 months, the consumer must demonstrate the defect existed at the time of purchase

Traders cannot require consumers to return goods at their own cost, use a specific carrier, or jump through administrative hoops before a refund is processed.

4. Repair or Replacement

Once the 30-day right to reject expires, a consumer who has faulty goods is entitled to request either a repair or replacement as the first remedy. The consumer chooses which remedy to request, subject to the proportionality rule.

Rules governing repair and replacement:

• The trader must complete the repair or replacement within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer. The cost (including collection and redelivery) is borne by the trader
• A trader can refuse the consumer's chosen remedy only if it is impossible or disproportionate compared to the alternative (e.g. replacing a high-value item when a minor repair would address the fault)
• If the repair or replacement fails, or if the consumer is entitled to a remedy but the trader does not act within a reasonable time, the consumer is entitled to the final right to reject or to a price reduction
• The final right to reject entitles the consumer to a refund, which may be reduced to reflect use of the goods after the first 6 months (no reduction for use in the first 6 months)

A single failed repair or replacement triggers the right to the final remedy — the trader does not get unlimited attempts at fixing the item.

5. Services Must Be...

Under CRA 2015 section 49, services provided to consumers must be performed:

• With reasonable care and skill — the standard of a competent person in the relevant trade or profession. This is an implied term that applies even if not written into the contract
• Within a reasonable time — if no time for performance is specified or agreed, the service must be completed within a reasonable time (assessed objectively based on the nature of the service)
• At a reasonable price — if the price is not fixed in advance or by an agreed formula, the consumer need only pay a reasonable price (not whatever the trader demands)

If a service is not carried out with reasonable care and skill, the consumer has the right to require it to be redone (at no extra cost) or, if redoing it is impossible or unreasonably inconvenient, to receive a price reduction. Services remedies are less prescriptive than goods remedies, but the principle of putting the consumer back to the position they should have been in applies.

6. Digital Content

The CRA 2015 was the first UK legislation to give consumers clear statutory rights in respect of digital content — covering downloads, streaming services, apps, e-books, music, films, and software sold for a price or provided free of charge with a paid contract.

Digital content must be:

• Of satisfactory quality
• Fit for a particular purpose (if communicated before purchase)
• As described

Remedies for digital content:

• Repair or replacement — trader must repair or replace within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience
• Price reduction — if repair or replacement is impossible or fails, or if the trader does not act within a reasonable time, the consumer is entitled to a price reduction (which can be up to 100% of the price)
• There is no equivalent 30-day right to reject for digital content (because once downloaded, it is difficult to 'return' it)

If a trader provides digital content that damages a consumer's device or other digital content, and the damage would not have occurred had the trader exercised reasonable care and skill, the consumer is entitled to repair of the damaged device/content, or compensation.

7. Unfair Contract Terms

CRA 2015 Part 2 incorporates the unfairness test for consumer contract terms, replacing the UTCCR 1999. A term in a consumer contract is unfairif, contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations to the detriment of the consumer.

Key principles:

• Transparency — terms must be expressed in plain and intelligible language; terms that are not transparent may be unfair
• Core terms exemption — the main subject matter of the contract and the adequacy of the price (how much you charge for what you provide) are exempt from the fairness test, provided they are transparent and prominent
• Examples of potentially unfair terms: excessive cancellation charges, automatic renewal without adequate notice, disproportionate penalties for minor breaches, terms giving the trader unilateral right to vary the contract, terms excluding liability for death or personal injury

The CMA and Trading Standards have powers to challenge unfair terms through the courts and require businesses to amend their contracts. Recent enforcement action has targeted gym contracts, holiday companies, and subscription services.

8. Trader Obligations

The CRA 2015, alongside the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, imposes specific obligations on traders:

• Receipt on request — consumers are entitled to a written receipt or written confirmation of the agreement for service contracts
• Business identity information — traders must provide their business name, address, and contact details. For online businesses, this includes displaying this information prominently on the website
• Distance and off-premises contracts — consumers have a statutory 14-day cooling off period to cancel most online and phone purchases (see our Distance Selling guide for detail)
• Additional charges — traders cannot impose charges for payment methods that exceed the actual cost of processing that payment. Pre-ticked boxes adding unwanted extras are prohibited

9. Remedies and Enforcement

Consumer rights under the CRA 2015 can be enforced through several routes:

• Trading Standards — local authority Trading Standards officers can investigate businesses, issue fixed penalty notices, require undertakings, seek court injunctions, and prosecute for criminal offences (e.g. displaying misleading notices about consumer rights)
• Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) — can take action against businesses using unfair terms across a sector
• Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) — businesses must signpost consumers to an approved ADR scheme when an internal complaint has been exhausted. Businesses are not required to participate but many sector-specific regulators (e.g. Ombudsman Services, The Motor Ombudsman) mandate participation
• Small Claims Court — consumers can bring claims for up to £10,000 in England and Wales (£5,000 in Scotland, £3,000 in Northern Ireland) through the small claims track, with limited cost risk. Most consumer contract disputes fall well within this limit

10. Common Business Mistakes

Understanding what businesses commonly get wrong helps you avoid the same pitfalls:

• Excluding liability for death or personal injury — any term excluding or restricting liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence is void and unenforceable under CRA 2015 (and UCTA 1977 for B2B). Including such a term does not protect the business — it is simply ignored by courts
• 'No refunds' notices— displaying a blanket 'no refunds' sign is illegal where it implies consumers have no rights for faulty goods. Trading Standards can fine businesses that mislead consumers this way
• Requiring consumers to use a specific carrier for returns — cannot be imposed as a condition of exercising statutory rights
• Charging restocking fees for faulty goods — unlawful within the 30-day rejection period and highly questionable thereafter if the fault pre-existed
• Confusing statutory rights with goodwill policies — presenting statutory rights (e.g. repair/replacement) as a goodwill gesture can be a criminal offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008
• Failing to include ADR signposting in complaints process — required by the ADR Regulations 2015

Key rights at a glance