What Are Your Legal Rights as a Shopper?
This is a transcript of a podcast posted June 25, 2006.
 In this episode we’ll discuss legal remedies for unhappy shoppers. A lot of our material is derived from Nolo’s Encyclopedia of Everyday Law, written by Shae Irving and the Nolo editors. Okay, let’s start with a typical consumer question.
QUESTION: I don’t like a lamp that I purchased. There’s nothing wrong with it; I just don’t like it. Do I have the right to a cash refund?
ANSWER: Many merchants will refund your money or reverse your credit card charges, but they’re doing it because it’s their policy, not the law. Nolo, for example, the sponsor of this podcast, has a “no questions asked” return policy -- if you don’t like a book, you can return it for a cash refund. But a seller is not legally required to make a cash refund.
A seller may be required to make an exchange for merchandise that is defective or does not perform as advertised. These are requirements that occur because of laws about warranties -- implied and expressed warranties. We’ll talk about those in a few minutes.
But it’s important to remember that a merchant doesn’t have to make a cash refund to a consumer. There are rules in four states, however, that require posting of refund policies:
- In California, sellers who do not allow a full cash or credit refund within seven days of purchase have to post the store’s refund credit policy. If the seller fails to post the policy, you can return the goods for a full refund within thirty days of your purchase.
- In Florida, if the seller has a no-refund policy, such a statement must be posted in a store. If a no-refund policy isn’t posted, you may return unused goods in the original packaging within seven days for a full refund.
- In New York, sellers with a no-refund policy have to post it. If a seller does not post the policy, you’re entitled to a choice of cash or credit refund within twenty days if goods are not used or damaged.
- In Virginia, sellers must post the refund or exchange policies, unless they give a full cash refund or full credit within twenty days after purchase.
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