Shopping safely on Black Friday and Cyber Monday

*PLEASE BE AWARE THIS IS AN OLDER POST AND THERE MAY BE A MORE UP TO DATE POST, OR UPDATED INFORMATION AVAILABLE ON https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/ *

This year, Black Friday and Cyber Monday will fall on the 26th and 29th of November respectively. These days mark the busiest shopping days of the year and it is important you know how to shop in a smart and savvy way and understand your consumer rights.

Making returns and faulty purchases

Around Black Friday and Cyber Monday, it’s important to understand your consumer rights around buying products in store and online. 

If you want to return a product, make sure you know what the store's return policy is. Unless you bought the product online, a store is not actually legally required to accept returns. If you’re aware of their returns policy, you can ensure they honour it.

If you bought the product online, you have an automatic 14-day cooling off period, with some exceptions such as bespoke or made to measure products. If you wish to return a product within these 14 days, there doesn’t need to be anything wrong with the product.

If the product you bought was broken or damaged, unusable, not what was advertised or doesn’t match the seller's description, you have legal rights to a refund and you must request a refund within 30 days. If the 30 days has elapsed, you can still get a refund but the seller can also opt for repairing or replacing the product if they wish to.

Avoiding scams

Around Black Friday, we tend to see an increased number of scams and counterfeit websites, and it is important to be able to recognise these so you don’t accidentally fall for them.

When shopping online, make sure the website address starts with ‘https’ and includes the padlock symbol at the beginning of the web address. You can also search for a company’s details here to make sure they’re registered as a company. 

You should also check reviews before you buy a product online, especially if the deal may seem too good to be true. A lot of negative reviews may point towards a potential scam.

Stay extra vigilant when shopping on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Don’t click or download anything you don’t trust and be careful about giving personal information away. If you can, pay by debit or credit card as you can get extra protection if things go wrong.

If you think you’ve found a scam, you can contact the Citizens Advice Scams Action number on 0300 330 3003. 

Budgeting and Buy Now Pay Later

Some of the deals you’ll find on Black Friday and Cyber Monday can be really tempting, but you should always make sure you are buying within your budget. Spend time shopping around to find the best deal for you and ensure you stick to your planned budget. If you’re borrowing money, always make sure exactly how much you’ll need to repay and never borrow money in the spur of the moment.

Buy Now Pay Later payment options are becoming more and more popular amongst millions of people, and they can be especially tempting around this time of year. Whilst this may be a good option for some, one in ten Buy Now Pay Later shoppers have been chased by debt collectors, and 96% of these people experienced a negative consequence. If you’re planning to use one of these options, make sure you are aware of how much you need to pay back and make sure you have the funds later.

If you need advice on consumer rights or want to speak to an adviser, call our free Adviceline on 0808 2787 801 or fill in our self-referral form.