Christmas returns: faulty gifts, no receipt and gift cards

Last updated: 29 October 2026

Every January the same argument happens at a thousand tills: “We can’t refund that without a receipt.” “But it was a present.” “It’s past our returns date.” Some of the time the shop is right. Some of the time it’s quietly ignoring the law. The difference comes down to one question — is the thing faulty, or just unwanted? — and the answer decides whether you’re relying on a legal right or on the shop’s goodwill.

This guide draws that line, then covers the awkward parts: gifts bought by someone else, missing receipts, things bought online or from a marketplace seller, and gift cards from shops that go bust.

Legal right or goodwill: the one question that decides it

Faulty or not as described means it doesn’t work, breaks too soon, isn’t what the listing or box said, or isn’t fit for the purpose it’s sold for. Bought from a business, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you rights against the seller whatever its returns policy says, and wherever you bought it.

Unwanted means wrong size, wrong colour, a duplicate, not your taste. Here the law only helps if it was bought at a distance — online, by phone or by mail order — from a business. Bought in a shop, there’s no legal right to return something just because you don’t want it. Any refund, exchange or credit is the shop’s own policy.

The one thing to remember: faulty is a legal right; unwanted is goodwill — unless it was bought online or by phone from a business, when you get 14 days from delivery to change your mind.

That means extended Christmas returns windows — “anything bought from November can come back until January” — are goodwill. They’re generous and worth using, but they’re the shop’s rules, so the shop sets the conditions: receipt or gift receipt, unused, tags on, credit note instead of cash. If a shop advertises a policy, hold it to what it says.

If it’s faulty: 30 days, then repair, then refund

The clock starts on the day after delivery (or the day after you took it home from the shop), not on Christmas Day:

• Within 30 days: full refund. This is the “short-term right to reject”. You don’t have to accept a repair, a replacement or a credit note. The refund must go back to the card or account you paid with, with no fee, within 14 days of the retailer agreeing you’re owed it, and the retailer covers reasonable costs of getting the item back.
• After 30 days: one repair or replacement. You choose which, unless your choice is impossible or disproportionately expensive. If it fails, or drags on, you can reject it for a refund (the “final right to reject”) or keep it at a reduced price.
• The six-month rule. If a fault shows up within six months of delivery, the law presumes it was there all along. It’s for the retailer to prove otherwise, not for you to prove it. And a refund under the final right to reject in the first six months can’t be cut for the use you’ve had.
• After six months, the same remedies apply but the burden flips: if the retailer disputes it, you need to show the fault was there at delivery, and a refund can be reduced for use.

Perishables are the exception to the 30 days: the right to reject lasts only as long as the item could reasonably be expected to keep. Digital content (downloads, game codes, apps) has no right to reject at all; you’re owed a repair or replacement and then a price reduction, which can be up to the full price.

Your claim is against the seller, not the manufacturer. “Contact the manufacturer” is an offer of an extra route, not a replacement for your rights.

Use the checker

Seven answers tell you which side of the line you’re on, what you’re owed, your deadline counted from your dates, what your proof will do, and a message to send the retailer.

If it was a gift: whose rights are they?

Legally, the rights belong to the person who bought it. The contract is between them and the seller, and Trading Standards services are clear that a shop only has to accept the return of a faulty product from the buyer.

In practice, that’s rarely the end of it:

• A gift receipt isn’t a legal document, but shops issue them precisely so the recipient can return or exchange without the giver. Expect an exchange or credit note at the price paid, rather than cash; a money refund usually goes back to the buyer’s card.
• For a faulty gift, most shops will deal with the person standing in front of them holding the item and a gift receipt. If one insists on the buyer, the quickest fix is to ask the giver to send you the order confirmation and a line saying you’re acting for them. The checker’s message has a version for exactly this.
• For an online order, the buyer usually has to start the return from their account, and the refund goes to their payment method.

No receipt? What proof works

A receipt is evidence, not a condition of your rights. GOV.UK tells retailers they can ask for proof of purchase, and that it “could be a sales receipt or other evidence such as a bank statement or packaging”. So for anything faulty:

• a bank or card statement showing the payment (the giver’s, if it was a present)
• the order confirmation email or the account order history
• the box with the serial number, or the shop’s loyalty-card history.

For an unwanted item, the shop’s policy decides, and it can insist on a receipt or gift receipt. Many shops will still exchange without one, usually at the lowest recent selling price — which after the January sales can be well below what was paid.

Bought online or from a marketplace

From a business, online or by phone, you have 14 days from delivery to cancel for any reason, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Tell the seller before the deadline, send it back within 14 days of telling them, and they must refund you, including standard delivery, within 14 days of getting it back (or of your proof of posting, if earlier). You usually pay the return postage unless the seller said it would. If the seller never told you about your right to cancel, the period is extended by up to 12 months.

Some things are excluded from the 14 days: personalised or made-to-order items, perishables, sealed hygiene items once unsealed, sealed CDs, DVDs or games once opened, and digital content once the download has started with your agreement. Faulty versions of all of these are still covered by the Consumer Rights Act.

From a private seller on a marketplace, things are narrower. Consumer Rights Act rights only apply when you buy from a business; a private seller only has to sell you what they described (Sale of Goods Act 1979). There’s no “satisfactory quality” promise and no 14-day cancellation. If the item isn’t what the listing said, ask the seller first, then open a case under the marketplace’s own buyer-protection process before its deadline.

Gift cards from shops that go bust

This is the one where the law gives you the least. When a retailer enters administration, there’s no legal requirement for the administrator to keep accepting gift cards. Some do, at least for a while, sometimes only for part of a purchase; others stop overnight.

If yours stops working:

1. Check what the administrator has said. The notice is usually on the retailer’s website or the administrator’s.
2. Claim in writing. Send the administrator a claim with proof of the card — a photo, the card number and the balance. Which? has a template.
3. Be realistic. Gift card holders are usually unsecured creditors, ranked behind secured lenders and employees. Insolvency practitioners’ body R3 says full repayment is “very unlikely”, and Which? warns a claim can take up to 12 months.

If you or the giver paid by card, Section 75 or chargeback may be a better route than the administrator — we explain how both work in know your consumer rights.

The best protection is behavioural: spend a gift card soon, especially from a chain in the news, and check its expiry date the day you get it. Which? notes expiry dates are allowed as long as the buyer was told at the time. More on what happens when firms fail is in your rights when a company goes bust.

Three worked examples

The headphones. Dan’s mum orders £79.99 headphones online; they’re delivered to her on 18 December 2026 and she gives them to Dan on Christmas Day. On 3 January 2027 the left side cuts out. The 14-day cancellation window closed on 1 January, but that doesn’t matter: they’re faulty, so the 30-day short-term right to reject runs until 17 January 2027. Dan sends the checker’s message on his mum’s behalf with her order email; the retailer owes a full refund to her card within 14 days of agreeing, and pays to get them back.

The jumper. Priya’s £35 jumper was bought in a shop on 29 November. It’s the wrong size and nothing’s wrong with it. There’s no legal right here, so the shop’s Christmas returns policy is everything. With the gift receipt she gets an exchange at the full £35; without it, she’d likely be offered credit at the January sale price.

The coffee machine. Bought in store on 1 September 2026, it stops heating on 10 January 2027. That’s past 30 days, so the shop gets one repair or replacement. But it’s inside six months — the presumption runs to 28 February 2027 — so the shop can’t make Sam prove the fault was there from the start. If the repair fails, Sam can reject it for a full refund with no deduction for use.

If a shop won’t budge on a legal right, put it in writing, then follow the escalation steps in how to complain and get compensation. Planning next year already? Our Christmas on a budget plan starts in October. More free calculators and checkers are on our tools page.

Frequently asked questions

Can I return a Christmas present without a receipt?

If it’s faulty, yes — you need proof of purchase, and a statement, order email or packaging can do. If it’s just unwanted and came from a shop, it’s up to the shop.

Do shops have to give refunds on unwanted gifts?

Not if it was bought in a shop and nothing’s wrong with it. Christmas returns windows are goodwill. Bought online from a business, the buyer can cancel within 14 days of delivery.

Can the person who received a gift return it, or only the buyer?

The legal rights are the buyer’s. A gift receipt usually lets the recipient return or exchange it; if the shop insists on the buyer, they’ll need to claim or forward the order details.

What happens to my gift card if a shop goes into administration?

The administrator doesn’t have to accept it and may stop at any time. You can claim in writing, but gift card holders are usually unsecured creditors and may get little or nothing.

How long do I have to return something faulty?

Thirty days from delivery for a full refund. After that, one repair or replacement, then a refund if it fails. Within six months, the fault is presumed to have been there from the start.

Just so you know: this guide is information and journalism, not financial advice, and we don't recommend specific financial products. Your circumstances are your own — if you need personal advice, speak to a suitably qualified adviser. Information was correct at the "last updated" date above but things change; always check the linked primary sources.

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