Is it possible to return a phone within 14 days: consumer rights, nuances and step-by-step return instructions

Home/Returns and exchanges/Return your phone within 14 days

Mobile phones have become a part of the life of modern people today. These gadgets are easy to use, and without them it is difficult to imagine the existence of modern society, which values time very much. But there are times when a person purchased a mobile device, but it turned out to be non-working or he didn’t like it. What should you do?

Normative base

Returning a cell phone is a very real procedure, as evidenced by the provisions of the legislation on the protection of consumer rights. If, after purchasing a device, you find defects or defects in it, there is every chance of returning it to the seller, and for this you must know your own rights. 14 days are allotted for these procedures, if you do not take into account the day of purchase. Moreover, the law states that a refund can be made even if the sales receipt is lost.

Attention! If you have any questions, you can chat for free with a lawyer at the bottom of the screen or call Moscow; Saint Petersburg; Free call for all of Russia.

Attention

Government Decree No. 55 also contains a list of product items that are not subject to exchange or return. These include serviceable telephone sets (as amended by Resolution No. 1222), in the list of goods of good quality that cannot be returned or exchanged (see No. 11). Based on Decree No. 924, paragraph 6, such product units are included in the list of the most complex devices. Therefore, it turns out that such a step is impossible.

How long can I return my phone after purchase?

We consolidate information on possible terms of return/exchange of a mobile gadget depending on the type of trade:

Offline store	Online Store
Quality phone	No returns possible	7 days, if the buyer is notified in writing about the terms and conditions of return. 90 days if there was no such warning.
Poor quality phone	15 days for a normal malfunction, and more for a serious one

Consumer rights to returns

The law related to protecting the interests of consumers contains a large number of rights that they have. When returning a phone, the following main provisions can be highlighted:

the right to information (if it was not on the phone packaging, you have the opportunity to prove your case and return the cellular device) – (Article 8);
the right to discover certain shortcomings among the consumer characteristics of a product (Article 18);
the right to eliminate defects on the part of the seller (Article 20);
the possibility of replacing the phone if the quality is not satisfactory (Article 21).

Please note:
Thus, every consumer has a large number of rights and can count on their implementation if controversial circumstances arise during the purchase of a phone.

Is it possible to return a working phone within 14 days if you don't like it?

If the telephone you bought the day before did not suit you for some reason (it is inconvenient to use the keys, you don’t like the equipment, the camera is of insufficient quality, etc.), this point is regulated by the legislation in question (the Law on “Protection of Consumer Rights”). But this does not include technically complex products. Typically, they have appropriate warranty periods, so returns can only be made on the basis of faults.

For your information

From a legal point of view, classifying telephone devices as technically complex units is extremely ambiguous. Sellers give a lot of reasons why phones cannot be exchanged. But if you have information about the technical nuances of this issue, you can challenge any assurances. No one has canceled the peaceful ways of returning a cell phone back to the store.

Agreement with the seller

If you have a subjective desire to return the phone within 14 days, you should ask for an exchange of the device instead of a refund. After all, as practice shows, telephone specialists more often and more willingly agree to exchange actions than to refund money. These issues should be discussed with the managers of the store, and not with hired salespeople. To count on exchanging a gadget, you should immediately make a purchase in a large chain store, and not in a small, unknown retail outlet.

You should communicate with the manager or store administrator calmly and respectfully. If they refuse to meet you halfway, it makes sense to write a corresponding claim related to the exchange or return of the product within 14 days to the management. It must contain specific reasons for your request. Remember that any product, whether it is working or broken, must have an impeccable appearance. If management refuses to grant your request, there is every chance of ending up in court. But in the understanding of the judges, there is no specific convention regarding the classification or non-classification of cell phones as complex technical goods. Therefore, it is problematic to accurately predict his decision to return the phone within 14 days.

Warning

To make it easier for the buyer to navigate the issue of returning the phone, it is worth studying several positive cases of court decisions. For example, you can hand over a unit within 14 hours if during the process of selling it you were misled and received incomplete information about it. But this will have to be proven using witness testimony. It is advisable that they be given by strangers or, in extreme cases, by friends, and not by relatives.

IMPORTANT

The return of the phone within 14 days can also be carried out in a situation where there were no instructions for the device, or it was written in a foreign language and is incomplete. This is a direct violation of Article 10. 2nd paragraph of the law on the protection of buyer rights.

Is a cell phone a technically complex product or not?

This time we will begin our discussion not just with terminology, but with formulations and concepts that, at first glance, are indirectly related to the topic. However, you should not neglect them, because... It is from these data that everything said below will basically follow.

There is a concept of “technically complex goods”, the list of which is approved by government decree No. 924 (hereinafter referred to as PP No. 924).
Among other things, paragraph 6 of this resolution specifies “wireless communication devices for domestic use.”
The first answer was received: cell phones, mobile phones (smartphones) - in this case these are synonyms - refer to technically complex goods on the basis of RF PP No. 924.
There is another RF PP No. 2463, which approves a list of non-food purchases (goods) that cannot be returned or exchanged if their quality corresponds to the declared one. Paragraph 11 of this PP also lists technically complex products.

Why this excursion into legislation? To answer the main question of the article. Let's move on to it.

Can I return my phone within 14 days if it is faulty?

If the purchase turns out to be of poor quality, returning it within 14 days will not be difficult, the main thing is to have information about several fundamental rules:

the period is set to 10 days from the date of submission of the claim;
return measures can be carried out throughout the entire warranty period if a defect is detected;
the seller may claim that the phone is related to the list of goods of high technical complexity, but here Article 18 is relevant. the law on sexually transmitted diseases;
the procedure for registering a phone return within 14 days is accompanied by the preparation of a written claim, which must necessarily contain a signature confirming delivery;
if the phone is returned within the warranty period, this means that the seller proves the unlawfulness of the buyer’s demands, and if this time has come to an end, the evidence is the full responsibility of the buyer.

If significant shortcomings, defects, or defects have been identified in the gadget, the consumer, by law, has the right to the following measures:

making a refund;
exchange of a faulty device;
carrying out repair activities;
reduction in the cost of the device.

Measures for the return of technical devices can be carried out only in a situation where certain conditions are observed on the part of the buyer:

it has a significant flaw;
there are certain violations in the terms of repair under warranty (if returned within a period of up to 45 days);
The phone is under warranty repair for more than 30 days each year due to repeated repairs.

IMPORTANT
If a breakdown of the device or the discovery of any non-compliance with the requirements occurred within 14 days from the date of purchase, then the buyer can refuse the seller’s offer to repair, preferring a replacement with a new gadget or a refund. Thus, the return of a faulty device is possible, as evidenced by current legislation.

When can I return a phone of good quality?

You can return a new and working smartphone only in one case - if the seller violated the rules of trade:

Provided false information about the country of manufacture (assembly). For example, Finland is indicated on the price tag, and China is indicated on the packaging.
Misled me about the functionality of the equipment. For example, the consultant recommended a model in which both SIM card slots support 4G. After the purchase, it turned out that one slot only works on 3G and 2G frequencies.
During the sale, the cashier did not issue a receipt or fill out a warranty card.
If the product was sold at a discount and the seller did not warn about the reason for the markdown: dented packaging, sale of equipment after repair under warranty, damaged packaging, incomplete packaging.

In such situations, you can return your smartphone to a store and get money back as if you were paying for a low-quality product.

If the gadget was purchased on credit or in installments

Due to the availability of credit money and the high cost of modern phones, many people purchase them not with their own savings, but with credit funds or in installments. To be fair, it is worth noting that returning such goods within 14 days is difficult, because you will have to collect a whole “bouquet” of information and documents. If there is an obvious defect that is detected during the first days of using the phone (that is, when no payments to the bank have yet been made), you must inform the lender about this immediately and draw up a loan waiver by returning the device to the store.

For your information

Since most often defects are discovered during the first days of using the phone, the sequence of actions of the parties is simple and clear. Every step you take must be supported by appropriate documentation. The store will then have to return to the bank all the money that was provided, and you will be freed from the credit burden. If you simply don’t like the credit equipment and it doesn’t suit you, you can’t count on either returning it within 14 days or exchanging it.

How can I return my phone and get my money back or exchange it for another one?

Let's consider a common example of returning/exchanging a smartphone when purchasing in a regular store (a link to the detailed process of returning to an online seller was provided above).

Step 1. Drawing up and submitting a claim

To do this, you need to collect all available documents related to both the transaction (purchase) and its object (telephone).

Let us remind you that the entire document flow procedure for a return or exchange has already been discussed in detail in this material, so here we will only mention that (samples of) claims for the return of a mobile phone can be found at these links:

Step 2: Review Requirements

After providing documents and returning the gadget (which must be documented), the claim is considered by the store. The response time (acceptance of the claim and its implementation) depends on what is required by the consumer. In accordance with the provisions of the PPA, a response to the complaint must be received within the following time:

10 days are allocated for refunds, including payment of compensation for unequal replacements .
For replacement (exchange): a week if an analogue is available (in a store, in a warehouse), and if not available - a month .
If it is necessary to conduct an examination (we will consider this aspect further in more detail) - plus 20 days to the established deadlines.

There are separate parameters for heavy or bulky goods, but these provisions do not apply to phones.

Phone examination

The initiative to conduct an examination (additional verification) may belong to both the buyer and the seller. The examination is not mandatory and is appointed only in cases of disputes about the existence of a fact of inadequate quality of the product, the significance of the defect (after a 15-day period) or determining the culprit of the breakdown (for example, a manufacturing defect or the result of improper use by the buyer).

The seller (manufacturer) pays for the examination , however, if it is proven that problems with the quality of the mobile phone arose due to the fault of the buyer, he will have to reimburse the cost of the examination (plus delivery, storage and other costs associated with the examination) to the other party (Part 5 of Article 18 of the Labor Code Russia).

8(800)350-23-68

Dmitry Konstantinovich

Expert of the site "Legal Consultant"

Ask a Question

Another question we often receive is whether the seller should provide another phone while the purchased one is repaired. Unfortunately, there is nothing to please here. A similar rule actually exists in Article 20 of the PZPP, but it implies the signing of a bilateral agreement, but that the seller in the vast majority of cases will not agree to because of the high cost of the phone. In this option, the buyer will have to, guided by the provisions of Part 2 of Article 23 of the PZPP, present other requirements stipulated by Article 18 of the same law (return, exchange).

Step 3. Refund or exchange

If the claim is accepted, it is carried out within the specified time frame: funds are returned, the product is exchanged for a similar one, or the buyer agrees to another phone, with compensation for the difference in cost (if any).

Step-by-step return instructions

Only if the technical accessories are defective or faulty, the user can expect a refund or exchange within 14 days. The algorithm of actions is as follows.

Formation of an oral appeal to a retail outlet with the corresponding requirement. If it turned out to be insufficient, you can write a complaint to management.
The store must draw up a clear response to your complaint and provide it within no more than 10 days. During this time, the request will either be satisfied, or an independent examination will be ordered to identify the cause of the phone’s defect.
If it has been proven by expert evidence that the buyer is to blame for the defect, the store will demand that he reimburse all costs for the procedure. If any doubts arise, this will require additional examination.
If the parties have not reached a mutual agreement, a claim is filed in court with the attached transaction documents.

Additional information
The court subsequently makes a decision. It is impossible to predict exactly which side the judge will be on.

How to fill out a claim

A claim addressed to the seller can be made in free form by indicating:

official name and legal address of the organization;
personal and passport data of the buyer;
contact number;
date and time of purchase;
exact model name;
detected malfunction;
demand (exchange, warranty repair, money back);
list of attached documents.

The date and signature of the buyer must be placed at the end of the application. The claim is drawn up in two copies.

The documents should be handed over along with the faulty smartphone, while one copy remains with the store, on the second the seller puts a receipt mark, date, signature and returns it to the buyer.

Download the application form for the return of a phone of inadequate quality and for a refund within 14 days

Download a sample claim for a refund for a phone after repair

If the phone was purchased online

The same rules apply to an online store as to a regular retail outlet: you can return the phone within 14 days only if it turns out to be faulty or of poor quality. But return times vary significantly. You can cancel the device at any time before receiving it. If we are talking about refusal after receipt, then this can be done within 7 days (Law on Protection of Consumer Rights, Article 26.1, paragraph 4). The extension can be extended for 3 months if information about these limits and procedures was not initially provided by the seller.

Thus, returning a cell phone within 14 days is a process that is possible, but not always. It is important to raise this topic if the gadget has significant malfunctions. If it simply does not suit the buyer, actions to return or exchange it technically cannot be carried out.

Comments Showing 0 of 0

Returning a mobile phone of inadequate quality (defective)

A product of poor quality or defective is considered to be one that has deviations from the normal one.

Marriage if

There are deviations in appearance from normal, or the equipment is not complete;
There are shortcomings due to which the mobile phone is not able to satisfy the expected needs of the buyer;
There are shortcomings that prevent the product from fulfilling its direct functional purpose;
Characteristics differ from those stated in the accompanying documentation;
The parameters do not correspond to GOST or TU, according to which the goods were produced.

Reasons for return

There are different types of marriage.

View	Description
Ordinary	The quality of the product does not meet the standards established for it
Essential	Defects are difficult to remove and may require a high investment of time and money
Explicit	This type of defect is detected during a routine inspection. It is also detected at the technical control stage
Hidden	This type of defect is discovered during the operation of the product or during long-term storage

Any of the above types of defects allows you to return your mobile phone to a store or other outlet.

However, it is not possible to return the goods in the following cases:

If the defect arose due to the actions of the buyer;
If the buyer was informed in advance about the existing defects;
If the warranty period has expired.

The warranty period is the period during which the manufacturer or seller provides the buyer with the right to return a defective product. It is installed on each item separately, depending on the characteristics of a particular product and legal requirements.

The warranty period includes:

warranty from the manufacturer - which is established by the manufacturer in accordance with the law (for example, in GOST);
warranty from the point of sale - which must be no less than the period specified by the manufacturer.

The buyer can return the product within two years after purchase, even if the warranty period has expired. However, this requires serious reasons. And the return procedure in this case will be complicated.

Buyer's rights

If the mobile phone is of poor quality, that is, violations and defects are identified, then according to Article 18 of the Law “On Protection of Consumer Rights” the buyer has the right to a number of demands.

The buyer has the right to:

To return and receive money;
To exchange the product for a new one with the same declared characteristics;
To carry out repairs free of charge;
To exchange for a product with other characteristics with payment of the difference in price
By agreement of the parties, a reduction in the price of the product equal to the amount of the defect found.

It is important to consider that the choice of one of the above items should be made by the buyer, but not by the seller.

Procedure

If after purchase a defective mobile phone is discovered, the first thing the buyer should do is contact the seller. At the initial stage, you should try to come to an agreement with him verbally, but if nothing works out, then you need to move on to serious action.