Rejection of goods in Colchester and throughout the UK is a key concern for most businesses as most will typically ask themselves at some point –
‘Why were my goods rejected and what can I do about it?’
This is a question that I was recently asked by a long-term client (with a view expletives thrown in for good measure I might add) and the answer is quite simple on the face of it. By way of illustration, in business, as I am sure you will soon discover (if you do not already know), there will eventually come a time where a consumer will want to reject your goods and terminate the contract that they have in place with you. It is somewhat inevitable. In such circumstances they can then either withhold payment or recover what they have paid for one of two reasons by either –
(1) Express Provision or
(2) Rejection and Termination for Breach
(1)    Express Provision
Even if the buyer would not otherwise be entitled to reject your goods and terminate their contract (for example, because there is not actually a breach of any of the implied terms) they can still do so if an express term in the contract entitles them to do so as a means of building consumer confidence (a very useful tool!).
(2)    Rejection and Termination for Breach
A consumer can also reject your goods, terminate the contract and recover the price where there has been a breach of an implied term in your agreement such as with regard to the implied terms as to description, quality and fitness for purpose in contracts for the sale and supply of goods. This process involves a FULL REFUND of the price with the idea being that there has been what is called in law a ‘total failure of consideration’ so that both parties go back to their pre-contractual position (i.e. you get your goods back and the buyer gets all of their money back).
With this in mind, it is also to be noted that there will be no reduction of the refund to take account of any use that the consumer has had of the goods in the circumstances of many cases. In addition, it is also to be noted that, contrary to what many businesses may seek to allege, if the consumer rejects the goods then they DO NOT have to settle for any replacement goods – they are entitled by right to a refund to put the consumer back in his pre-contractual position.
However, a consumer will lose their right to reject, terminate and recover the price of goods if they have accepted the goods in question or affirmed the contract.
The consumer in a contract of sale loses their right to reject, terminate and recover the price of goods where they are found to have ‘accepted’ the goods as it is defined under section 35 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended) which recognised that a consumer will be considered to have accepted goods where they –
(a) intimate their acceptance to the seller after having had a reasonable opportunity to examine the goods to see if they conform to the contract AFTER they have been made and the goods have been delivered (sections 35(1)(a) and (2)(a) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979).
(b) do any act that is considered to be inconsistent with the ownership of the seller after having had a reasonable opportunity to examine the goods to see if they conform with the contract after they have been delivered.
(c) retain the goods after the lapse of a reasonable time without intimating to the seller that they have rejected them (section 35(4) of the Sale of Goods Act 1979). In deciding whether a reasonable time has elapsed the court should consider whether the buyer has had a reasonable opportunity to examine the goods to see if they conform after they have been delivered on the basis of a consideration of the facts on a case-by-case basis by considering all of the circumstances (section 59 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979). Factors including whether the goods are perishable; how complex they are; how serious the defect is; how latent or patent the defect is; personal circumstances; the need for the seller to be able to ‘close his ledger’; how reasonably the parties have behaved are all potentially important considerations so it is very hard to predict what will happen in any given case.