Buying refurbished or second-hand tech: your rights from shops vs private sellers

What's happening

Refurbished and second-hand phones, laptops and consoles can cost far less than new ones, and they're a popular way to cut the cost of Christmas. But your rights depend on who you buy from. A business selling refurbished tech has to meet the Consumer Rights Act 2015. A private seller on eBay, Vinted or Facebook Marketplace mostly doesn't.

At a glance

• Buying from a business: goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, judged against the price and description.
• Buying from a private seller: the item must match the description, but there's no legal promise about quality.
• Online from a business, you usually get 14 days after delivery to cancel for any reason.
• Refurbished marketplaces add their own cover. refurbed advertises at least 12 months' warranty and a 30-day trial. Back Market gives 30 days to change your mind and says its warranty starts at a minimum of a year.
• Platform protection has strict deadlines, as short as two days on Vinted.

Buying from a trader

Sections 9 to 11 of the Consumer Rights Act apply to used and refurbished goods just as they do to new ones. Satisfactory quality takes account of the price, the description and other circumstances, so you can't expect a £150 used phone to look like a new one. But it should work properly, last a reasonable time and match its listing. Faults the seller pointed out before you bought, such as a scratch shown in the photos, don't count.

If something goes wrong, you can reject faulty goods for a full refund within 30 days. After that, the seller gets one chance to repair or replace. If a fault appears in the first six months, it's assumed to have been there from the start unless the seller proves otherwise.

Grades such as "Fair", "Good" or "Excellent" are the seller's own labels, not legal standards. They tell you about cosmetic condition, and they form part of the description you can rely on.

Buying from a private seller

Private sales fall under the Sale of Goods Act 1979, which only requires the goods to match their description. There's no right to satisfactory quality, and no 14-day cooling-off period. If a seller says "battery health 90%" and it's 70%, you have a claim. If they say nothing and it dies after a week, you probably don't.

Some people who sell a lot on these sites are really traders. If a "private" seller has dozens of identical phones listed, they may be a business, and your full rights could apply.

Platform protection

eBay's Money Back Guarantee covers items that don't arrive or don't match the listing, if you paid through eBay checkout. You usually have 30 days from the delivery date, or the estimated delivery date if it never came, to open a request. On Vinted, buyer protection only applies to orders made with "Buy now", and you have two days from delivery to report a problem. Pro sellers on Vinted give 14 days to request a refund. If you pay by bank transfer or in cash for a Marketplace listing, you usually have no platform protection at all.

A worked example

This is an illustration. Leah buys a refurbished phone graded "Good" for £249 from an online refurbisher on 5 November. In March, the battery fails and the phone won't hold a charge.

That's within six months, so the fault is presumed to have been there at delivery. She can ask the refurbisher to repair or replace it at no cost. If that fails, she can ask for a price reduction or reject it for a refund. Within the first six months, the seller can't usually take money off her refund for the use she's had. She also has the refurbisher's own warranty.

If Leah had bought the same phone for £180 from a private seller who described it as "working fine", she'd have far less protection.

What to do now

1. Check who the seller is. Look for a business name, address and returns policy.
2. Save the listing, including photos, grade and any battery health figures.
3. Pay through the platform's checkout, never by bank transfer to a stranger.
4. Test it straight away, including the battery, camera, charging port and screen.
5. Report problems fast, within two days on Vinted and 30 days on eBay.
6. Check the phone isn't locked to someone else's account before you pay in person.

Questions

Is a refurbished warranty better than my legal rights?

It's extra. A warranty adds to your Consumer Rights Act rights and can't take them away.

Does "sold as seen" mean I have no rights?

Not when you buy from a business. A trader can't use "sold as seen" to remove your Consumer Rights Act protections.

Can I pay by credit card for more protection?

Yes. If a single item costs over £100 and you pay by credit card, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act can make the card provider jointly liable.

Ways to save

We list codes for refurbished tech sellers Reboxed, refurbed and Envirofone, and for eBay. Compare the price against a new model on sale, and check the warranty length on the seller's own site.

Sources: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 9, Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 19, Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 24, Sale of Goods Act 1979, section 13, eBay Money Back Guarantee, Vinted refund policy, Back Market help, refurbed