DocMuse is a private, paid service run by The Muse Technology EOOD (Bulgaria). It is not a government website and is not connected with nidirect, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service or any other public body. It is not a law firm and is not regulated by the Law Society of Northern Ireland or any other legal regulator; its documents are not legal advice.
Faulty goods: reject them for a refund, or ask for a repair or replacement (Northern Ireland)
Northern Ireland · in English · for consumers
€2.00Fill it in online free — pay only to download
14 questions · about 6 min
Made for use in Northern Ireland
Fill in the form
Your answers stay on this device for 7 days, or until you clear them.
- Instant download after payment
- Backup link emailed to you
- No account needed
For a consumer in Northern Ireland whose goods from a business turn out faulty, not as described or unfit for their purpose. Within 30 days you can reject them for a full refund; after that, you ask for one repair or replacement first (Consumer Rights Act 2015, sections 9 to 23). The letter states the fault and your choice, and is your final letter before a claim: the trader has 14 days to reply before you make a small claim in the county court, which hears claims of up to £5,000. Send it to the retailer, not the manufacturer, by email and by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For).
- Made for use in Northern Ireland
- Last updated October 29, 2026
- Document in English
Where a UK document reproduces the words of legislation or of a government publication — UK, Scottish or Northern Irish — it contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Published byDocMuse
When to use this document
- You bought a washing machine in Northern Ireland and it broke down within weeks.
- The shop refuses a refund on a faulty item and will only offer a repair.
- The retailer keeps telling you to take it up with the manufacturer instead.
- You want to reject faulty goods for your money back or ask for a replacement.
What you fill in
The details the document asks for.
- Sender
- Sender's address
- Town or city
- Sender's postcode
- Date
- Trader
- Trader's postal address
- Order number
- Description of the item
- Price
- Date of purchase
- Date the goods were received
- Defect
- What you ask for: refund, repair or replacement
Common questions
- How many days does a buyer in Northern Ireland have to reject faulty goods for a full refund?
- Thirty days from the day after ownership passed and the goods were delivered (and installed, where the trader installs them); for perishable goods, only as long as they could be expected to last (section 22 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which applies across the UK). Days spent waiting for a repair or replacement do not count. After the 30 days, you first ask for one repair or replacement.
- Should a faulty item bought in Northern Ireland go back to the shop or to the manufacturer?
- To the shop or online seller you paid: your Consumer Rights Act rights are against the retailer, which cannot send you away to the manufacturer. A manufacturer's guarantee is extra, and you may use it as well. Consumerline, the Trading Standards Service's free helpline for Northern Ireland, gives advice first and takes complaints about traders.
- What if the trader says it finds no fault, or that the warranty has run out?
- If you ask for a repair or replacement, or later for a price reduction or the final right to reject, a fault that shows within six months of delivery is presumed to have been there at delivery, and the trader must prove otherwise. For the 30-day right to reject, and after six months, you show it, for example with an independent report. In Northern Ireland a claim can be brought for six years (Article 4 of the Limitation (Northern Ireland) Order 1989); a shop's warranty does not shorten that.
How you can sign this document
- Print it and sign by hand. The signature lines in the document are left blank on purpose — sign on them in ink.
- Sign it yourself with a qualified electronic signature. If you already hold a QES — Evrotrust, B-Trust, StampIT, ZealiD or any qualified provider on the EU Trusted List, on a card, a USB token, in a mobile app or in the cloud — our signing guide explains step by step how to sign this exact file without invalidating it. Step-by-step help, and a way to check it worked
DocMuse sells documents, not legal advice. Acceptance always depends on the recipient's rules and your local law.
Related documents
- Final right to reject or price reduction after a failed repair or replacement (Northern Ireland)
For a consumer in Northern Ireland whose faulty goods were repaired or replaced once and are still faulty, or whom the trader did not repair or replace within a reasonable time. The letter uses the final right to reject for a refund, or keeps the goods and asks for a price reduction (section 24 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015), and is your final letter before a claim, with 14 days to reply before a small claim in the county court (up to £5,000). Send it to the retailer by email and by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For), with a copy of the earlier correspondence.
- Complaint about poor work by a builder, garage or other trader (Northern Ireland)
For a consumer in Northern Ireland whose builder, decorator, garage, repairer or other service provider did the work badly or not as agreed. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 a trader must perform a service with reasonable care and skill; the letter asks for the work to be put right at the trader's cost or, where that is not possible, for a price reduction (sections 49, 55 and 56), and is your final letter before a small claim in the county court, with 14 days to reply. Send it by email and by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For), with photos.
- Complaint about an order that never arrived (Northern Ireland)
For a consumer in Northern Ireland whose order from an online or high-street trader has not arrived. Under section 28 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 the trader must deliver within the agreed time or, if none was agreed, within 30 days, and the goods stay at its risk until you have them (section 29), so a parcel lost in transit is its problem. The letter gives a final 14 days to deliver, after which the contract ends, a full refund is due and you may make a small claim for it in the county court. Send it by email and by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For).
- Complaint about a package holiday that was not as booked (Northern Ireland)
For a traveller in Northern Ireland whose package holiday — flights and hotel, or other travel services sold together — was not as booked: a different or poor hotel, missing services, a changed itinerary. Under the Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 the organiser is responsible for every part of the package and owes a price reduction and compensation for what went wrong. The letter claims them and is your final letter before a small claim in the county court, with 14 days to reply. Send it to the organiser by email and by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For).
- Letter before a small claim to a business that will not refund or pay you (Northern Ireland)
For a consumer in Northern Ireland whose complaint to a trader has got nowhere — a refund refused, a deposit kept, money owed for faulty goods or poor work. The letter sets out the claim and the amount, lists your documents, gives 14 days to pay or reply, and says that otherwise you will make a small claim in the county court, which hears claims of up to £5,000 and can be started online. Northern Ireland has no pre-action practice direction like England's, but the letter shows the court that you tried to settle first. Send it by email and by recorded delivery (Royal Mail Signed For).
- Complaint to your energy supplier about bills or meters (Northern Ireland)
For a household customer in Northern Ireland with a problem with their electricity or gas supplier: a wrong or estimated bill, a catch-up bill for energy used more than 13 months ago, a meter fault or poor service. The letter is the formal complaint the supplier must deal with under its complaints procedure; if it is not resolved, the Consumer Council for Northern Ireland takes energy complaints free, and publishes its own free letter for a disputed bill. Send it by email or first class post, and keep the date.