Consumer Rights in Ireland: Refunds, Repairs and the Consumer Rights Act 2022

Consumer law in Ireland was rewritten in 2022. The Consumer Rights Act 2022 replaced the old Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980 rules for consumers, and it changed the practical answer to the question most shoppers actually ask: when am I entitled to my money back rather than a repair?

The short version is that your rights are strongest in the first 30 days, they do not disappear after that, and they can last up to six years. This page covers faulty goods, digital content and services, cooling off periods for online and doorstep purchases, and what the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission can and cannot do.

Information last verified on 20 July 2026. This page is general legal information for the Republic of Ireland, not legal advice.

Which law applies to your purchase?

The governing statute is the Consumer Rights Act 2022, No. 37 of 2022. It was commenced on 29 November 2022 by the Consumer Rights Act 2022 (Commencement) Order 2022, S.I. No. 596 of 2022. That order brought the Act into operation "other than section 161". Section 161 sits in Part 6, which amends the Consumer Protection Act 2007, and would insert a new section 74A into that Act giving a consumer aggrieved by a prohibited commercial practice a right to a price reduction and a right to terminate the contract. The Irish Statute Book commencement index still records section 161 as not yet commenced, so the Act should not be described as wholly in force.

The Act repealed the consumer provisions of the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980. The CCPC's framing is the useful one: goods bought before 28 November 2022 are governed by the older law, and the Consumer Rights Act governs contracts from 29 November 2022 onwards. Sections 74 to 79 of the Consumer Credit Act 1995 do continue to have effect for hire purchase agreements.

Your remedies when goods are faulty

This is the part most consumer pages get wrong. Ireland does not operate a strict ladder in which you reject within 30 days, then accept a repair, then ask for a refund. Section 23(1) gives you two rights concurrently from the moment goods fail to conform: the short term right to terminate under section 24, and the right to repair or replacement under section 25.

The 30 day short term right to terminate

Section 24 sets the limit at 30 days beginning with the relevant time, normally delivery. Where the trader has to install the goods or take some other enabling action, the 30 days run from completion of that action. A shorter window applies to goods reasonably expected to expire or deteriorate in under 30 days, such as fresh food or flowers, and under section 24(5) the trader must show that a shorter period applies.

The CCPC advises telling the business you are cancelling before the 30 days end. Written notice is not legally required but is far easier to prove. The right does not cover a change of mind, only goods that do not conform.

Choosing between repair and replacement

Under section 23(2) and (3) the choice is yours, subject to two limits. The trader can refuse the remedy you picked if it is impossible, or disproportionate in cost compared with the alternative, weighing the value the goods would have if they conformed, the significance of the fault, and whether the alternative avoids significant inconvenience. It can refuse both only where both are impossible or disproportionate.

Section 25 controls how the remedy must be delivered. Repair or replacement must be free of charge, carried out within a reasonable time, and provided without significant inconvenience to you. Reasonable time means the shortest time necessary, judged objectively by the nature and complexity of the goods, the severity of the fault and the effort required. The trader takes the goods back at its own expense and must remove and re-install installed goods or bear those costs.

Price reduction and the final right to terminate

Section 26 is the second tier. It becomes available where the trader refused to bring the goods into conformity, did not complete a repair or replacement properly, where a fault reappears after an attempt, where the fault is serious enough to justify immediate reduction or termination, or where it is clear the trader will not remedy it within a reasonable time.

You cannot terminate finally where the lack of conformity is minor, and under section 26(4) the trader must prove it is minor. Section 26(8) defines a serious fault: where you cannot maintain confidence in the trader's ability to remedy it, or where normal use is severely affected and you cannot reasonably be expected to trust that a repair or replacement would fix it.

Any price reduction under section 27 must be proportionate to the decrease in value compared with conforming goods. Termination under section 28 is effected by a statement to the trader expressing your decision, and you return the goods at the trader's expense.

Two practical points from the CCPC's faulty goods guidance: where a refund is due the business must refund you within 14 days of getting the goods back, and where you are paying by instalments or have not paid in full you may withhold payment until the issue is resolved.

The 12 month burden of proof

Section 22(1) provides that where a lack of conformity becomes apparent during the 12 months beginning with the relevant time, it is presumed to have existed at that time, unless that is incompatible with the nature of the goods or of the non conformity. Ireland took the EU default of 12 months and did not adopt the optional 24 month period.

The nuance most competitor pages miss sits in section 22(4): nothing prevents you exercising a remedy after the 12 months are up. What changes at 12 months is who proves what, not whether you still have rights. For goods with digital elements supplied continuously, section 22(2) keeps the burden on the trader for the whole contract period.

How long do your rights last?

Up to six years. Section 11(1)(a) of the Statute of Limitations 1957 requires actions founded on simple contract to be brought within six years of the cause of action accruing, and the CCPC frames that as running from the day you bought or received the product.

Six years is a limitation period for going to court, not a six year guarantee that everything keeps working. The CCPC ties it to products that might reasonably be expected to last six years with normal use, so a budget kettle and a fitted kitchen are not judged the same way.

If a trader will not engage and your loss is €2,000 or less, the small claims procedure is the route the CCPC itself points consumers towards.

Digital content and digital services

The Act gives digital content and digital services their own Part, with the same shape of protection.

• For a single act or series of acts of supply, the burden of proof sits with the trader for any lack of conformity apparent within 12 months of supply (section 59(2)).
• For continuous supply, such as a subscription, the burden sits with the trader for the entire contract period (section 59(3)).
• Remedies remain available after the 12 months (section 59(8)), and price reduction is available for these contracts (section 63).
• Where you are owed a reimbursement after a price reduction or termination, the trader must pay it without undue delay and in any event within 14 days of being told of your decision.

Where digital elements are bundled with physical goods, section 12(8) presumes in cases of doubt that the digital element forms part of the sales contract, irrespective of whether you have to consent to a licensing agreement with somebody other than the trader. For connected devices, that means the app is generally the seller's problem.

Cooling off: online, phone and doorstep purchases

Buying at a distance or away from a trader's premises brings a separate right to cancel without giving any reason, under section 112.

• Services, digital services, non tangible digital content and unmetered utilities: 14 days from the day the contract is concluded (section 113(2)).
• Sales contracts for goods: 14 days from the day you acquire physical possession (section 113(4)). Where one order arrives in separate items the period runs from the last item, and for regular deliveries over a defined period from the first delivery.
• 30 days, not 14, where the contract was concluded in the context of an unsolicited trader visit to your home, or an excursion organised by a trader.
• A further 12 months if the trader did not give you the required cancellation information (section 114(1)). If the trader supplies it within that year, the period instead ends 14 days after you receive it, or 30 days for unsolicited visit contracts.

If you cancel, you bear only the costs the Act specifies: non standard delivery costs, the direct cost of returning the goods, diminished value from handling them more than necessary, and the value of any service or utility already supplied. Separately, unless you agreed otherwise, the trader must deliver no later than 30 days after the contract is concluded.

What is not covered

• Changing your mind in a shop. The CCPC is explicit that a business does not have to offer a refund or exchange if you simply change your mind in store. If it advertises an exchange period, however, it must honour that.
• Buying from a private individual. The rights apply only when you buy from a business, so a used car bought privately does not carry them.
• Misuse, accidental damage and normal wear and tear.
• Land and property. Goods under the Act excludes land, houses and apartments.

One myth is worth killing off. Sale items and second hand goods are covered. The CCPC states that your rights are the same whether you buy new or second hand, and whether you pay full price or buy in a sale. A sign saying there are no refunds on sale items does not remove your statutory rights.

Guarantees are extra, not a substitute

A manufacturer's guarantee covering spare parts, repairs or free replacement for a fixed period is an extra protection, and you do not have to use it. The CCPC is clear that the retailer who sold you the goods remains responsible and cannot tell you to contact the manufacturer instead. The Act presumes, unless the contrary is shown, that a trader giving its own commercial guarantee is not liable under one given by a different guarantor.

Where to complain, and what the CCPC actually does

1. Complain to the business in writing. The CCPC publishes letter templates and complaint guidance.
2. Ask your bank for a chargeback if you paid by card. The CCPC confirms this may be an option. Card scheme time limits apply, so raise it early.
3. Use an alternative dispute resolution scheme where one covers the sector. Complaints about banks, insurers, credit unions, investment firms and pensions are dealt with by the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman. Check the scheme's own published rules for what it covers, how long it takes and whether its decision binds the trader.
4. Use the small claims procedure if the claim is €2,000 or less.
5. Report the business to the CCPC.

That last step needs a caveat, because it is the commonest misunderstanding about Irish consumer law. As Citizens Information puts it, while the CCPC does not handle individual complaints, it uses complaint data to see where markets are not working well and may investigate a suspected breach. Reporting a trader helps enforcement. It does not get your money back.

The CCPC does not decide individual disputes for you either. Its own role is to promote competition and consumer welfare, run a consumer helpline and information website, enforce Irish and EU consumer, competition and product safety law, monitor the Grocery Goods Regulations and credit facility advertising, authorise credit intermediaries, and licence pawnbrokers.

If a dispute ends up in court, our page on civil and criminal legal aid in Ireland explains the means test, although small claims are excluded from civil legal aid by statute.

This page is general information about consumer law in the Republic of Ireland and is not legal advice. The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission publishes current guidance and complaint templates. For a valuable or complex dispute, take advice from a solicitor. More Irish guides are collected on the Ireland legal guides hub.