No. A trader cannot use contract terms to remove or restrict your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Any attempt to exclude or limit the core protections for consumers will generally be ineffective.

For the main statutory protections that apply to goods, see What Statutory Rights Apply to Goods?.

What Are Statutory Rights?

Statutory rights are legal protections that apply automatically when you enter into a consumer contract.

For goods, these include the right that goods must:

  • Be of satisfactory quality.
  • Be fit for purpose.
  • Be as described.
  • Match any sample or model shown.

These rights exist regardless of what the contract says.

Common Attempts to Avoid Liability

Traders sometimes include wording such as:

  • “No refunds under any circumstances”
  • “Sold as seen”
  • “No liability accepted after purchase”
  • “We are not responsible for faults”

Such wording cannot override your statutory rights.

Limiting Liability for Faulty Goods

A trader cannot exclude or restrict liability for supplying goods that do not conform to the contract.

If goods are faulty, you may still be entitled to:

Unfair Terms

Even if a term does not directly exclude statutory rights, it may still be unfair if it creates a significant imbalance in favour of the trader.

See Unfair Terms – What the Law Says.

If a business tries to rely on such a term, see What To Do If a Business Enforces an Unfair Term.

Are There Any Exceptions?

In limited situations, traders may limit liability for certain types of loss (for example, indirect losses), but they cannot exclude responsibility for supplying goods that fail to meet statutory standards.

Any limitation must be fair and transparent.

What Should You Do If a Trader Says “It’s in the Terms and Conditions”?

If a trader claims you have no rights because of their terms and conditions:

  • Ask them to explain how the term complies with the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
  • State clearly that statutory rights cannot be excluded.
  • Put your complaint in writing.

If the trader continues to rely on the term, you may need to escalate the matter.

Enforcement Steps

If a trader attempts to contract out of your rights:

Key Point

You cannot sign away your core consumer protections. If a contract term tries to remove your statutory rights, it is unlikely to be legally enforceable.