Black Friday or Cyber Monday regret? Can you get your money back?

In all the excitement of Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, it's easy to get carried away. Even the most sensible people may well return home with items they never intended to buy - which were either more than they could afford or completely inappropriate. The question is what can you do if Black Friday buyers' remorse kicks in?

A study by Blueyonder revealed that a quarter of last year's Black Friday shoppers regretted their purchases, and this year social media would seem to indicate another bout of Black Friday remorse.

On Twitter one user wrote: "I regret everything I bought on Black Friday I'm literally going to sell it all when it comes in the mail." Another Tweeted: "Black Friday, Red Saturday, Refund Monday." And a third: "Looked at my bank account for the 1st time since Black Friday, cried a little, & now driving back to mall to make some returns."
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In-store

It's worth knowing at the outset that if you simply made a mistake buying in-store, the retailer has no obligation to take the item back. Typically shops show a great deal of discretion - particularly at this time of year - and will often refund if you have a receipt, or offer an exchange or credit note.

Some have different returns policies for sale goods and may insist you return items within a week or two. Others will refuse returns altogether. The experts say this is something you should check before you buy - but it's hardly the first thing on someone's mind when they are snapping up bargains.

The good news is that major retailers including M&S, Argos, John Lewis and Tesco are allowing Black Friday returns in store, as long as you make a quick decision, follow the correct procedure, and have not unwrapped or used the item in question.

If your retailer refuses to take something back, your options are limited. You can either rethink your Christmas present shopping, or try to sell the item on. If the discount was big enough in the first place you could break even, or even make some money.

If there's something wrong with the item, that's different. Under the new Consumer Rights Act, you have 30 days from when you bought a product to get a refund if the item is faulty and was bought from a seller in the UK. You should also get this refund within 14 days. After the 30 days have passed, you're far less likely to get a refund, but the seller must offer a repair or replacement (for the first six months).

Online

The good news for all those who did their sale shopping online this year is that if you bought online, you have extra rights, because you automatically have 14 days from when you received an item to return it for a full refund - even if you just changed your mind.

You will need to follow the process laid down by the retailer - and in some instances will need to pay for postage - but this is far less painful than the thought of being left with items you don't want, and cannot afford, at such an expensive time of year.