Parcel delivery factors ParcelHero have released a report revealing that Brexit may have an impact on consumer rights in the UK.

In particular the report suggests that the right to return an item within 14 days whether or not faulty is set for the chop.

The report, ‘Retailers Reach the Point of No Returns’, suggests that 8% of UK online shoppers return items up to several times a month. More than 10% will purchase different sizes of clothes and shoes, returning those that do not fit. The right that allows them to do so was introduced in the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations.

“Before the EU law was introduced, online shoppers had just 7 days to return items. Many consumers say that is insufficient time to make up your mind on an item. Axing the EU-based Consumer Contracts Regulations could mean a return to just a week’s grace before sending back unwanted goods. And that may well not leave busy consumers enough time to discover a product doesn’t fit or live up to their expectations,” explains David Jinks MILT, Head of Consumer Research at ParcelHero.

Should these regulations be revoked, UK consumers will lose a number of rights. They may have to pay more if using credit cards, and lose the sneaky pre-ticked boxes at checkout, like the insurance for example. Returning to the former UK Distance Selling Regulations means the loss of all these new rights.

However, some small businesses argue that consumers can get even more rights: “some e-tailers claim that in many cases British law goes one step beyond basic EU requirements. Far from seeing a reversion to 7 days, we may even see an extension of the 14-day period to 21 days, in order to enhance consumer rights still further. And that, some traders argue, would be the final straw for smaller e-commerce sites operating on wafer thin margins, which lose money on every return,” adds David.

Until the government gets to look at the regulations as the country undoes the strictures of EU law, there is no guarantee that ParcelHero is right on this front…