A new baby can mean a pile of presents from family and friends; but what happens if that sparkly paper hides some unwanted gifts?

What can you do if you unwrap two identical baby monitors, some clothes that don’t fit and a toy that doesn’t work?

Your rights

When it comes to the crunch, under consumer law, you don’t have any right to your money back on unwanted gifts. You’re actually only entitled to your money back or a replacement with faulty goods.

But shops want happy customers, and the good news is many big high street names are more than generous in letting you exchange those unwanted gifts.

Do I need the receipt to get the money back?

With presents, having the receipt usually makes the difference between getting the cash back or being able to swap the item, or exchange it for a gift voucher.

Without a receipt, but providing the item is unused and in its original packing with some form of label or proof it came from the store you’re returning it to, you’re only likely to be offered an exchange or voucher. Worth knowing too, that without proof of how much was originally paid, you’ll only get the current selling price. So if the item’s now half price in the sale, that’s the value you’ll get if you swap it.

To help customers avoid losing out; many stores now offer ‘gift receipts’. Just like your ordinary till receipt, it won’t show you the price paid, but the store keeps a record of this. So you won’t get a poor deal if the price has gone down since it was bought.

If we’re talking faulty goods, you don’t need the actual till receipt for a refund or replacement, but it helps. It’s ‘proof of purchase’ that counts; so if you’ve lost the receipt take along your bank or credit card statement to prove what you paid and when you bought it. With faulty presents, many stores do exchange them without receipts, providing it’s obvious it’s their product and you’ve not had the item ten years……

What happens if the present was bought on a credit card?

Bit tricky this, as if you’re returning an unwanted gift bought on someone else’s card the store won’t usually hand out cash even with the receipt. They’ll want to put the refund back on the card. You may have to put up with gift vouchers or an exchange unless the person who paid for it is happy to come with you and bring their card.

What about online returns? I’ve ordered a high chair but now want to buy one from another shop…..

Buying online, (or by mail order, by phone, or from a TV shopping channel), gives you more rights than buying in the high street. This is because, unlike buying in high street shops, you don’t get a chance to examine the goods before you buy.

Under the ‘Distance Selling Regulations’ you’ve got seven days to return unwanted items for a refund. In most cases you’ll have to foot the bill for the return postage yourself so check any small print on the website before ordering. If what you buy turns out to be faulty; then you’ve the same rights as buying in the high street, providing you’ve got proof of purchase they should refund or replace the item. With presents it’s best to get the person who ordered the gift to return it as the order will be in their name.

My baby’s pushchair has broken after just three months – how long have I got to take back faulty goods?

You’ve actually got up to six years to return faulty goods for a refund, replacement or repair, providing it’s reasonable for them to last that long. But that said you should always go back as soon as any problem occurs. The longer you leave it the harder it is to prove that any fault didn’t occur due to wear and tear. And if a store manger tries to fob you off saying you’ll have to contact the manufacturer, don’t listen; it’s down to the store to fix the problem as you bought the goods from them.

What’s the rule on sale items? I’ve got a present I think was bought in a sale earlier in the year?

You’ve got the same rights with sale items as you have paying full price. So the item’s faulty or breaks you can ask for your money back, but remember you’ll need that all important proof of purchase.

Worth knowing that if you negotiate an extra discount because of a fault, say you’re buying the display model, or an item without its packaging, you’ll usually forfeit your rights to any ‘goodwill’ refund if you later change your mind, but you can still get your money back if another fault occurs.