Is it possible to return a piece of jewelry if I don’t like it?

When planning a major purchase, including jewelry, you need to understand the exit routes. The product may not suit the recipient of the gift, may not be combined with other jewelry, may not match the picture from the Internet, or may be of poor quality. At the same time, jewelry is not a product that can be returned at the behest of the heart for any reason within 14 days, not counting the day of purchase. Therefore, in this article we will look at the reasons for returning jewelry back to the seller.

Table of contents

• Is it possible to return jewelry of proper quality?
• Not receiving all information about a product upon purchase
• Return of products of inadequate quality
• Deadlines for submitting claims
• How to return a product without getting rejected

Is it possible to return jewelry of proper quality?

According to the general rule established in Art. 25 of the Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights, the consumer has the right to exchange a non-food product of proper quality for a similar product from the seller from whom this product was purchased, if the specified product is not suitable in shape, dimensions, style, color, size or configuration. Meanwhile, jewelry and other products made of precious metals and/or precious stones, cut precious stones are among the non-food products of good quality that are not subject to exchange (clause 9 of the List, approved by Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of December 31.12.2020, 2463 N XNUMX).

This means that, in general, goods purchased in a store cannot be returned or exchanged for a similar product. It is possible to circumvent the ban only if the precious product was ordered (not according to your own sketch and individual properties) remotely, in particular via the Internet.

As stated in the Government decree, when selling goods remotely, the return of jewelry of proper quality is possible if its presentation, consumer properties, a document confirming the fact and conditions of purchase of the specified product from the seller, and consumer packaging are preserved. The consumer’s lack of a document confirming the fact and terms of purchase does not deprive him of the opportunity to refer to other evidence of the purchase of jewelry.

Other evidence includes, for example, bank statements, confirmation of bank transfers, and witness statements. It is also possible to request a copy of the receipt from the seller (if the buyer remembers the date and time of purchase).

In addition, jewelry is often made to order from the consumer. The manufacturer can be either an entrepreneur (registered as a legal entity or an individual entrepreneur), or a private person. In any case, the customer has the right to refuse the product before completion of work on it, covering the actual expenses incurred by the contractor (Clause 1, Article 782 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation).

However, if the work is completed properly and the result of the work (the jewelry itself) is accepted by the consumer, the work performed is subject to payment in full. Thus, in this case, the consumer does not have the right to return the product only on the grounds that he has changed his mind.

Thus, if the jewelry was purchased in an offline store, there are no defects, and it will not be possible to return it due to a direct ban. If the product was ordered via the Internet (or other remote means), then a return is possible provided that the presentation and documents confirming the purchase are preserved.

If the product was manufactured from scratch and personally for you (based on a contract), you can refuse the work provided that the work was not completed. But in the latter case, the customer will have to cover the contractor’s expenses that were incurred before the refusal.

Not receiving all information about a product upon purchase

It is necessary to understand that the consumer has the right to complete and reliable information about the jewelry, and the manufacturer/seller is obliged to provide it to him in a timely manner.

Information about jewelry offered for sale must contain extracts from regulatory legal acts establishing the procedure for sampling, analysis and marking of jewelry and other products made of precious metals and certification of precious stones.

In addition, jewelry must be grouped according to its purpose and have sealed labels indicating the name of the product and its manufacturer (or importer and country of origin (manufacturing) of the product), article number and/or model, total weight of the product, name of the precious metal and its fineness, name, weight, cut shape and quality and color characteristics of precious stone inserts, names of inserts not related to precious stones, as well as the price of the product. When sold, products must have consumer packaging (clauses 47, 48, 50 of Government Resolution No. 2463).

If during the purchase the information was not provided to the consumer, it was insufficient, there was no consumer packaging, then the consumer has the right to refuse to fulfill the contract within a reasonable time and demand a refund of the amount paid for the jewelry and compensation for other losses. If the consumer refuses to fulfill the contract, he is obliged to return the jewelry (clause 3 of article 495 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, clause 1 of article 12 of Law No. 2300-1).

Return of products of inadequate quality

If the jewelry turns out to be of poor quality, it is easier to return it, since all the reasons are clear. The quality of the goods must meet the requirements of the contract (that is, purchase and sale or contract). If there was no contract or the quality was not discussed, then the seller is obliged to deliver goods that meet the usual requirements and are suitable for the purposes for which goods of this kind are usually used. Conventionally, if you purchased jewelry made of white gold, which when worn began to oxidize like silver, there was no information about such metal on the product, then there is not enough product for your face.

If you identify defects in the jewelry, you can return the product to the seller (manufacturer or importer), terminate the contract and request a refund. In addition, the consumer may, at his option, require the following:

• replacement with a product of the same brand (same model and (or) article),

• replacement with the same product of a different brand (model, article) with a corresponding recalculation of the purchase price,

• proportionate reduction in the purchase price,

• immediate free elimination of defects in the goods or reimbursement of costs for their correction by the consumer or a third party.

When making claims, the choice is yours. If you consider that you need to return the price paid and do not require a replacement, the seller cannot refuse you on this basis. As a general rule, the consumer also has the right to demand full compensation for losses caused to him as a result of the sale of goods of inadequate quality.

Deadlines for submitting claims

The buyer has the right to make claims against the seller (manufacturer, authorized organization, individual entrepreneur, importer) regarding defects in the goods if they are discovered during the warranty period or expiration date. In relation to goods for which warranty periods or expiration dates have not been established, the consumer has the right to make these demands if defects in the goods are discovered within a reasonable time, but within two years from the date of their transfer to the consumer, unless longer periods are established by law or contract (p 1 Article 19 of Law No. 2300-1).

For the reason that expiration or warranty periods cannot be less than those established by law, for the calculation we will focus on a general two-year period. This is derived from the fact that contractual terms (and a guarantee is an agreement) cannot put the consumer in a worse position than what is established by law.

If significant defects of the product have been identified, the consumer has the right to demand that the manufacturer (an authorized organization or an authorized individual entrepreneur, importer) eliminate them free of charge if he proves that such defects arose before the jewelry was transferred to the consumer or for reasons that arose before that moment.

A defect is considered significant if its elimination requires a lot of effort, disproportionate money or time. Materiality is not sufficiently proven from case to case, so your case may be so.

This requirement can be stated if defects in the jewelry are discovered after two years from the date of its transfer to the consumer, within the service life established for the jewelry, or 10 years from the date of transfer of the jewelry to the consumer – if the service life for the jewelry is not established.

If the requirement to eliminate the defects of the jewelry product is not satisfied within 20 days from the date of its presentation or the detected defect is irreparable, the consumer has the right to return the jewelry product to the manufacturer (an authorized organization or an authorized individual entrepreneur, importer) and demand a refund of the amount of money paid for it (clause 6 Article 19 of Law No. 2300-1).

How to return a product without getting rejected

Having made sure that you have grounds for returning the jewelry, that the deadlines for identifying defects have been met, that you did not influence the occurrence of quality defects, you need to prepare a written position for the seller or another person from the trade chain. This can be not only the direct seller from whom you took the goods, but also the importer, manufacturer – depending on who is most likely and most willing to restore the violated right.

Before preparing for the process and writing a statement of claim, it is necessary to draw up a claim. Unlike statements, which are often written according to a form or sample established by sellers, claims contain the same details as the claim. The text of the claim must contain the factual circumstances preceding the presentation of the claim, the legal position (rules of law and judicial practice), appendices where you list the evidence substantiating your claims (for example, checks, examination, photographs), details of the parties, the requirements themselves and signatures.

The difference between a claim and a lawsuit, for the most part, lies in formal aspects. If the claim does not require the established form, you may omit some essential circumstances in it or do not attach all the evidence, then there may be consequences in the claim. For example, the judge can return the claim, immobilize it, return the claim, and so on.

If you filed a claim, but the seller did not satisfy your requirements (or did not fully satisfy or respond to the claim) within ten days, then you can safely prepare a statement of claim in court.

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To increase your chances of a positive outcome of the case, you can entrust the resolution of the dispute to our lawyer. Unlike “individual lawyers”, you will not need to be present in the office or be in a certain city. All communication will be conducted online, so you can safely continue to live anywhere and do not look for a lawyer through word of mouth.

To place an order to work with a lawyer, fill out the “Return goods” form. When you answer the questions, the system will tell you whether you have grounds for returning the goods and offer a solution. If you are in doubt or want to be sure of the answer, write to the lawyer via chat. He is in the window on the right and will always be happy to advise.

Always yours, DestraLegal