How to return unwanted Christmas gifts: Do I need a receipt? Australian Consumer rights:

Aussies left with a dud gift this Christmas shouldn’t let it gather dust, retail experts say.

National Retail Association Legal Practice Director, Lindsay Carroll explains that getting a refund or exchanging your unwanted present might be easier than you think.

She recommends consumers first look at the business’s return policy before heading into the store, or maybe a submission online, as each individual business can set their own refund policies.

‘For unwanted gifts, certainly the retailer’s return policy will dictate when they can return unwanted items,’ National Retail Association’s Lindsay Carroll told A Current Affair.

‘It’s really import that you retain proof of purchase.

‘Keep your item in its packaging and in an unused condition.’ 

However, if the consumer doesn’t have a receipt, there are alternative ways to provide proof of purchase.

This can include a bank card statement with the item listed, a confirmation or receipt number from a phone or internet transaction, or a warranty card showing the date, price and place of purchase.  

But Ms Carroll warns some businesses may not provide a refund if you change simply do not like the gift and want to return a gift.

In these tricky cases, you might have more luck trying to ask for an exchange. 

Consumers retain more rights if the product they received is damaged or faulty. 

Under consumer law, a business has to offer either a ‘repair, replacement or refund if your goods are faulty, unsafe, do not work or appear as they should’. 

‘Which remedy, and who gets to pick, depends on the problem.’ 

Queensland Attorney General Shannon Fentimen reiterated this law, adding that ‘it doesn’t matter whether you’ve bought something on sale or at full price, your rights are the same’.

Businesses set out their own return policies, so some may not offer a refund if you change your mind or want to return an unwanted present (stock image)

If the gift was purchased from an online store, a refund or exchange is much easier if the product is bought from an Australian business.

If it was purchased from overseas, there could be differences on how that gift can be exchanged for a refund, swapped or repaired. 

Consumers will need to read up on the website’s return policy to know how to properly return the unwanted gift.  

Shoppers are estimated to have splashed about $60.6 billion on gifts during the festive season this year, which is a four per cent increase from the Covid-ravaged 2021 holiday period.