Consumer rights

Your agreement is with the retailer, not with the manufacturer.

Complain to them. If the goods were faulty when you bought them, then the retailer must sort it out for you. If it tries to fob you off telling you to go to the manufacturer, it's wrong.

Goods should be of satisfactory quality and as described.

The Sale of Goods Act 1979 ensures goods should be of satisfactory quality and fit to do the job intended for them. Fit for purpose means both generally e.g. hi-fi speakers should play music but also specifically for any purpose you've asked. E.g. if you've asked ‘will they fit my Hitachi Hi-fi?', and been told yes, but it doesn't then it wasn't fit for the purpose specified.
Examine goods and complain immediately.

The amount of time you have to check whether goods are faulty depends on what is reasonable for that product. E.g. it takes longer to check a speedboat than a kettle. However in truth you really should try and complain within a week. Do that and you are entitled to a full refund.

Leave it longer and providing the goods were faulty when you bought them your right to a full refund may be lost. However you're still entitled to a replacement, a reduction, or a credit note.

Proving goods were faulty when you bought them.

Where the goods are faulty, take them back within 6 months and the shop has to prove they WERE NOT faulty when you bought them. After 6 months you must prove they WERE faulty when you bought them.

By law you have up to six years to make a complaint, but this doesn't mean goods must last six years, they must last what most people would consider to be a ‘reasonable' length of time. So if there is wear and tear that breaks the product then the likelihood is you have no claim. Yet if it was an unreasonable fault, you do.

If there is an argument over whether the goods are faulty or not – the burden of proof is on the consumer.
When you're not covered.

If you knew the goods were faulty when you bought them.

If you've seen them anywhere else cheaper.

If you bought the goods for the wrong purpose.

However, though you don't have a right this doesn't mean you shouldn't ask. Many shops will allow it.
Are free goods covered?

This is a tricky area in consumer rights, as technically when something is free you’ve not got a contract with the supplier and therefore aren’t entitled to get a faulty item fixed. The same applies if you are given something as a gift, where the person who pays for the item has the contract and will need to sort out any problems. This can be overcome if the buyer tells the seller the item is a gift, so remember to do this if you buy an expensive present for someone.

Yet if a free gift comes with something else, maybe a free bike when you sign up to a gym contract or a free matching toaster if you buy a particular brand of kettle, and the free item later becomes faulty, you have the same protection as if you’d paid for it. Most sellers will be aware of this but if you encounter problems stand your ground and complain.