Some of the UK's biggest high street and online retailers are fobbing off consumers with incorrect information about their legal rights when products become faulty, an investigation has revealed.
The exercise by the consumer group Which? found that Amazon, Argos, Euronics and John Lewis could be breaching consumer protection regulations because information given by their staff was misleading.
Mystery shoppers visited or phoned Amazon, Apple, Argos, Currys, Euronics and John Lewis 12 times each, asking what they should do about a faulty laptop or TV that had been bought from the store but was just out of warranty. Under the Sale of Goods Act, if a product develops a fault before it would reasonably be expected to do so, shoppers can claim against the store rather than the manufacturer, even beyond the warranty period.
A Which? consumer rights lawyer analysed the recording of each visit and rated the response from "excellent" to "very poor" on a number of different criteria.
The group said it was "appalled" by its findings. On 56 of the 72 occasions, staff stated or gave a clear impression that the shopper did not have any rights against the retailer, or referred the person to the manufacturer even though the retailer may have been obliged to repair or replace the item for free.
Of the 12 calls made to Amazon, nine were rated very poor by the Which? lawyer, while both John Lewis and Argos had seven visits rated as very poor. In each of these cases staff denied that shoppers had any rights with the retailer.
Which? warned that Amazon, Argos, Euronics and John Lewis could be breaching the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 by giving misleading information.
If this wrong advice was being given to genuine shoppers they could be left out of pocket if they paid to get items repaired when the retailer was responsible.
Currys and Apple were ranked highest in the investigation, but both received only satisfactory ratings for five of the 12 visits. None of the retailers scored an excellent rating.
Richard Lloyd of Which? said: "It is unacceptable that customers could be left out of pocket by following incorrect information from major retailers about their shopping rights.
"Stores must ensure that the information their staff are giving is correct. Consumers can get clued up on their rights by visiting the free Which? consumer rights website, which has practical advice and helps people know what they are entitled to."
The Sale of Goods Act applies to goods bought online as well as on the high street, so Which? was able to rate Amazon using the same criteria as the other retailers.
Amazon said: "Products that become defective within 12 months can be returned for a full refund or replacement, irrespective of any manufacturer warranty.
"After 12 months, we advise customers to contact the manufacturer for support and troubleshooting. Thereafter, we will take into consideration all facts and circumstances on a case-by-case basis to provide a fair solution."
The company said it would review the calls highlighted by Which? as they "do not appear to be consistent with the typical Amazon.co.uk customer experience".
In a statement, Argos said it was "very concerned" to learn of the results of the investigation.
"Our training policy aims to equip all store-based colleagues with a basic understanding of consumer law. We accept that in the stores mystery shopped by Which? this process was not followed and we are very sorry."
John Lewis said its policies delivered "well beyond what the letter of the law requires".
"The Sale of Goods Act is often misunderstood and does not require retailers to explicitly reference the rights offered to consumers," it added.
"After six months, the consumer needs to show the origin of the fault. Had the test shoppers presented their complaint within this context, then we are confident our staff would have responded appropriately."