If the gift is faulty, under the Consumer Rights Act you have 30 days to return it and receive a full refund.

If a fault appears within the first six months, you have to give the retailer a chance to replace it or organise a repair. If that is unsuccessful, you are entitled to a refund.

However, this only applies to the person who bought the item, so if someone bought it for you, they will need to arrange the return.

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For goods bought online, you have the legal right of 14 days in which to cancel the order after receiving it.

You then also have a further 14 days to send items back to get a full refund, and that can be for any reason.

Do you need to have a receipt?

Many stores operate a goodwill return policy over Christmas, so if an item still has its tags or is in its original packaging, you might be able to return it without a receipt for store credit.

This is generally up to the store though, so don’t assume you’ll be able to return it.

Without a receipt, you may also be faced with only getting back the last sale price of the item. So if someone buys you a £50 jumper, which goes in the Boxing Day sale and is reduced to half price, without a receipt you may only get £25 in store credit.

If you are purchasing for someone, it’s always worth including a gift receipt - this means they’ll get back the full value of what you paid if they try and return it.

What you can’t return?

Personalised gifts, perishable items and some clothing - like underwear and swimwear - are not returnable.