Can a buyer get a refund after collecting?

Can I get the money back after I have taken it home?

If you paid by a Faster Payment that has already been sent, Pay.UK says that payment cannot be cancelled. Cash you have already handed over is not reversed by that process. Calling the seller afterwards does not put the money back.

Look at the item before you pay. Read selling locally without cash and chargeback checks. People sometimes write INAD, meaning the item is not as described. That label is not a refund button on a private doorstep.

Pay.UK says that once a Faster Payment has been sent it cannot be cancelled. Where money was sent by mistake, banks follow the Credit Payment Recovery process. Source

What does the law say about a private sale?

This is a short account of public rules, not advice on your sale.

The Consumer Rights Act goods chapter applies when a trader supplies goods to a consumer. A trader is someone acting for their trade or business. A consumer is someone acting mainly outside theirs.

Where the seller sells in the course of a business, the Sale of Goods Act says there is an implied term that the goods are of satisfactory quality. That quality term is not written for every private one-off sale. Separately, where goods are sold by description, and the consumer chapter does not apply, the Act says the goods must match the description.

GOV.UK’s returns page is written for businesses. It says a business must offer a full refund if an item is faulty, not as described, or does not do what it is supposed to do. For something bought in person, that page says you do not have to refund a customer who simply no longer wants it, unless they bought it without seeing it. The 14-day cancellation period on that page is for distance sales. Do not paste those shop rules onto a neighbour’s one-off sofa.

Section 3 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says that chapter applies to a contract for a trader to supply goods to a consumer. Source

Section 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a trader is a person acting for purposes relating to that person’s trade, business, craft or profession. A consumer is an individual acting for purposes wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession. Source

Section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 says there is no implied term about quality or fitness for a particular purpose except as that section provides. Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied are of satisfactory quality. Source

Section 13 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979 says that where there is a contract for the sale of goods by description, there is an implied term that the goods will correspond with the description. Section 13 does not apply to a contract to which Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies. Source

GOV.UK’s page for businesses says you must offer a full refund if an item is faulty, not as described, or does not do what it is supposed to do. If the customer bought the item in person, you do not have to refund them if they simply no longer want it, unless they bought it without seeing it. The 14-day cancellation period on that page is for goods bought online, by mail or by phone. Source

What does sold as seen mean?

People write "sold as seen" on a listing. That phrase is not a section of the Sale of Goods Act. It does not, by itself, tell you which legal term applies.

Inspect before you pay. If you might be selling regularly enough to be trading, check your own situation with HMRC. Read do marketplaces protect sellers and collection-only items.

GOV.UK says you are likely to be trading if you sell items on a regular basis, including online, at car boot sales or through classified adverts. If you only sell occasionally, check whether you need to tell HMRC. Contact HMRC if you are not sure whether you are trading. Source

What if the collection was completed in an app?

On SilentSale® the buyer pays in the app, inspects, then shares a 6-digit PIN. Entering that PIN completes the order. There is no dispute window after the PIN. The buyer can cancel before the PIN is entered, and is then refunded in full.

Do not share the PIN until you accept the item in front of you. Stripe holds the funds until pickup is completed. Both sides contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price to SilentCover® (£0.60 each on a £10 item), a discretionary protection service. If the sofa in the van is a different one, stop and read cash on delivery, wrong sofa. Compare handovers on Facebook Marketplace.

SilentSale® Terms: payment is processed through Stripe when the buyer confirms checkout (section 10A.2.1). Stripe holds the funds until the item is delivered or collected (section 10A.2.2). SilentSale® does not directly hold the funds (section 4.1.4). Funds are not released to the seller until pickup is completed (section 10A.2.4). After checkout the buyer is issued a 6-digit PIN (section 7.5.2). The buyer must inspect the item before handing that PIN to the seller (section 7.5.3). The seller enters it in the app (section 7.5.4). Entering the PIN is acceptance, the order is then complete, and no dispute window applies (sections 7.5.5, 7.5.6, 15.2.3 and 10A.7.3). Source

SilentSale® Terms section 10A.5.3: a buyer may cancel a PIN Pickup order in the app until the acceptance PIN has been entered, and is then refunded in full. Section 10A.5.5: once the seller has entered the PIN, voluntary cancellation in the app is no longer available. Source

SilentSale® Terms section 3.1.1: both the buyer and the seller contribute to SilentCover®. Section 3.2.2: it is free to list, and the seller’s contribution is taken only after a successful sale. Section 3.3: SilentCover® is described as a discretionary platform service. Buyer and seller each contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price (£0.60 each on a £10 item); the app shows the amount in pounds. Source