What are your rights when buying from a private seller in the UK?

What rights do you keep when buying from a private seller?

You do not drop to zero rights. You also do not get the full set of shop rights.

Which?, on a page dated 5 March 2026, says private-seller goods must be as described, and the seller is not obliged to disclose faults. Sending nothing after taking the money, or calling a second-hand item new, is a breach. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 still requires goods sold by description to correspond with the description, where the Consumer Rights Act 2015 has not taken that contract over.

This is a general explanation of published rules, not advice on your own dispute. Read Citizens Advice, or speak to an adviser, before you rely on it. Read what sold as seen means, returns to a private seller and buying from a private seller.

Which?’s marketplace rights page, dated 5 March 2026, says you have fewer rights when you buy from a private seller. It describes buyer beware: the goods must be as described, and the seller is not obliged to disclose faults. It says there is a breach if the seller took the money and sent nothing, or misrepresented the goods, such as describing a second-hand item as new. It says a marketplace’s own terms may add protection, so check that service’s dispute tools. A trader selling on a marketplace gives you the same rights as any other online store. Source

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

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says Part 1 applies where a trader agrees with a consumer to supply goods, digital content or services, and that agreement is a contract. Source

How is a private seller different from a trader?

A trader, under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, is a person acting for their trade, business, craft or profession. A consumer is an individual acting wholly or mainly outside that. Part 1 of the Act applies to a contract for the trader to supply goods.

Satisfactory quality sits in section 14 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, and it applies where the seller sells in the course of a business. Which? says a trader on a marketplace owes you the same rights as any other online store.

A handful of smart photos does not prove someone is a trader. A one-off clear-out does not prove they are not. If it matters to a dispute, ask Citizens Advice rather than guessing from the username.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a trader is a person acting for purposes relating to their trade, business, craft or profession. A consumer is an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession. Source

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

What if the item is not as described?

Keep the listing, the photos and the messages. Those are what “as described” is judged against. Citizens Advice has a letter for misdescribed goods bought from a private seller. It refers to the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and asks for the difference in value.

If a statement was false and it led you to buy, the Misrepresentation Act 1967 is the statute people are pointed to. It includes a defence. It is not a promise that you will be paid a particular amount.

Search results often shorten this to INAD. Use the marketplace process as well as any legal route. Which? says the site’s own terms may give you more than the statute, so open them.

Citizens Advice publishes a letter for England for goods, including cars, bought from a private seller that do not match their description. The letter refers to the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and asks for compensation for the difference in value. Source

Section 2 of the Misrepresentation Act 1967 says that where a person has entered a contract after a misrepresentation and suffered loss, the other person is liable to damages as if the misrepresentation had been made fraudulently, unless they prove they had reasonable ground to believe, and did believe, that the facts were true up to the contract. The court may award damages instead of rescission. Source

Is there a cooling-off period on a private sale?

Citizens Advice says, for England, that a change of mind is not an automatic refund when nothing is wrong. The 14-day cooling-off period for online, phone and mail-order purchases does not apply to something from a private individual. The examples it gives include a social media marketplace and an online auction site.

The private individual does not have to tell you that cooling-off does not apply. If the seller is a business, they do have to tell you before you buy when an item has no cooling-off period.

Seeing the item in person is a different case from buying it unseen. Read the Citizens Advice page for the exceptions before you assume a clock is running.

Citizens Advice, writing for England, says you do not have an automatic right to your money back just because you changed your mind, if nothing is wrong with the item. That is down to the seller. For something bought online, by phone or by mail order, it says there is a 14-day cooling-off period when you have not seen the item, unless an exception applies. One exception is anything from a private individual, for example someone on a social media marketplace or an online auction site. It says a private individual does not have to tell you there is no cooling-off period. A business seller must tell you before you buy if an item has no cooling-off period. Source

Who is holding my money, and what should I check?

If a stranger asks you to pay by bank transfer, you are handing the money to them. That is a common path into fake payment emails and marketplace scams. A message that only says “is this still available” is not a reason to leave the app.

SilentSale® is a UK marketplace for private buyers and sellers. Buyer and seller each contribute £0.30 + 3% of the item price to SilentCover® (£0.60 each on a £10 item), a discretionary protection service under the Terms. Stripe processes payments and holds funds until the order completes. If you are asking who is holding my money, it is Stripe, not the other person.

On tracked Shipping, report a problem within 72 hours after delivery. PIN Pickup is separate: the buyer pays in the app, inspects the item in person, then shares a 6-digit PIN. The PIN is acceptance. There is no dispute after that.

The Terms also say a seller must disclose defects, missing parts and modifications. That is a marketplace rule. It is separate from the general point, on Which?’s page, that a private seller is not obliged by the sale-of-goods quality term to volunteer every fault.

Read chargeback scams if you are the seller, and Facebook Marketplace compared if you are choosing where a local listing sits. Do marketplaces protect sellers explains why each site’s wording is different.

SilentSale® is a UK marketplace for private individuals aged 18+ buying and selling personal goods in GBP.

Stripe processes payments and holds funds until the order completes.

PIN Pickup is an in-person handover. The buyer inspects the item before sharing their six-digit PIN; the seller enters it in the app to complete the order. The PIN is acceptance. There is no shipping, tracking or post-handover dispute window.

For Shipping, report problems within 72 hours after confirmed delivery, or the collection scan for a locker or parcel-shop order. Confirming receipt closes the window early, so inspect first.