The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives you 30 days to reject something and get a full refund. After that, the retailer can offer a repair or replacement instead. But here is what most people miss: you have up to six years to make a claim in England and Wales, and five in Scotland. If the item develops a fault that was not obvious at purchase, that clock starts from when you discovered it, not when you bought it.
I see people defaulting to the retailer's goodwill policy all the time. That is not the law. If a washing machine breaks after 18 months, you do not accept a 20 per cent discount on a new one. You demand a repair or replacement under the original contract. The burden is on the retailer to prove the fault was not there at purchase, not on you to prove it was.
The other shift is digital content. Streaming services, software and online subscriptions are now treated as goods. If a game you paid for stops working, same rules apply. You can reject it within 30 days for a refund. After that, the supplier must fix it or give you a price reduction. They cannot hide behind "beta" or "early access" labels anymore.
Know the difference between warranty and statutory rights. A warranty is extra. Your statutory rights cannot be taken away by any shop policy, receipt condition or store credit offer.
Paul