What is digital content?
Digital content means data that is produced and supplied in digital form. This means you have certain rights in relation to anything you download or stream, including apps, software, ebooks, games or music. It can also be something online that you have paid for, something given to you for free with a paid-for item, or any content supplied on a physical medium, such as a CD or DVD.
What if digital content is faulty?
Digital content must be:
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of satisfactory quality
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fit for purpose, and
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as described by the seller
If your digital content does not meet these criteria and develops a fault, you have the right to have your digital product repaired or replaced.
Cancelling a digital download
Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, digital downloads are neither goods nor services, meaning the law is a little different. If you want to download something within 14 days of buying it (what is known as the 'cooling-off’ period), you will have to give your consent to waive the 14-day cooling-off period.
If you do not give your consent, the 14-day cooling-off period still applies. However, you will not be able to download your digital content until this period has ended.
This is to stop you from changing your mind after you have downloaded the content.
Repair or replacement?
For any faulty digital content, the retailer from whom you purchased the digital content has one opportunity to replace any faulty goods or digital content before you can claim a refund. You can choose whether you want the goods to be repaired or replaced, but the retailer can refuse if they can show that your choice is disproportionately expensive compared with the alternative.
Partial refund
You may be entitled to a partial refund in the following circumstances:
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the cost of repair/replacement is disproportionate to the value of the digital content
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repair/replacement is impossible
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repair/replacement would take unreasonably long
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repair has been unsuccessful.
If you don't want a refund and still want your product repaired or replaced, you have the right to request that the retailer makes further attempts to repair your product or issue a replacement.
Compensation
The retailer must compensate you if any device or other digital content you own is damaged as a result of the faulty digital content you've downloaded. This only applies where that damage would not have occurred had 'reasonable care and skill' been exercised in the provision of the digital content (even if that content was provided for free).
Refunds
If you've made a genuine mistake with a download purchase, contact the retailer to see if you can get a refund or exchange the download for the one you want. It's worth checking the retailer's terms and conditions, as some retailers offer refunds or exchanges as a gesture of goodwill here. This may be the case even if you've waived your right to cancel.
Typically any goods or services that are sold to consumers online, at a distance, or away from the trader's premises, must allow for a minimum 14-day cooling-off period during which the contract can be cancelled (either 14 days from receipt of goods or from the date of entering into a contract for services).
The minimum cooling-off period that a seller must give is 14 days. There are, however, certain products and services that do not qualify for the 14-day cooling-off period:
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exempted products include CDs, DVDs or software where the seal has been broken; perishable items; and tailor-made or personalised items
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exempted services include leisure service activities on specific dates (such as car hire, wedding venues, theatre tickets for specific performances). For these services, the consumer has the same cancellation rights as if they were signing the contract in person
For digital downloads, consumers will need to waive their cancellation rights before digital content can be provided. This means that once a customer (ie the consumer) has downloaded the content, then they have given up their consumer rights to a refund.
Consumers will typically waive these cancellation rights when they purchase digital goods. This can be done through some form of verification box (such as a tickbox) for consumers to acknowledge that they have waived their consumer rights to a refund for digital content.
