Your Rights When Digital Content or an App Is Faulty

If an app, game, download or streaming service you paid for does not work properly, you have rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Digital content has to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. If it fails any of those tests, you are entitled to a repair or replacement, or a price reduction if neither is possible¹.

The rules are not the same as for a faulty washing machine or pair of shoes. There is no 30 day right to reject for digital content. Instead, the retailer gets one opportunity to repair or replace the content before you can claim a refund³. If a fault appears within six months of the content being supplied to you, it is assumed the fault was there from the start, which puts the burden on the seller rather than on you⁴.

Separately, you have a 14 day right to change your mind and get a full refund on digital content, but you normally lose that right once you start a download⁵. That cooling-off right is about changing your mind. Your rights for faulty content are different and last much longer.

What counts as digital content: downloads, apps, games and streaming

Digital content is defined in law as data which is produced and supplied in digital form⁸. That covers a wide range of things people buy every day: downloaded music, e-books, films, computer games, mobile apps, software and in-app purchases. Electronic downloads are treated as electronically supplied services and are always standard-rated for VAT⁹.

The definition matters because it decides which set of rules applies. When you buy a physical item that includes digital content, such as a games console with pre-installed software, the law treats the goods as not conforming to the contract if the digital content does not conform to the contract to supply that content¹. So a fault in bundled software can be a fault in the goods themselves.

Streaming sits in a slightly different place. A subscription to a streaming service is a service rather than a one-off download, but the same quality standards apply: it has to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described². If a streaming service keeps failing, drops out or does not carry the content it advertised, that is a quality problem, not just bad luck.

For a consumer, the practical question is simpler than the legal one. If you paid for something delivered in digital form and it does not do what it was sold to do, you are likely to have a claim against the trader who sold it to you. The next sections set out what you can ask for and how to go about it.

Digital content must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described

Three standards apply to every piece of digital content you buy, and they come from the Consumer Rights Act 2015². The first is satisfactory quality. The content has to be free from minor defects and work as a reasonable person would expect, taking account of its price and description⁵. The second is fitness for purpose. If you told the seller you needed the software for a particular job, it has to be suitable for that job¹. The third is that it must match its description. If a game was advertised with features it does not have, or an app was sold as working on your device when it does not, that is a failure of the description standard².

These standards apply from the moment the content is supplied and continue for as long as you would reasonably expect it to last. That is not a fixed period. A one-off download might reasonably be expected to keep working for years, while a subscription service is judged on how it performs while you are paying for it.

If the content fails any of the three standards, you have a claim. The remedy you can ask for depends on what has already happened and how long you have had the content, which the next section explains. What you cannot do is demand a refund as an automatic first response, because digital content works differently from physical goods.

Repair, replacement or a price reduction: your remedies for faulty digital content

When digital content fails the quality standards, you are entitled to a repair or replacement, or a price reduction⁶. The order matters. The retailer has one opportunity to repair or replace the content before a refund can be claimed³. If the repair or replacement is unsuccessful, you can then claim a refund, or a price reduction if you would rather keep the product³.

A price reduction is the option people often overlook. If the content mostly works but has a defect that cannot be fixed, you can ask for money back rather than returning the whole thing. The reduction can be up to the full amount you paid if the problem is serious enough¹.

Any refund has to be issued in a reasonable length of time and paid using the same means of payment you used to buy the content⁶. So if you paid by card, the refund should go back to that card, not to a store credit or voucher.

There is one important difference from physical goods. The 30 day right to reject, which lets you demand a full refund for a faulty item within 30 days of receiving it, does not apply to faulty digital content³. That is why the repair or replacement step comes first. If you are used to the rules for faulty goods, this is the point where digital content diverges.

When a faulty download or app damages your device

If faulty digital content damages a device or corrupts other digital content you own, the trader has to compensate you, even if the content was provided free of charge⁷. This is a stronger protection than the general quality rules, because it reaches content you did not pay for.

The damage has to be caused by the faulty content. A retailer has to give you compensation if a download causes damage to your computer, smartphone, tablet or software¹⁰. If you have paid for and downloaded something that damaged your device, whether it was an app, video or audiobook, you have rights to claim¹¹.

There is a conflict in the guidance on free content. One source states plainly that the trader must compensate you even if the content was free⁷. Another says the compensation right does not apply if you downloaded free content, and that your best route in that case is to contact the developer directly⁶. Because the two do not agree, treat the position on free content as uncertain. For paid content, the right to compensation for damage is clear.

If your device is damaged, gather evidence before you do anything else. Keep screenshots, error messages, repair quotes and any correspondence with the seller. Evidence of this kind is what a claim is built on if the seller disputes what happened⁴.

How to ask for a refund and where to get help if the seller refuses

Start by contacting the trader you bought from, which is usually the app store or platform that took your payment rather than the developer who made the app. Set out what you bought, when, what is wrong, and what you want: a repair, a replacement or a price reduction. A written complaint is easier to track than a phone call, and template letters exist for claiming a refund for a faulty digital download¹².

Give the seller a clear deadline to respond. A reasonable request is confirmation within seven days that the repair, replacement or refund will be provided¹². Keep a copy of everything you send.

If the seller refuses or ignores you, the next step depends on how you paid.

• Credit card, over £100: Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 may make your card provider jointly liable with the retailer, so you can claim a refund from the lender if something goes wrong with what you bought¹³. It applies to purchases made on a credit card, including from overseas websites, and can apply even if you only put part of the cost on the card¹⁴.
• Debit card, or credit card under £100: you may be able to use the chargeback scheme¹⁶.
• Paid through an e-money account: Section 75 might not apply if you used a credit card to put funds into a standard e-money account and then used that account to buy something¹⁷.

For a payment refund under the Payment Services Regulations, the payer must request a refund from its payment service provider within eight weeks from the date the funds were debited¹⁸.

If the firm will not resolve your complaint, you may be able to refer it to the Financial Ombudsman Service. When a buyer complains they have not been refunded for goods not received or not as described, the ombudsman usually considers evidence such as the seller's original description and whether the goods or services were significantly different from it¹⁷. Consumers may complain to the firm and seek redress from it, and refer the complaint to the ombudsman if the firm does not satisfy the complaint and it is appropriate²⁰.

For disputes that are not about a financial firm, free and impartial help is available from Citizens Advice and from Trading Standards services, which can advise on your rights and on the evidence needed to prove a claim⁴. If you paid through a buy now, pay later provider, the Financial Conduct Authority sets out how that credit works and what protections apply¹³.