A receipt is a slip of paper (some shops now offer email receipts) which acknowledges that a person has paid for a good or service. You will need your receipt (or another form of proof of purchase) if you decide to return the product.
It will set out the name and address of the company, the product/service paid for, the price paid, method of payment and when the purchase was made. A receipt may also include some other details such as the till number or the name/ID number of the person who served you. There may also be information explaining how to get in touch with the company or how to leave feedback.
If you look closely at a receipt you may see some other words or phrases that may be slightly odd. Let’s consider some of them and what they mean exactly.
Transaction Number
This is a unique number that individually identifies each transaction and the purchase made by each customer. It allows the company to search for a particular purchase for many possible reasons such as tracking payment or processing refunds.
VAT Number
This is the company’s VAT registration number which identifies the company as being eligible to pay VAT (value added tax), a tax which is added to the cost of goods and services.
Company Registration Number
This is a unique number that confirms that the company is registered with Companies House which is a register of all businesses registered within the UK.
This does not affect your statutory rights
Almost every receipt will say “this does not affect your statutory rights” or words very similar. But what does this actually mean?
Whilst shops will have their own rules and policies on refunds, your statutory rights are what you are entitled to by law. Which means that although shops can have their own individual refund policies, they must ensure these do not impact your consumer rights. This is where the phrase “this does not impact your statutory rights” comes in. It means that although the shop has its own refund policy, they will still respect your consumer rights.
