Sale of a business

Most of our deals with businesses are straightforward - they provide the goods or services, we pay up, end of story.

However, sometimes you need to go back to the business, for example if the product is faulty or if you want to redeem a voucher. What are your rights if the business has changed hands?

The answer depends on what kind of deal was done between the business seller and the new business owner. Often it's difficult for you to find this out. Here are some of the options.

Complete sale

If the new owners bought everything, including the physical assets, client list and financial liabilities, then in our opinion you should be able to insist on them honouring the retailer's Consumer Guarantees Act obligations or any un-expired gift vouchers you bought before the sale. A good clue to this kind of sale is where the new owners are using the old business name.

Partial sale

A new owner might choose to buy the physical assets of a business, but not the financial liabilities. Often these new owners trade under a new name. The position here is less clear in terms of your rights. We suggest that you contact the new owners and discuss your problem with them. If they care about good customer service they may well help you out.

Business closes down

If a business wants to stop trading there's no reason why it shouldn't. Just because a business has been around for a long time, or is well known, doesn't mean it has to always be there. It can be disappointing if your favourite coffee house closes down or the insurance company stops offering cover, but that's life. There is very little you can do about it. Here's what little is left:

• If you have a faulty product and the manufacturer stops trading go to the retailer. They are the 'supplier' in the terms of the Consumer Guarantees Act so they have an obligation to help you.
• If you have a faulty product and the retailer stops trading go to the manufacturer. Manufacturers also have obligations under the Consumer Guarantees Act.
• If you have a contract with a business, that business has to fulfil its part of the contract. For example, if you have a contract with a rubbish removal company to empty your household rubbish bin each week for a year, they can't choose to stop half-way through the year without some kind of penalty. In reality this will probably be a refund of your money for the remaining part of the year.
• If a business owes you money, make sure you keep track of the contact details of the business owner. A limited liability company must clear its debts before it can be removed from the register of companies.