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Martin Lewis has revealed the surprising reasons why you may not get a refund for an item - even if you have the receipt.
The money saving expert, 51, featured on a segment on Tuesday's This Morning alongside new hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard.
The trio played a 'true or false' game featuring assumptions about returning items to the shop they were bought from.
Martin shed light on how shoppers can avoid being caught out by returns and when it is actually possible to take items back.
Firstly, Martin said that shoppers have no right to return an item if it is not faulty and it has been purchased in store.
Martin Lewis has revealed the surprising reasons why you may not get a refund for an item - even if you have the receipt
He told Cat and Ben: 'Let me be plain and this is the important thing you need to remember - if you buy an item in store and not online and it is not faulty, you have zero right to return it.
'They don't even need to give you a credit note. You have absolutely no rights whatsoever.'
His second tip had more positive news for viewers, as he said that consumers don't need an actual receipt to return a faulty item - and that proof of purchase, such as a bank statement, is enough.
He summarised: 'If it's faulty then you need proof of purchase under law. Simple as that.'
The finance guru went on to share another little-known fact: Shoppers need to notify the store or website within 14 days that they are planning to return something - and 14 days after the notification is given to return it.
He said: 'Online you have an absolute right to change your mind - unless items are personalised or perishable.
'But the issue is you have up to 14 days to notify them and up to 14 days after notification to send back.'
The next topic was warranty and how long it lasts. Martin said that if an item is faulty and it is outside the end of the warranty, it is still possible to return it.
Martin shed light on how shoppers can avoid being caught out by returns and when it is actually possible to take items back
The money saving expert, 51, featured on a segment on Tuesday's This Morning alongside new hosts Cat Deeley and Ben Shephard (pictured)
To know whether an item is faulty, he encouraged viewers to use his handy acronym SAD FART: Satisfactory quality as described; fit for purpose; and lasts a reasonable length of time.
He added that you can't usually return underwear if it has been worn - however, if it is faulty, it can be returned even after wear and if the tags are off.
He said: 'Two rules. One - faulty goods are always returnable. The shop's rules are irrelevant. If it's faulty you can take it back, within the first month you get a full refund, after that it's repair or replacement.
'After a certain amount of time and if it's lasted a reasonable amount of time, then you can't take it back.'
'Second rule - if goods aren't faulty, you can't return them unless the shop rules allow it or you bought it online.'
It comes after Martin revealed 'no-brainer' ways for UK customers to beat the Ofgem price cap and slash energy bills.
The average home currently pays £1,928 a year for gas and electricity bills as they are on a tariff regulated by the Ofgem price cap, which is set four times a year.
But expert energy analysts at Cornwall Insight believe the price cap will fall by 15 per cent, or £293, to £1,635 a year from 1 April.
In the meantime, Martin shared how to beat the price cap, explaining: 'First of all, easy winner, everyone or almost everyone can beat the price cap by 3 per cent because the E.ON Next Pledge is a variable tariff, existing customers, or you can switch to it on Direct Debit, and it is 3 per cent below the price cap.
'So if the price cap drops, it drops, if the price cap goes up, it goes up but it's always 3% cheaper for a year, so it's an easy simple win.
The expert added: 'If you're gonna stick on the cap and you're happy to go to E.ON... it's a no brainer because it's 3 per cent cheaper.'
Martin then went on to tell viewers about the cheapest fixes, explaining that the big benefit is that customers are locking in a price.
It means you know 'exactly what you're going to pay and no matter what happens in the world economic scenario your price is locked in and that is valuable, even if your price doesn't turn out to be the cheapest,' said the expert.
He then mentioned the British Gas Price Promise, which costs £1,699 a year for the average dual fuel household.
That is £229 below the current Ofgem price cap level of £1,928 a year. The selling point of the deal is that it also promises to beat the price cap from April, when expert analysts at Cornwall Insight say this will drop to £1,620 a year.
However, this price-busting deal only runs for the first five months, or one-third of the overall deal length of 15 months.
After that point, British Gas customers may end up paying more than any price-capped rate, and face high exit fees to leave early.
The Martin Lewis Money Show airs tonight at 8pm on ITV1 for a special one-off episode.
