From lost parcels to workplace hearings: seven rights worth knowing

A missing parcel. A cancelled flight. An intimidating meeting at work. A company refusing to show you the information it holds about you.

In each case, the first response may sound final: speak to the courier, claim on your insurance, attend the meeting alone, accept the explanation you have been given.

It may not be final at all.

Some of the strongest consumer and employment protections are poorly understood because they only become important after something has gone wrong. They are not automatic wins, and the precise facts still matter, but knowing the right question to ask can change the balance of a dispute.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 can make a credit provider responsible alongside a supplier when there has been a breach of contract or misrepresentation.

The surprising part is that the entire purchase does not necessarily have to be placed on the credit card.

If the qualifying cash price is more than £100 and no more than £30,000, paying only part of it with eligible credit may be enough for Section 75 to apply.

Imagine ordering a £2,000 sofa. You pay a £100 deposit on a credit card and transfer the remaining £1,900 from your bank account. If the supplier disappears without delivering the sofa, the credit-card provider may still have liability in relation to the purchase, not merely the £100 deposit.

Section 75 is not a general refund guarantee. There must ordinarily be a breach of contract or misrepresentation, and the required relationship between the customer, lender and supplier must exist.

Payment arrangements involving marketplaces, payment processors, digital wallets or other intermediaries can make that relationship more complicated. Debit cards are not covered by Section 75, although chargeback may sometimes be available under card-scheme rules.

When making a claim, use the words “Section 75 claim” and explain the supplier’s alleged breach or misrepresentation. Do not describe it simply as a request to cancel a payment.

When a retailer arranges delivery, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 generally keeps the goods at the trader’s risk until they come into the physical possession of the consumer or another person identified by the consumer.

That matters when tracking information says “delivered” but the parcel is nowhere to be found.

The retailer may tell you to pursue the courier. You can provide information to help with an investigation, but the retailer cannot automatically escape responsibility merely because another company operated the delivery van.

The delivery company is normally the retailer’s contractor. The retailer can investigate what happened and pursue the carrier separately.

The analysis can change if you independently commissioned a carrier that the retailer did not offer, or if the goods were handed to a person you had identified to receive them.

Evidence remains important. Keep the order confirmation, tracking history, delivery photograph and any doorbell-camera footage. Ask the retailer to confirm the precise address, location and time recorded for the delivery.

Consumer protection does not stop at physical products.

Section 46 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 addresses situations in which digital content supplied by a trader damages a consumer’s device or other digital content.

If the damage would not have occurred had the trader exercised reasonable care and skill, the consumer can require the trader to repair the damage or provide appropriate compensation.

That could potentially matter where an app, software download, game, update or other digital product corrupts files or damages a device.

A device developing a fault after an installation does not by itself prove that the digital content caused it.

Avoid deleting logs or reinstalling everything before recording the problem, unless doing so is necessary to protect the device or your information.

Employees can take a reasonable amount of time off to deal with an unexpected problem or emergency involving a dependant.

A dependant can include a spouse, civil partner, partner, child, parent, someone living in the employee’s household or, in some circumstances, another person who reasonably relies on the employee for assistance.

There is no fixed statutory number of days. The time must be reasonable in the circumstances.

Employers do not normally have to pay for statutory time off for dependants unless the employment contract, workplace policy or another arrangement provides for payment.

The right is also intended for unexpected situations. It is not a substitute for arranging planned childcare or providing prolonged care once the immediate emergency has passed.

Tell the employer as soon as reasonably possible, explain what has happened and give an indication of how long the absence may last. It can also help to state explicitly that you believe the absence is covered by the statutory right to time off for dependants.

An employer’s response is not simply a matter of discretion. Unreasonable refusal, detrimental treatment or dismissal connected with exercising the right may raise further employment-law issues.

An employee or worker has a legal right to be accompanied at a qualifying disciplinary hearing. The right can also apply to qualifying grievance meetings.

The companion can set out the worker’s case, respond to points raised, take notes, speak privately with the worker and sum up the case. The employer does not normally have to allow the companion to answer questions instead of the worker.

An employer may voluntarily permit someone else, such as a family member or legal representative. Disability-related reasonable adjustments may also mean that a different form of support should be considered.

If the chosen companion cannot attend, the worker can propose a reasonable alternative time. Where the statutory conditions are met, the employer must postpone the hearing to the proposed time if it falls within five working days of the original date.

However, there is no general statutory right to be accompanied at every informal discussion or investigatory interview. The status and purpose of the meeting matter.

A meeting described as “just a chat” should still be clarified if it could lead to formal action.

Passengers often hear that bad weather, air-traffic restrictions or another extraordinary circumstance means an airline does not have to pay compensation.

That may be true for fixed-sum compensation. It does not necessarily remove the airline’s duty to provide care.

Where UK passenger-rights law applies and a flight is cancelled, the airline must generally offer a choice between a refund and an alternative journey. While a passenger waits to be rerouted, the airline may also have to provide:

A reasonable amount of food and drink. A means of communication.Accommodation when an overnight stay is necessary.Transport between the airport and the accommodation.

The Civil Aviation Authority says this duty applies regardless of what caused the cancellation.

If the airline cannot arrange the necessary care, passengers may purchase reasonable alternatives and seek reimbursement. Keep every receipt and avoid luxury hotels, expensive meals, alcohol or other costs that would be difficult to justify.

These terms should not be treated as interchangeable.

A passenger may be entitled to care without being entitled to fixed-sum compensation. Choosing a refund instead of continuing the journey can also affect the airline’s continuing obligations, so understand the available options before making an irreversible choice.

UK rules generally cover flights leaving a UK airport on any airline, flights arriving in the UK on a UK or EU airline, and flights arriving in the EU on a UK airline.

A subject access request, commonly called a SAR, allows a person to ask an organisation whether it is using or storing their personal information and to request copies of that information.

Depending on what exists and what exemptions apply, this might include:

Customer-service notes. Call recordings.Account histories.Complaint records.Employment records.Health information.Emails or messages containing the person’s personal data.Opinions recorded about the person.

You do not need a solicitor, and a request does not have to be submitted on the organisation’s preferred form.

A simple request could say:

Include information that will help the organisation locate the records, such as an account number, NHS number, employee number, relevant dates or previous addresses.

The right applies to your personal information, not automatically to every complete document that mentions you. Information about other people may be withheld or redacted, and legal exemptions can apply.

Organisations normally have one month to respond. They may request identification, seek clarification or take additional time for complex or multiple requests. Requests are normally free, although limited charges may be permitted in specific circumstances.

The Information Commissioner’s Office has noted that its guidance is being reviewed following the Data (Use and Access) Act, so current ICO guidance should be checked when making or challenging a request.

Avoid including every legal phrase you can find. One clearly relevant right, supported by evidence, is usually more persuasive than a page of unrelated allegations.

A right is not a favour, and consumers should not have to depend on goodwill where the law already provides protection.

But rights are most effective when people know they exist before accepting the first refusal.

The retailer blaming its courier, the airline mentioning extraordinary circumstances or the employer giving a meeting a reassuring name may not settle the issue. The decisive questions are what happened, which rules apply and what evidence can prove it.

Knowing that distinction can turn “there is nothing we can do” into the beginning of a proper investigation.

This article provides general information, not individual legal advice. The employment information is based principally on the law and Acas guidance applying in Great Britain; Northern Ireland has separate employment arrangements. Air-passenger protection depends on the route and airline. Exceptions can apply throughout.