Can I get my deposit back if I simply change my mind about a bespoke commission?

There is generally no automatic legal right to a refund for changing your mind about a genuinely bespoke, made-to-order piece, because Regulation 28(1)(b) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 exempts goods made to a consumer's specification. Some jewellers offer a goodwill cancellation policy anyway, so always check the written terms you agreed before assuming nothing is recoverable.

What's the difference between the 30-day right to reject and the final right to reject?

The short-term right to reject applies within 30 days of receiving faulty goods and lets you claim a full refund immediately, without first accepting a repair. The final right to reject applies later, generally after a repair or replacement has been attempted and hasn't resolved the fault, and may allow a deduction for use in some cases depending on the goods and how long you've had them.

Does the Consumer Rights Act 2015 apply if I commissioned from an individual maker rather than a registered company?

Generally yes, provided the maker is acting as a trader, meaning they're selling in the course of a business rather than as a private individual making something as a one-off favour. Being a sole trader or unregistered small business doesn't remove these obligations, though pursuing a claim in practice can be harder if the maker has no formal business structure or insurance.

How do I find out if a jeweller belongs to an ADR scheme before I commission something?

Ask directly, or check whether they're listed as a member of a relevant trade body, such as the National Association of Jewellers, which operates its own ADR scheme called NAJ Resolve for disputes involving member businesses. Not every jeweller belongs to a scheme, and knowing this before you pay a deposit is more useful than discovering it after a dispute has already started.

What should I do first if I think my finished commission is faulty?

Contact the jeweller in writing straight away, describe the fault clearly with photographs, and keep a dated record of the communication. Acting within 30 days of collection preserves your short-term right to reject if the goods turn out to be genuinely faulty, and a clear written record from the outset makes any later dispute, whether through the jeweller directly, ADR or small claims, considerably easier to resolve.

What are my rights if a bespoke commission goes wrong?

Commissioning something bespoke means agreeing a specification in advance and having it made specifically for you, and that changes the legal picture compared with buying something off a shelf. It doesn't remove your rights if the finished piece is genuinely defective, but it does remove the general right to change your mind simply because you no longer want it. Knowing where that line falls, and what happens on each side of it, is the difference between a stressful dispute and a straightforward resolution. This is a general guide to the legal landscape, not advice on your specific situation; for that, contact Citizens Advice or a solicitor.

Faulty vs "I changed my mind": the crucial distinction

UK consumer law draws a sharp line between goods that don't conform to what was agreed and a straightforward change of preference. Faulty, in this context, means the piece is not of satisfactory quality, not fit for purpose, or not as described, for example a stone that doesn't match the certificate you were shown, a setting with a structural defect, or a finish that doesn't match the agreed specification. Changing your mind means the piece is exactly what was agreed and made correctly, but you've simply decided you no longer want it.

The first category is protected by statute regardless of how the item was bought. The second, for a genuinely bespoke commission, generally isn't protected at all. This distinction sits underneath almost everything else in this guide.

Why bespoke commissions don't carry a cooling-off right

Two separate rules combine to remove the standard 14-day cancellation right for most bespoke jewellery, and it's worth understanding both.

First, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 only ever created a 14-day cooling-off right for distance contracts (bought online, by phone or by mail order) and off-premises contracts (agreed away from the trader's business premises, such as at your home). If you sat down in a jeweller's premises and agreed a commission in person, no statutory cooling-off period applied in the first place, in the same way it wouldn't for any other in-store purchase.

Second, and this applies even if you did order at a distance, Regulation 28(1)(b) of the same regulations exempts goods "made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised" from the 14-day right entirely. A ring designed around your brief, a specific stone, a particular setting, engraving, is squarely within that exemption. In practice, this means a genuinely bespoke commission carries no statutory change-of-mind right whichever way it was ordered, which is why a clear written specification agreed before work begins matters so much: it defines what "as agreed" actually means later.

Your rights if the piece is genuinely faulty

If the finished commission doesn't conform to the contract, is faulty, not as described, or not fit for purpose, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 sets out a structured sequence of remedies.

Within 30 days of receiving the goods, you have a short-term right to reject faulty goods and claim a full refund, without first having to accept an offer of repair or replacement. This is the strongest and simplest remedy, but the clock starts from delivery or collection, not from when you happen to notice the fault, so acting promptly matters.

Repair or replacement is the next tier, available either within the 30-day window if you'd prefer that to a refund, or as the standard remedy if a fault emerges after 30 days. You can choose between repair and replacement unless your preferred option is impossible or disproportionately expensive compared with the alternative, and the trader must carry it out within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you. Exercising this right pauses the 30-day rejection clock; once you get the goods back, you have whatever remained of the original 30 days, or 7 days, whichever is longer, to decide whether to reject after all.

Final right to reject or price reduction applies if a repair or replacement doesn't fix the problem, can't be done within a reasonable time, or simply isn't provided. At this stage you can either reject the goods for a refund (which may be reduced to reflect use you've had from them, depending on the circumstances) or keep the piece and receive a price reduction instead. This tier exists precisely for situations where the first attempt at a fix hasn't worked.

None of this requires special wording or a solicitor's letter to invoke; it's a statutory framework that applies automatically to a faulty purchase from a trader, though putting your position in writing to the jeweller is the sensible first step in every case.

Deposits, and what happens if the jeweller goes out of business

A deposit paid toward a bespoke commission is, in ordinary circumstances, recoverable if the jeweller fails to deliver as agreed or the goods turn out to be faulty. The situation becomes harder if the business becomes insolvent before completing the work. Deposits are not automatically protected the way, for example, package holiday payments are under ATOL; unless your deposit was specifically held on trust or otherwise ring-fenced, which is unusual for a small jeweller, you would generally need to register as an unsecured creditor in the insolvency process, and unsecured creditors are typically paid a fraction of what's owed, if anything, after secured creditors and costs are settled. This is one of the more genuine risks of a bespoke commission, and it's a reasonable question to ask any jeweller directly: what happens to my deposit if you're unable to complete the work.

Paying by card: Section 75 and chargeback

How you pay affects your practical recourse. If you paid any part of the price, even just a deposit, by credit card, and the total cash price of the item is over £100 and not more than £30,000, Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 makes the card provider jointly and severally liable alongside the jeweller for a breach of contract or misrepresentation. This means you can, in principle, claim from the card provider directly if the jeweller is unresponsive or insolvent. Claims under Section 75 aren't subject to a short time limit in the way chargeback is; they generally fall under the ordinary six-year limitation period for contract claims in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (five years in Scotland), though raising a claim promptly is still sensible.

If you paid by debit card, or your credit card purchase falls outside Section 75's scope, chargeback may still be available. This is a voluntary scheme run by the card networks (Visa, Mastercard and others), not a legal right, and is generally pursued within 120 days of the transaction or of becoming aware of a problem. It's worth attempting even without a guarantee of success, since there's no cost to raising a chargeback request with your bank.

Alternative dispute resolution and mediation

Before considering court, alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is usually faster, cheaper and less adversarial. Some jewellers belong to a trade body offering a formal ADR scheme; the National Association of Jewellers, for instance, operates NAJ Resolve, a mediation-based process for disputes involving its member businesses, with a modest registration fee. This route is only available if the business you dealt with is actually a member of a relevant scheme, so it's worth asking about this before you commission rather than after a dispute begins. Citizens Advice and Trading Standards can also point you toward a relevant ADR provider even if the trader isn't affiliated with one specifically, though a trader's participation in most ADR schemes is voluntary unless they've agreed to it.

Small claims, as a last resort

If direct negotiation and ADR don't resolve things, the small claims track of the civil courts is the standard route for a consumer dispute of this size. In England and Wales, claims up to £10,000 are generally handled through the small claims track, designed to be usable without a solicitor, though legal advice is still worth taking for anything complex or high-value. In Scotland, the equivalent Simple Procedure has a lower limit, currently £5,000. Court action should generally be a last resort after direct contact and ADR have been tried, given the time and effort involved relative to the sums typically at stake.

Evidence to keep from day one

Whichever remedy you eventually need, the strength of your position rests almost entirely on documentation gathered as you go, not assembled after a dispute starts. Keep the written specification agreed at the outset, including stone details, measurements, metal and any specific design instructions. Keep every CAD render or design proof you approved, along with the date you approved it, since this defines what "as agreed" means if a dispute arises later. Keep all written correspondence, email is far more useful here than a phone call you can't evidence, and keep receipts for the deposit and any final payment, noting the payment method used. None of this is unusual to ask for, and a jeweller confident in their process should have no objection to providing it as a matter of course.

The bottom line

A bespoke commission trades the standard right to change your mind for the ability to have something made exactly to your brief, and that trade-off is built into the law, not just into how jewellers word their terms. What it doesn't trade away is your protection if the finished piece is actually faulty: the Consumer Rights Act 2015 still applies in full, working through a clear sequence from short-term rejection to repair or replacement to final rejection or price reduction. Paying by credit card, keeping thorough written records from the first consultation onward, and knowing whether your jeweller belongs to an ADR scheme are the three things that do the most to protect you if something does go wrong. For anything beyond general understanding, Citizens Advice or a solicitor can advise on your specific circumstances.