If a seller delivered the wrong item, you can reject it, demand a refund or a replacement, and refuse to pay return shipping for the seller’s mistake. The Uniform Commercial Code, adopted in some form by every state, lets you turn down any delivery that doesn’t match your order.1Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 2-601 – Buyer’s Rights on Improper Delivery Federal rules add more leverage on top of that, especially if you paid by credit card or ordered online. How strong your position is depends on how quickly you act and how well you document the mistake.
Your Right to Reject the Shipment
Under the UCC’s “perfect tender” rule, if the goods don’t match the contract in any way, you can reject the entire shipment, accept the entire shipment, or accept part and reject the rest.1Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 2-601 – Buyer’s Rights on Improper Delivery A completely different product landing on your doorstep is about as clear a mismatch as there is.
Two conditions attach to that right. You have to reject within a reasonable time after delivery, and you have to tell the seller.2Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 2-602 – Manner and Effect of Rightful Rejection What counts as reasonable depends on the circumstances, but staying silent for weeks works against you. After you reject, you’re expected to hold the item with reasonable care long enough for the seller to arrange a pickup or return. Don’t start using it as if it were yours.
Document the Problem Before You Contact the Seller
Build a short evidence file first. Pull up the order confirmation showing the product description, quantity, and price. Photograph what actually arrived, ideally next to the packing slip or shipping label. For high-value purchases, filming the unboxing creates a timestamped record that’s hard to argue with later.
Save every piece of correspondence: order confirmations, shipping notifications, chat logs, emails. The FTC recommends keeping the company name, website, order date, what you paid, and all communications.3Federal Trade Commission. Online Shopping This paper trail is what you fall back on if you end up at a chargeback or in small claims court.
Then contact the seller in writing. State the order number, describe the mismatch, and say what you want: a refund or the correct item. Set a reasonable deadline to respond, something like 10 to 14 business days.
Refund, Replacement, and the Seller’s Chance to Cure
A seller doesn’t automatically lose the sale by shipping the wrong thing. Under the UCC, if the time for performance hasn’t run out, the seller can notify you they intend to “cure” the error and send the correct item within the original delivery window.4Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 2-508 – Cure by Seller of Improper Tender or Delivery; Replacement Even past the delivery deadline, a seller who had reasonable grounds to believe you’d accept the shipment gets additional time to substitute a conforming delivery, if they tell you promptly.
In practice, most online retailers skip the formalities and just offer to reship or refund. You aren’t obligated to accept a replacement if you’d rather have your money back. But if what you really want is the product you ordered, letting the seller send a corrected shipment is usually the fastest route.
Return Shipping and Restocking Fees
No federal statute spells out “the seller pays return shipping for wrong-item deliveries,” but the logic is straightforward. When the seller breaches the contract, the cost of fixing that breach falls on the seller, not you. Most major retailers handle this by sending a prepaid label or arranging courier pickup at no charge.
Restocking fees are a separate issue. Retailers commonly charge them for buyer’s-remorse returns, and state laws generally allow it when the policy is disclosed before purchase. Charging one when the seller shipped the wrong product is a different matter: you aren’t returning a product you chose, you’re returning one you never ordered. If a seller tries to deduct a restocking fee for their own mistake, push back in writing and point out that the delivery didn’t match the contract.
When the Refund Has to Arrive
If you reject the delivery and choose a refund, the seller owes you your money back.1Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 2-601 – Buyer’s Rights on Improper Delivery For orders placed online, by phone, or by mail, the FTC’s Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule sets a specific timeline: refunds must be sent within seven working days of the date your right to a refund kicks in. If you paid by credit card, the refund has to go through within one billing cycle.5eCFR. 16 CFR Part 435 – Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Some retailers quote a 30-day standard refund window; for a seller-error situation, you can hold them to the FTC’s shorter one.
Credit Card Chargebacks If the Seller Won’t Fix It
Paying by credit card gives you a strong federal backstop. The Fair Credit Billing Act treats a charge for goods “not delivered to the obligor or his designee in accordance with the agreement” as a billing error.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors Receiving the wrong item fits.
To invoke the protection, send a written dispute to your card issuer within 60 days of the first statement that lists the charge. Mail it to the billing disputes or inquiries address, not the payment address. Many issuers also take disputes online or by phone, but a written letter preserves your full legal rights.7Federal Trade Commission. What To Do if You’re Billed for Things You Never Got, or You Get Unordered Products
Once the issuer gets your dispute, it has to acknowledge it in writing within 30 days and finish the investigation within two billing cycles, with a hard cap of 90 days.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors While that’s pending, you don’t have to pay the disputed amount or any finance charges tied to it, though you still owe the rest of the bill. The issuer can’t report the disputed amount as delinquent during the investigation.
Debit cards are a different story. The FTC notes you may not be able to get a refund for delivery of the wrong item through a debit card dispute, so contact your bank as soon as you realize there’s a problem.7Federal Trade Commission. What To Do if You’re Billed for Things You Never Got, or You Get Unordered Products This is one of the main reasons consumer advocates recommend credit cards for online purchases.
Can You Just Keep It?
Federal law says you never have to pay for merchandise you didn’t order, and you can treat unordered merchandise as a free gift. The statute defines it as items “mailed without the prior expressed request or consent of the recipient,” and sending a bill or threatening collection for unordered goods is itself a federal violation.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 39 U.S. Code 3009 – Mailing of Unordered Merchandise
The nuance: the FTC’s guidance on unordered merchandise focuses on products you “get but didn’t order” and doesn’t explicitly address a wrong item sent in place of something you did order. If you ordered a blue jacket and got a red one, you placed an order, just not for the red jacket. Consumer advocates generally treat seller-error shipments as functionally unordered, but a seller could argue a good-faith mistake isn’t the same thing as unsolicited merchandise. As a practical matter, most retailers will tell you to keep the wrong item and ship the right one, because return shipping often costs more than the product.
If the Seller Still Won’t Make It Right
Most wrong-item complaints end at a single call or email to customer service. When they don’t, you have options.
File a complaint with your state attorney general’s consumer protection division. These offices rarely intervene in a single dispute, but the complaints they log can trigger investigations once a seller accumulates enough of them. You can also file with the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FTC doesn’t resolve individual cases either, but tracks complaint patterns that lead to enforcement.
Small claims court is designed for exactly this kind of case when real money is involved. Filing fees are low, you don’t need a lawyer, and limits run from $3,000 to $10,000 or more depending on the state. Bring your order confirmation, photos of what arrived, and all correspondence.
Deadlines to Keep in Mind
The UCC’s default statute of limitations for a lawsuit based on a contract for the sale of goods is four years from the date of the breach. Parties can agree to shorten it to as little as one year, but not extend it past four.2Cornell Law Institute. Uniform Commercial Code 2-602 – Manner and Effect of Rightful Rejection For a credit card chargeback under the FCBA, you only have 60 days from the first statement showing the charge.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1666 – Correction of Billing Errors Beyond the legal clocks, sellers are far more cooperative when you contact them within days of delivery than weeks. Act quickly.