Returns and refunds

Last updated: 28 October 2026

We want you to understand your options before and after buying from Takealot. This policy explains online cancellations, defective products and how to request a return. Nothing in this policy removes a right or remedy that you have under applicable South African law. Where a mandatory legal right gives you greater protection, that right applies.

Start a return or cancellation

Use our contact form and include your order number or other proof of purchase, the product and model, your contact details and the help you need. For a fault, describe what happened. You can email helpful photos to the support address on our Contact page or include them when replying to our response. For a cooling-off cancellation, simply tell us that you wish to cancel; you do not need to give a reason.

Contact us before dispatching a return so that we can provide the correct return address or collection instructions. This is a practical arrangement, not a requirement for our permission to exercise a legal right. A timely cancellation or claim will not become late while you wait for our instructions. Keep a copy of your message.

Online cooling-off: seven days

Where section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act applies, you may cancel an online goods purchase within seven days after receiving the goods, without a reason or cancellation penalty. The only charge allowed for that cancellation is the direct cost of returning the goods. A payment already made must be refunded within 30 days of cancellation.

Tell us clearly which items you are cancelling and arrange their return. We will explain the return transport arrangements and any direct return cost before arranging a paid collection. We will not replace an applicable refund with compulsory store credit.

When the cooling-off right does not apply

The Act contains specific exceptions. Relevant examples can include genuinely personalised or made-to-specification goods, goods that by their nature cannot be returned, rapidly perishable goods, and audio or video recordings or computer software whose seals you have opened. Services that began with your consent before the cooling-off period ended can also be excluded. An ordinary electronic device is not automatically excluded just because its box has been opened.

We will identify any applicable exception and explain its basis. A cooling-off exception does not take away a separate right concerning a defective, unsafe, incorrectly supplied or misdescribed product. Any more generous return offer must be stated with the product or agreed with you in writing.

Defective or unsafe goods: the first six months

Where the Consumer Protection Act applies, goods must meet its quality, safety and durability requirements. If they do not, you may return them within six months after delivery, at the supplier’s risk and expense and without a penalty. You may choose a repair, a replacement or a refund of the price paid, as provided by sections 55 and 56.

We may arrange a reasonable inspection to establish the reported problem. An assessment is not your agreement to a repair, and it does not allow us to impose a different remedy where the law gives you the choice. You may raise the claim with us; a manufacturer’s process does not replace your rights against the seller.

If a repair does not resolve the problem

If a product repaired under the statutory quality remedy still has the fault, or another failure, defect or unsafe feature appears within three months after that repair, section 56 provides for replacement or a refund. Other applicable guarantees and legal remedies remain available.

Wrong, damaged or incomplete delivery

If the item delivered is wrong, damaged or missing an included part, contact us as soon as reasonably possible. Photographs of the packaging, label and item can help. Prompt reporting helps us investigate, but a short reporting request does not replace a statutory time limit or remove a right that the law protects. We will arrange the appropriate return or correction and explain the available remedies.

Preparing electronics and appliances for return

Pack the item securely and include the supplied accessories, manuals and components that you still have. Original packaging is helpful, especially for large or fragile items, but is not an absolute condition for a statutory defective-goods claim. Do not continue using an item beyond reasonable examination when cancelling a purchase.

Where it is safe and possible, back up your files, remove your SIM or memory card and sign out of personal accounts before collection. Tell us if a fault prevents this; it does not automatically invalidate a claim. Never send account passwords with a return. If a battery is swollen, leaking or otherwise unsafe, stop using the item and ask us for suitable collection instructions.

Refund handling and disputes

We will confirm the outcome and use the original payment route where it is available, or agree a suitable alternative with you. We do not require store credit instead of a refund that is legally due. Statutory deadlines, including the 30-day cooling-off refund deadline, continue to apply; payment-provider processing is not a reason to ignore them.

If we decline a request, we will explain the reason. You may ask us to review it and may use the relevant ombud, the National Consumer Commission or another remedy available in law. See Warranty and product help for further product support.