Ruling 2139

If a buyer realises that a specified item has a defect – for example, he buys an animal and realises that it is blind in one eye – then, in the event that the defect was present in the item before the transaction and the buyer did not know about it, he can annul the transaction and return the item to the seller. In the event that returning the item is not possible – for instance, the item has changed in some way; for example, it has become defective; or, it has been utilised in a manner that prevents it from being returned; for example, the buyer sold it or hired it out; or, [the item was a piece of cloth and] the buyer cut the cloth or stitched it – then in such cases, the difference in price between a non-defective and defective item must be determined, and in proportion to the difference between the two, the buyer can take back part of the money he paid to the seller. For example, if he realises that an item he bought for £4 is defective, in the event that the price of a non-defective item is £8 and a defective one is £6, then since the difference in price between the non-defective item and the defective one is 25%, he can take back 25% of the money he paid to the seller, that is, £1.