Martin Lewis has urged festive shoppers to break traditional social conventions this year by opening expensive Christmas presents before they are even gifted. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live during the final 72-hour countdown to Christmas Day, the Money Saving Expert founder acknowledged his advice might be controversial, but warned that “timing matters” when it comes to legal protections.

The crux of the warning lies in UK consumer rights law. Under current regulations, shoppers have a 30-day right to a full refund for faulty goods. For those who snapped up high-tech gadgets or luxury items during Black Friday or early November sales, that window may already be closing.

“If you leave it too long, you will lose your right to send it back and get a full refund under fault rules,” Lewis explained.

“One of the things that happens at this time of year is people who, and they tend to be people who are good with money, buy things ahead of time… they pack them away so it is a new gift, but they haven’t checked it.”

If a recipient discovers a fault on Christmas morning, but the item was purchased more than 30 days prior, the buyer is no longer legally entitled to a refund. Instead, they may be forced to accept a repair, a replacement or only a partial refund.

Lewis specifically highlighted “pricey tech gadgets” as items that should be inspected immediately. He suggested that shoppers should carefully remove items from their packaging to ensure they function properly before re-wrapping them for the big day.

For those shopping online, the rules are even stricter regarding “change of heart” returns. Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, buyers generally have only 14 days from receiving an item to notify a retailer of a return, and a further 14 days to send it back.

The financial guru admitted that his advice lacks the traditional “romanticism” associated with gift-giving, noting that unwrapping a gift before the recipient can feel like a violation of unwritten holiday rules.

However, he insisted the practical benefits outweigh the social awkwardness. “My instinct is actually, if you are buying something expensive for somebody else, the sensible thing to do would be to open it yourself and check that it is working,” Lewis said.