How the Consumer Contracts Regulations let you cancel most online and phone purchases, the deadlines for goods and services, return costs and the main exceptions.
This guide gives general information about the law in England and Wales, not legal advice about your situation.
When you buy online, by phone or by mail order, you cannot inspect the goods first, so the law gives you a right to change your mind. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 let you cancel most "distance" contracts within 14 days, for any reason or none. This is separate from your rights when goods are faulty.
Goods: the timings
- When the 14 days start: the day after you receive the goods (or the last item, for an order delivered in parts). You can also cancel before delivery.
- How to cancel: tell the trader clearly within the 14 days, by email, through their online form, or using the model cancellation form they should give you. Simply returning the goods may not be enough; keep proof that you told them.
- Returning goods: you then have a further 14 days to send the goods back.
- Your refund: the trader must refund within 14 days of receiving the goods back, or of your proof of return if sooner. If they collect, it is 14 days from when you cancelled.
What the refund includes?
You should get the price paid and the standard delivery cost. If you chose a premium delivery option, the trader only has to refund the cost of their cheapest standard option. You usually pay the cost of returning goods, unless the trader agreed to pay it or did not tell you before you bought that you would have to.
You can handle goods to check them, as you would in a shop. If you use them more than that and they lose value as a result, the trader can reduce your refund.
If the trader did not tell you about your rights
The trader must give you clear information about the right to cancel before you buy. If they do not, the cancellation period is extended by up to 12 months.
Services and digital content
- Services: 14 days from the day you enter the contract. If you ask for the service to start within the cancellation period, you may have to pay for what you have received before you cancel.
- Digital content (downloads, streaming, apps): you can cancel within 14 days unless you agreed to the download or streaming starting immediately and acknowledged that you would lose the right to cancel.
Common exceptions
The right to cancel does not apply to some purchases, including:
- goods made to your specifications or clearly personalised;
- perishable goods such as fresh food and flowers;
- sealed audio, video or software that you have unsealed;
- sealed goods unsuitable for return for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed;
- newspapers and magazines (except subscriptions);
- accommodation, car hire, catering and leisure services booked for a specific date;
- goods or services whose price depends on financial-market changes the trader cannot control.
Buying from a private individual, for example on a marketplace, is not covered, because the regulations apply to traders.
Step by step: cancelling an online order
- Check the date you received the goods and count 14 days from the following day.
- Send a clear cancellation message and keep a copy or screenshot.
- Pack the goods carefully and use a tracked service; keep the receipt.
- If the refund does not arrive within 14 days, write to the trader quoting the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
- If you paid by card, ask your card provider about a chargeback or, for credit card purchases over £100, a section 75 claim.
Frequently asked questions
Does this apply to in-store purchases?
No. Shops only have to accept returns of non-faulty goods if their own policy says so.
Is the cooling-off period the same as a returns policy?
No. A trader can offer a longer returns period than the law requires, but cannot give you less than your legal rights.
Sources and further reading
- legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013
- legislation.gov.uk: regulation 28 (exceptions)
- legislation.gov.uk: regulation 34 (refunds)
Facts checked on 20 October 2026. Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it.