Which distance selling regulations

If you do not provide consumers with information about their right to cancel information item 'l' above their cancellation period is extended to 14 days, starting the day after the day that you do give them this information. The longest that this period can be extended to is 12 months from the day after the normal cancellation period would have ended.

A consumer can withdraw from the contract, or cancel within the cancellation period, by informing you that they wish to do so. There is no requirement for how this should be done but in the event of a dispute the burden falls upon the consumer to prove that they did cancel within the cancellation period. Therefore the consumer will be well advised to ensure that they have some durable proof of their cancellation, which you could ask for if there was a dispute regarding whether or when they had informed you of their decision to cancel.

The Regulations do offer some guidance on how consumers can exercise their right to cancel a contract:. If a consumer withdraws from a contract or exercises their right to cancel, both your and their obligations under the contract are ended. In addition you must reimburse the consumer all that they have paid you, including any original delivery costs. However, if a consumer has expressly requested a delivery method that is more expensive than your basic cost, you are only obliged to refund your basic delivery cost - for example, if a consumer has opted for your next-day-delivery service rather than your standard method by second class post.

You may also be able to deduct the value of services that you have provided, at the consumer's express request, during the cancellation period see 'Supply of a service in the cancellation period' below. You must reimburse the consumer without undue delay and within 14 days from the day after they inform you of their decision.

If the consumer is sending goods back to you, you need to reimburse them within 14 days of the day you get the goods back or, if earlier, 14 days from the day you receive proof from the consumer that they have sent the goods back. You must reimburse the consumer using the same payment method they used originally but you can come to an agreement with the consumer to use an alternative method. Finally, you have a right to deduct an amount from the reimbursement or charge a consumer if they have diminished the value of the goods by handling them beyond what is necessary to establish their nature, characteristics and function.

The Regulations establish a test as to whether consumers have handled the goods in a way beyond what might reasonably be allowed in a shop. This is likely to be a controversial area of the Regulations for both consumers and traders and will ultimately be a matter for a court to decide.

However, the following examples will attempt to illustrate this concept:. You are not able to make any deduction for diminishing the value of the goods if you have not provided consumers with the information about their right to cancel information item 'l' above. No other deductions, such as cancellation or restocking fees, can be made when a consumer exercises their legal right to cancel.

You must collect goods from a consumer, following cancellation, if you have offered to do so. In all other cases it is the consumer's responsibility to send the goods back to you or hand them to someone that you have authorised to collect them. Consumers must send the goods back to an address that you have specified.

If you haven't given an address they can send them to back to any address that you have specified for consumers to use to contact you. Failing that, consumers can send the goods back to any place where you conduct your business.

The consumer must not delay their return of the goods and should send them back within 14 days of when they informed you of their decision to cancel. Unless you have agreed to pay the return costs, the consumer must do so. However, this is reliant upon you giving them the information regarding this information item 'm' above. If you have not given this information, you must pay these costs.

You must have agreed with the consumer if they are to pay for the return of the goods that you will collect if, for example, they are too big to return by post. You must make this clear in your contract. The Regulations do allow for service contracts - and for the service element of a sales contract if there is one - to be started within the cancellation period and for you to charge for the services provided during that period if the customer later cancels providing that the consumer has expressly requested this.

A consumer loses their right to cancel a service contract that has been performed fully within the cancellation period, providing they requested this and acknowledged that they would lose their right to cancel once the contract had been performed fully.

This does not apply to gas or electricity utility contracts. In the case of a sales contract involving services that have been completed, the consumer still has the right to cancel and return the goods as described above but will have to pay for, or receive no reimbursement for, the service element of the contract. For example, in the case of a satellite receiver ordered online that was delivered and fitted on the same day, the customer must pay for labour costs but may still remove and return the receiver to the trader.

Where a service has been started within the cancellation period at the express request of the consumer, but has not been completed, the consumer still has the right to cancel. However, the consumer will have to pay for the service used during the time up to when they informed you of their decision to cancel.

What they should pay will be in proportion to what has been supplied in comparison with the full contract price. The amount is to be calculated either:. A consumer will not have to pay you for services supplied in the cancellation period if you have not provided them with information items 'l' and 'n' above. Nor will the consumer have to pay if they had not expressly requested that you start within the cancellation period.

Therefore if you start to deliver a service on your own initiative during the cancellation period the consumer will not have to pay you if they decide to cancel.

You can supply digital content that is not on a tangible medium in other words, is downloaded, streamed, etc within the cancellation period, provided the consumer has expressly requested this and acknowledged that by doing this they have lost their right to cancel. However, if you have not met the following criteria, the consumer will still be able to cancel within the cancellation period and will not have to pay you for any digital content supplied:.

An ancillary contract is one that relates to the main contract and can be provided by you or a third party with whom you have an arrangement. Financial services generally exempted from these Regulations are covered if they are an ancillary contract. Where a consumer withdraws an offer or cancels a contract, any ancillary contract will also be terminated without further cost, subject to the various provisions above. You must inform any trader with whom the consumer has the ancillary contract that their contract has been terminated.

For example, if you have sold a car with a separate insurance contract and the consumer cancels within the cancellation period, they will not have to pay for the insurance or they must be refunded the cost.

If the consumer has consented to the insurance starting within the cancellation period they will have to pay the proportion of the cost up to the time of cancellation, as described above. Consumers should always be asked to expressly consent to additional charges - for example, consumers should not have to remove a tick from a pre-ticked box to indicate they do not want optional insurance against damage to an engagement ring that they have purchased.

Consumers will not be liable for any additional payments that they have not actively consented to and they have the right to request that they are refunded for these payments. If you provide a telephone line for consumers to contact you in relation to a contract that they have entered into with you, you cannot charge more than a basic rate for this service.

Therefore you can only charge normal geographic or mobile rates. A consumer should not pay more to contact you about their purchase than they would to phone a friend or relative. Consumers who are charged more than the basic rate are entitled to claim any overcharge back from you. You should check carefully whether your phone line does cost consumers more than basic rates. In addition to numbers beginning 09, other revenue-sharing numbers such as , , or would not comply.

Nor would numbers, which would vary according to the consumer's own phone tariff. Unless you agree otherwise it is your responsibility to deliver the goods that you have sold to a consumer. If you do not agree a delivery time you must deliver the goods without undue delay and certainly no later than 30 days from the day after the contract was made. A consumer may treat a contract as being at an end and request a full refund in any of the following circumstances:.

If your contract consists of a variety of goods, some of which you fail to deliver on time, the consumer has the right, as an alternative to ending the contract, to cancel that part of the order or return goods that have already been delivered. You must then reimburse them without undue delay for the goods that have been cancelled or rejected.

If you receive faulty goods under a contract entered into on or before 12 June and wish to return them , your Distance Selling Regulations returns rights are in addition to your other legal rights. Some contracts fall outside the Distance Selling Regulations altogether, including contracts for the sale of land or construction of buildings, and items bought from vending machines.

W Which? Editorial team. Your right to cancel an order for goods The goods you can't return Cancelling a service contract Delivery What should you get back if you cancelled?

Returning faulty goods View more links. What were the Distance Selling Regulations? The Distance Selling Regulations set out information the seller must give about the goods or service on offer, including: a description of the goods or service the price of the goods or service delivery costs where applicable and any cancellation rights the minimum duration of the contract for services information about the seller The seller has to provide this information in a clear manner, and in a format appropriate to the means of communication used so, for example, in the terms and conditions of a written contract, or verbally in the case of purchases over the phone.

The goods you can't return Distance Selling Regulations returns apply to most products, but there are some goods you can't return if you simply change your mind, including: CDs, DVDs or software if you've broken the seal on the wrapping perishable and other items that deteriorate rapidly, such as food and flowers tailor-made or personalised goods underwear and earrings.

Cancelling a service contract If you're buying a service, such as gym membership or a cleaning service, you can usually cancel up to seven working days from the day after you enter into the contract. Delivery The Distance Selling Regulations say that goods must be delivered within the time frame you agree with the seller.

What should you get back if you cancelled? Need some advice? Related articles Can I cancel an online order? Consumer Contracts Regulations. It will take only 2 minutes to fill in. Cookies on GOV. UK We use some essential cookies to make this website work. Accept additional cookies Reject additional cookies View cookies.

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