The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 set out exactly how long online customers have to change their mind, cancel an order and get a refund — and getting these rules wrong is one of the most common and costly compliance mistakes UK online retailers make.
What the Consumer Contracts Regulations actually cover
The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 (CCRs) apply to almost all goods sold online, by phone or by mail order to consumers in the UK, and exist specifically to protect customers who can't physically inspect a product before buying it, unlike an in-store purchase. They sit alongside, and are separate from, the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which deals with faulty or misdescribed goods rather than a simple change of mind.
Crucially, the CCR right to cancel applies regardless of your own returns policy — you cannot contract out of it, and a policy that offers less than the statutory minimum is simply unenforceable against a customer who knows their rights, however clearly you've stated your own terms.
The 14-day cancellation window
Consumers have 14 calendar days from the day they (or someone they nominate) receives the goods to cancel the contract, for any reason, without needing to give one. This is a genuine 'change of mind' right — the goods don't need to be faulty, and the customer doesn't need to have even opened the packaging, though they must take reasonable care of the goods while deciding.
Once a customer has given notice of cancellation within that 14-day window, they then have a further 14 days to actually send the goods back to you. Many retailers conflate these two 14-day periods into a single 14-day return window, which understates customers' actual statutory rights and can expose you to complaints or Trading Standards scrutiny if challenged.
Refund obligations and timing
Once you receive the returned goods (or evidence the customer has sent them, such as a tracking receipt), you must refund the customer within 14 days, using the same payment method they used to pay, unless they've explicitly agreed otherwise. You must refund the standard delivery cost the customer paid — even if they chose a premium delivery option, you only need to refund the cost of your cheapest standard delivery method, but you cannot withhold the standard delivery cost entirely.
Goods and services excluded from the right to cancel
Certain categories are exempt from the standard cancellation right, and it's important to identify which apply to your catalogue. These include personalised or bespoke goods made to the consumer's specification, sealed goods that are not suitable for return for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed (such as cosmetics or earrings), perishable goods, and sealed audio/video recordings or software once unsealed.
- Bespoke or personalised items made to a customer's specification.
- Sealed goods unsuitable for return for health/hygiene reasons, once unsealed by the customer.
- Perishable goods, such as fresh food or flowers.
- Newspapers, periodicals and magazines (except subscriptions).
- Sealed digital content, once download or streaming has begun with the customer's consent.
These exemptions must be clearly stated to the customer before they complete their purchase — silently relying on an exemption you never disclosed is unlikely to hold up if challenged.
Providing pre-contract information
Before a customer commits to a purchase, the CCRs require you to clearly provide information including the total price, delivery costs and arrangements, your business's identity and geographic address, and — critically — a clear statement of the customer's cancellation rights and how to exercise them. Many platforms provide a template cancellation form; offering this, or at least a simple, unambiguous way to cancel by email, reduces disputes over whether a customer gave valid notice.
Handling disputes and repeat non-compliance
A returns policy that falls short of CCR minimums is a common trigger for Trading Standards complaints and negative reviews that reference 'illegal returns policy' — language that spreads quickly on social media and marketplaces. Review your published returns policy against the CCR minimums at least annually, and train customer service staff to recognise a CCR-based cancellation request distinct from a Consumer Rights Act faulty-goods claim, since the obligations and evidence required differ between the two.
Related Considerations for UK Retailers
It's rarely useful to treat navigating the UK consumer contracts regulations and statutory return windows as a standalone decision — the strongest results tend to come from lining it up with the rest of your operation. For a closer look at this, see our guide to Handling Subject Access Requests and Statutory Data Breach Notifications Under UK GDPR.
It's also worth thinking about Legal & Consumer Rights from your customers' perspective, not just your own liability. Transparent, clearly communicated policies build trust and reduce disputes before they start, while opaque or overly restrictive terms — even where technically compliant — tend to generate more complaints, chargebacks and reputational damage than they prevent.
For related reading: For the practical mechanics, see Managing Omnichannel Returns and Buy-Online-Return-In-Store (BORIS). If you haven't already, Navigating Due Diligence and Asset Transfer When Selling is a useful companion read on this exact point.