Answers · UK 2025/26
What are the distance selling regulations and what do they cover in the UK?
The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 -- often still called the "distance selling regulations" -- require online, phone, and mail-order sellers to give clear pre-contract information (total price, delivery costs, your cancellation rights) before you buy, confirm the order in writing, and honour a 14-day cancellation right. They apply to most consumer purchases made without face-to-face contact with the seller at the time of the transaction.
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The distance selling regulations set out the specific information and cancellation rights that apply whenever a consumer buys something without being physically present with the seller at the point of sale -- covering the vast majority of online shopping, phone orders, mail order, and similar transactions. **What counts as a "distance contract"** A distance contract is one made using a method of communication that doesn't involve the buyer and seller being in the same place at the same time -- this includes online purchases, telephone orders, mail order/catalogue purchases, and orders placed via apps. It does NOT cover purchases made in a physical shop, even if you later collect the item, since the contract itself was formed face-to-face. **Pre-contract information requirements** Before you complete a purchase, the seller must clearly provide: the total price including all taxes, and any additional delivery, freight, or postal charges (or confirmation that such charges may apply); the main characteristics of the goods or services; the seller's identity, geographical address, and contact details; the arrangements for payment, delivery, and performance; and full details of your right to cancel (or confirmation if no such right applies, and why). Failing to properly disclose delivery charges, for example, can mean the consumer isn't liable to pay them. **The cancellation right ("cooling-off period")** As a central feature, these regulations create the 14-day cooling-off period allowing consumers to cancel most distance purchases without giving a reason, running from the day the goods are received (for goods) or from the day the contract is agreed (for services) -- see the separate rules on exactly how this works and its exceptions. **Written confirmation of the contract** Sellers must provide confirmation of the contract on a durable medium (such as an email, or a paper copy) within a reasonable time after the contract is formed, and at the latest by the time the goods are delivered, including all the key information given before purchase plus your cancellation rights. **Delivery timing rules** Unless otherwise agreed, goods must be delivered without undue delay and within 30 days of the contract being formed -- if the seller misses this and doesn't deliver within a reasonable extended period you specify, you may be entitled to cancel and get a full refund. **Pre-ticked boxes are banned** Sellers cannot use pre-ticked boxes to add extra charges (such as optional insurance or express delivery) during checkout -- you must actively opt in to any additional paid extras, and if a pre-ticked box does add a charge without your explicit agreement, you are not obliged to pay it. **Enforcement and remedies** Breaches of these regulations can be enforced by Trading Standards, and individual consumers can also rely on the rules directly in disputes with a retailer -- for example, arguing that undisclosed charges are not payable, or that a missing cancellation right notice extends your cooling-off period (in some cases, failing to properly inform a consumer of their cancellation right can extend the cancellation period considerably beyond the standard 14 days). **Practical tip** If a retailer never told you about your right to cancel, or you can't find clear information about returns before you bought, keep records of this -- it can strengthen a later dispute if the retailer tries to refuse a return or claims you're out of time.
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This answer is informational only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Figures are for the 2025/26 UK tax year. See our methodology and sources.