Answers · UK 2025/26
How long is the cooling-off period for online purchases in the UK?
Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations, most online purchases give you a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel from the day you receive the goods, plus a further 14 days to actually send the goods back once you've cancelled. This right applies to most goods bought online, by phone, or by mail order, but has important exceptions such as personalised items, perishable goods, and sealed items once unsealed for hygiene reasons.
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The cooling-off period is one of the most valuable consumer protections for online and distance shopping, giving buyers a legal right to change their mind that simply doesn't exist for most in-store purchases. **The two separate 14-day periods** The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give you 14 days from the day you receive your goods (or, for services, from the day you agree to the contract) to tell the seller you want to cancel -- this is your right to change your mind, and you don't need to give a reason. Once you've told the seller you're cancelling, you then have a FURTHER 14 days to actually send the goods back. So in total, you could have up to 28 days from delivery before the goods need to physically leave your hands, provided you notify the cancellation within the first 14. **What counts as "telling the seller"** You must clearly communicate your decision to cancel -- simply not paying, or sending the item back without any explanation, isn't always sufficient. Many retailers provide a model cancellation form, but a clear email or online account cancellation also satisfies the requirement. **Who pays for return postage** Unless the retailer states they will cover return costs, you are generally responsible for the cost of returning the goods, and the retailer can deduct from your refund for any diminished value if you've handled the goods beyond what's necessary to establish their nature and function (for example, trying on clothes is fine; using them extensively is not). **Key exceptions where the right doesn't apply** Several categories are excluded or restricted: personalised or bespoke items made to your specification; perishable goods (food, flowers); sealed goods that are unsuitable for return for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed (such as cosmetics or earrings); sealed audio/video recordings or software once unsealed; newspapers and magazines (except subscriptions); goods that become mixed inseparably with other items after delivery; and digital content you've already started downloading or streaming (where you gave express consent and acknowledged you'd lose the cancellation right). **Services already started** If you've asked for a service to begin during the cooling-off period (for example, urgent building work), you may still owe a reasonable amount for the work already done if you then cancel, calculated proportionately. **Refund timing** Once you've returned the goods (or provided evidence you've sent them), the retailer must refund you within 14 days, including the original standard delivery cost (though not any premium/express delivery upgrade you chose), using the same payment method you used to pay, unless you agree otherwise. **This is separate from faulty goods rights** The cooling-off period is entirely separate from your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 if goods are faulty, not as described, or not fit for purpose -- those rights apply regardless of how you bought the item and last much longer (up to six years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, though the practical remedy narrows after the first six months). **Practical tip** Keep proof you cancelled within the 14-day window (a dated email or online cancellation confirmation), since disputes over whether and when you notified the retailer are a common source of refund refusals.
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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.