Can I cancel an online order after it has arrived?
Short answer
Yes — 14 days from the day the goods arrive, under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and you need no reason. Tell the trader by email inside that window, then return the goods within a further 14 days. Some categories, including personalised and perishable goods, are exempt.
This is a different right from the one you use for faulty goods. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give you a 14-day cooling-off period on most distance contracts simply because you could not inspect the item before buying. Nothing has to be wrong with it and you do not have to give a reason.
The three 14-day clocks
- To cancel: 14 days from the day you, or someone you nominated, receive the goods — or from the day the last item arrives where an order comes in parts. For a service it runs from the day the contract was concluded. An email saying you wish to cancel is enough, and the trader must acknowledge it promptly.
- To return: 14 days from cancelling. The trader must have told you who pays the return postage; if they did not, they cannot charge you for it.
- To be refunded: the trader has 14 days from receiving the goods back, or from your evidence that you sent them, and must refund to the payment method you used.
The refund includes the basic delivery cost of getting the goods to you — if you paid extra for next-day, only the standard rate comes back. The trader can deduct for diminished value where you went beyond handling the item as you could have in a shop: trying a coat on is assessment, sleeping on a mattress for a week is not. Any deduction must be reasonable and justified.
Where the right does not reach
Exemptions include perishable goods, personalised or bespoke items made to your specification, sealed goods that cannot be returned for hygiene reasons once opened, unsealed recordings and software, digital content you began downloading or streaming after acknowledging you would lose the right — and, importantly for travel, accommodation, transport, car hire and catering booked for specific dates. Buying from a private individual on a marketplace is also outside the Regulations; buying from a business seller there is not.
Two things soften those gaps. If the trader never gave you the required pre-contract information, your cooling-off period stretches to 12 months and 14 days, and if they supply the missing information during that time a fresh 14 days runs from then. And whatever the Regulations say, faulty goods stay covered by the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If a seller ignores a valid cancellation, call the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133, which can refer the trader to Trading Standards.
Related guides
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Shopping online gives you additional protections on top of your standard Consumer Rights Act 2015 rights. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (CCRs) give you a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel most distance contracts — including online purchases — without needing to give any reason.
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