Guide
Distance and off-premises selling requirements
Your legal obligations when selling to consumers online, by phone, by mail order, or at their home. Covers the 14-day cancellation right, pre-contract information requirements, refund obligations, and exemptions under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.
If you sell to consumers without meeting them face-to-face in your shop, you must follow the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (CCR 2013). These regulations apply to:
- Distance contracts: sales made online, by phone, mail order, or TV shopping - where you and the consumer are not physically together
- Off-premises contracts: sales made at the consumer's home, workplace, temporary venues like trade fairs, or during organised excursions
The regulations give consumers a 14-day cooling-off period to cancel for any reason, and require you to provide detailed information before they commit to buy.
From 6 April 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can impose fines up to 10% of global turnover or £300,000 for breaches, without needing to go to court.
The 14-day cancellation right
Consumers have 14 calendar days to cancel a distance or off-premises contract without giving any reason. This is sometimes called the 'cooling-off period'.
When does the cancellation period start?
- For goods: the day after the consumer receives them (or the last item if delivered in instalments)
- For services: the day after the contract is made
- For digital content: the day after the contract is made
The consumer only needs to notify you of their decision to cancel before the 14-day period ends. If they send notification on day 14, it counts even if you receive it later.
What if you did not provide cancellation information?
If you fail to tell the consumer about their cancellation rights before purchase, the cancellation period extends by 12 months. This means consumers could cancel up to 12 months and 14 days after receiving goods.
If you provide the cancellation information late (but within the 12-month extension), the 14-day period starts from when you provide it.
Pre-contract information requirements
Before the consumer commits to a distance or off-premises purchase, you must provide 24 specific items of information in a clear and comprehensible manner. These include:
Essential information you must provide
- Your business identity: trading name, geographic address (not just a PO box), phone number, and email address
- Product details: main characteristics of the goods, services, or digital content
- Total price: including all taxes, or how it will be calculated if not known in advance
- Additional charges: delivery costs, or that additional charges may apply if you cannot calculate them in advance
- Cancellation rights: conditions, time limits, and procedures for exercising the right to cancel
- Model cancellation form: provide the standard form even though consumers do not have to use it
- Return costs: tell consumers if they will pay return postage costs when cancelling
- Payment and delivery: accepted payment methods, delivery arrangements, and when you will deliver
- Contract duration: length of contract and termination conditions for ongoing services
- Digital content: functionality, compatibility with hardware and software, and any technical protection measures
Failure to provide this information can extend the cancellation period, make the contract unenforceable, and result in enforcement action.
Website order button requirements
If you take orders through your website, you must ensure the consumer explicitly acknowledges that placing an order creates an obligation to pay.
Your order button must say 'order with obligation to pay' or equivalent unambiguous wording. Acceptable alternatives include:
- 'Pay now'
- 'Buy now'
- 'Confirm purchase'
- 'Place order and pay'
Unacceptable wording includes: 'Continue', 'Next', 'Submit', 'Order now' (without mentioning payment), or 'Confirm'.
Consequence: If your order button does not meet this requirement, the consumer is not bound by the contract. They can claim a full refund even after using the goods or services.
Confirmation after purchase
After the contract is concluded, you must provide confirmation on a durable medium (paper, email, or PDF attachment). This must include:
- All the pre-contract information
- Confirmation of any consent given to immediate supply of digital content (and acknowledgement of lost cancellation right)
- Confirmation of any request for services to begin during the cancellation period
For goods, provide this confirmation no later than the time of delivery. For services, provide it within a reasonable time.
Your refund obligations
When a consumer exercises their cancellation right, you must process the refund within 14 days. The timeline depends on what was sold:
- For goods: 14 days from receiving the returned goods, or evidence the consumer has sent them back
- For services: 14 days from when you are informed of the cancellation
- For digital content: 14 days from when you are informed of the cancellation
What you must refund
- Full purchase price
- Original standard delivery cost - you cannot refuse to refund this
What you can deduct
- Premium delivery difference: if the consumer chose express delivery, you only need to refund the standard delivery rate
- Diminished value: if the consumer handled the goods beyond what is necessary to check them (equivalent to handling in a shop)
Refund method
Use the same payment method as the original transaction, unless the consumer expressly agrees otherwise. You cannot charge any fee for processing the refund.
Consumer's return obligations
Unless you offered to collect the goods, the consumer must:
- Send the goods back within 14 days of notifying you of cancellation
- Pay the return postage costs (but only if you told them this before purchase)
- Take reasonable care of the goods while in their possession
You cannot charge restocking fees. This is illegal under the regulations.
Exceptions to the cancellation right
Not all distance and off-premises contracts attract cancellation rights. The regulations specify contracts that are excluded and circumstances where cancellation rights are lost.
Other excluded contracts
The following are also excluded from the 14-day cancellation right:
- Goods where price fluctuates with financial markets: precious metals sold at market rates, currency exchange
- Specific date services: hotel bookings, car hire, concert tickets, restaurant reservations, holiday activities with fixed dates
- Goods that become mixed: fuel added to a tank, paint mixed with other paint
- Public auctions: traditional auction house sales (but online auctions like eBay are NOT exempt)
Even when cancellation rights do not apply, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 still requires goods to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, and as described. Consumers can still get refunds for faulty products.
Contracts excluded entirely from the regulations
Some types of contract fall outside the Consumer Contracts Regulations altogether:
- Financial services: banking, credit, insurance, investments (covered by FCA regulations)
- Gambling: betting, gaming, lottery participation
- Immovable property: house purchases, land sales
- Construction: new buildings or substantial conversions
- Package travel: covered by Package Travel Regulations 2018
- Regular round deliveries: milk delivery, regular grocery rounds
- Vending machines: automated sales
Additional payments and helpline charges
No pre-ticked boxes
You cannot use pre-ticked boxes or default options to obtain consent for additional charges. If you do, the consumer is entitled to a refund of any payment obtained this way.
This covers add-ons like insurance, extended warranties, or priority processing fees. The consumer must actively opt in.
Helpline charges
If you provide a post-contract customer helpline, you cannot charge more than the basic rate. Prohibited number types include:
- 084 numbers
- 087 numbers
- 09 premium rate numbers
Permitted numbers: 01/02 geographic numbers, 03 national rate numbers, 0800/0808 freephone.
Excess charges must be refunded to the consumer.
Online retail - website compliance checklist
If you sell online to consumers, your website must comply with these requirements:
Before checkout
- Display delivery restrictions - which countries you ship to
- Show accepted payment methods
- Display all prices inclusive of VAT for consumer sales
At checkout
- Display total price including all taxes and delivery charges
- Use compliant order button wording - 'Pay now', 'Buy now', etc.
- Provide cancellation information before purchase
- Include model cancellation form or link to it
- State who pays return costs
After purchase
- Send order confirmation by email with all required information
- Process refunds within 14 days of receiving returned goods
- Use basic rate numbers for customer service helplines
Drip pricing (from 6 April 2025)
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 prohibits drip pricing - adding unavoidable fees late in the checkout process. Display your full price including all mandatory fees from the start.
Enforced by:
- Trading Standards (local authority)
- Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) - enhanced powers from 6 April 2025
Penalties: Fines up to £300,000 or 10% of global turnover for serious breaches.
Digital content and SaaS - cancellation rules
Digital content has special rules under the Consumer Contracts Regulations:
When cancellation rights are lost
Consumers lose their cancellation right for digital content (not on a tangible medium) if:
- Supply has begun, AND
- The consumer gave express consent to begin supply immediately, AND
- The consumer acknowledged they would lose their cancellation right
How to obtain valid consent
Before beginning supply, you must:
- Get the consumer to actively tick a box (not pre-ticked) confirming consent to immediate supply
- Include clear wording that they acknowledge losing their cancellation right
- Send confirmation of this consent on a durable medium
If you do not obtain valid consent, the consumer can cancel and get a full refund even after downloading or streaming your content.
Pre-contract information for digital content
You must provide specific information about:
- Functionality: what the digital content does
- Compatibility: hardware and software requirements
- Technical protection measures: any DRM or copy protection
Enforced by Trading Standards and CMA. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 also applies to digital content quality standards.
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Review your website order process
Check your order button uses compliant wording ('Pay now', 'Buy now', etc.) and that the total price including all fees is displayed before the consumer commits.
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Provide all 24 pre-contract information items
Audit your website and order process to ensure all required information is provided clearly before purchase. Pay particular attention to cancellation rights and return costs.
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Include a model cancellation form
Provide the standard cancellation form (Schedule 3 Part B of the regulations) on your website and in order confirmations. Consumers do not have to use it, but you must provide it.
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Set up a 14-day refund process
Ensure your systems can process refunds within 14 days of receiving returned goods. Refund using the original payment method and include original standard delivery costs.
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Train staff on exemptions
Ensure staff know which products are exempt from cancellation rights (perishables, personalised goods, unsealed hygiene products) so they handle returns correctly.
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Use basic rate phone numbers
If you have a customer service helpline, use 01, 02, 03, or freephone numbers. Replace any 084, 087, or 09 numbers.
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Remove pre-ticked add-on options
Check your checkout process for pre-ticked boxes for insurance, warranties, or other add-ons. These must be unticked by default.