UK Statutory Instrument 2013 United Kingdom

Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013

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At a glance

Enforced by

CMA, Trading Standards

What's here

40 compliance obligations, 13 practical guides across 2 topics · 13 journeys

Penalty landscape

7 of 40 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 33 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Who this Act binds

Business-side actors with duties under this Act, ranked by how often they appear.

  • Trader 32
  • Any Person 2
  • Director or Officer 2

Plus 4 non-business duties on Crown ministers, regulators, local authorities or tribunals — shown collapsed under each section below.

Step-by-step journeys using this legislation

Walkthroughs that take you from a real business situation to compliance.

Relevant guidance

Practical guides for businesses affected by this Act, ordered by how closely they engage with it.

Direct — cites this Act

8 guides

Supporting — topic alignment

1 guides

Mentioned in related content

4 guides
View all 13 guides →

Other Acts binding the same actors

For each actor bound by this Act, the other UK Acts that bind them most often. Useful for understanding the full compliance landscape facing each role.

Traders also bound by 219 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Any Person also bound by 749 other Acts (top 5 shown)
Directors and Officers also bound by 224 other Acts (top 5 shown)

What this Act requires

Sections that create concrete duties on businesses or carry penalties. Procedural and definitional sections are folded into the “Browse other sections” expander at the bottom of each group. Click any section title to read the source text on legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1 — General

s.003

Review

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must review consumer contract regulations every 5 years Crown / Minister / Government department
Browse 5 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 2 — Information requirements

s.010

Information to be provided before making an off-premises contract

Unlimited fine
  • Provide required pre‑contract information and cancellation form Trader
  • Provide mandatory information before making an off-premises contract Trader
  • Provide required pre‑contract information and cancellation form for off‑premises contracts Trader
s.016

Confirmation of distance contracts

  • Provide contract confirmation for distance sales Trader
  • Provide contract confirmation on a durable medium Trader
  • Provide written confirmation of distance contracts Trader
s.022

Offences committed by bodies of persons

Unlimited fine
  • Company and officer liability for offences under regulation 19 Director or Officer
  • Corporate offence liability for officers Director or Officer
s.023

Duty to enforce

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Trading Standards and DETI must enforce distance selling rules Local authority
Browse 10 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 3 — Right to cancel

s.032

Exercise of the right to withdraw or cancel

  • Acknowledge consumer cancellations promptly Trader
  • Acknowledge consumer cancellations promptly on a durable medium Trader
  • Acknowledge receipt of online contract cancellations immediately Trader
s.035

Return of goods in the event of cancellation

  • Arrange collection or return of goods and bear return costs when a consumer cancels Trader
  • Collect cancelled goods or inform customers of return costs Trader
  • Provide address and arrange return of goods when a contract is cancelled Trader
s.036

Supply of service in cancellation period

  • Do not start a service before the cancellation period ends unless the consumer requests it Trader
  • Do not start services in cooling‑off period unless consumer requests Trader
  • Obtain express consent to start services during the cancellation period Trader
s.037

Supply of digital content in cancellation period

  • Do not start digital content delivery before cancellation period ends Trader
  • Only start digital content delivery after consumer consent and cancellation‑right acknowledgement Trader
  • Obtain consent before providing digital content during the cancellation period Trader
Browse 8 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 4 — Protection from inertia selling and additional charges

Browse 2 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 5 — Delivery and risk

Browse 2 other sections in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 6 — Enforcement

s.044

Complaints

Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Trading Standards and the CMA must consider consumer contract complaints Local authority
Browse 1 other section in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Part 7 — Consequential amendments

Browse 1 other section in this Part — procedural / definitional / commencement

Schedules

Browse 4 other Schedules — structural / supplementary
Read the full Act on legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new tab)

Official guidance

Authoritative sources published by regulators or government explaining this legislation.

Enforcement and responsible bodies

The regulators that administer or enforce this legislation.

CMA

Primary

Competition and Markets Authority

Promotes competitive markets and tackles unfair behaviour. Investigates mergers, enforces competition law, and has specific digital markets powers. Digital Markets Unit (DMU) …

Trading Standards

Trading Standards (Local Authority)

Enforces consumer protection legislation including food labelling, weights and measures, product safety, and fair trading. Part of local authority structure. Investigates food …

Connected legislation

parent Act

These instruments amend, apply, or refer to this Act. They may not all create direct business obligations.

Made under

European Communities Act 1972 1972 Primary Act

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Browse legislation

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Regulators

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