UK Statutory Instrument SI 2013 United Kingdom

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

These Regulations implement most provisions of Directive 2011/83/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on consumer rights, amending Council Directive 93/13/EEC and Directive 1999/44/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council and repealing Council Directive 85/577/EEC and Directive 97/7/EC of the European Parliament …

Enforced by
CMA, Trading Standards
Status
Amended (in force with amendments)
Penalty ceiling
Prosecution 7 of 42 obligations carry an unlimited fine. 35 have no criminal penalty — flagged in the list below.

Does it bind you?

Business-side roles with duties under this instrument.

Trader34 Any Person2 Director or Officer2

Plus 4 duties on the regulator, Crown ministers and public bodies — folded into the section list below.

Other Acts binding the same actors

If a role above is yours, these are the other instruments that most often bind it.

Trader — also bound by 825 other Acts
Any Person — also bound by 2340 other Acts
Director or Officer — also bound by 429 other Acts

What it requires

Regulations creating concrete business duties or carrying penalties, grouped as the instrument is structured. Titles link to the source text — blue means you’re leaving for legislation.gov.uk.

Part 1

General

1 of 6 sections shown
s.003 Review (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Secretary of State must review consumer contract regulations every 5 yearsCrown / Minister / Government department
5 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Part 2

Information requirements

11 of 20 sections shown
s.009 Information to be provided before making an on-premises contract (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Give consumers key contract information before they're boundTrader
s.010 Information to be provided before making an off-premises contract (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Provide required pre‑contract information and cancellation formTrader
  • Provide mandatory information before making an off-premises contractTrader
  • Provide required pre‑contract information and cancellation form for off‑premises contractsTrader

Unlimited fine

s.012 Provision of copy or confirmation of off-premises contracts (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Provide a copy or confirmation of off-premises contractsTrader
s.013 Information to be provided before making a distance contract (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Provide required pre‑contract information for distance salesTrader
  • Provide mandatory consumer information before a distance saleTrader
  • Provide pre-contract information and cancellation forms for distance salesTrader
s.014 Requirements for distance contracts concluded by electronic means (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Inform consumers and obtain clear acknowledgement of payment before electronic ordersTrader
  • Show clear payment info and get explicit consent for online ordersTrader
  • Clarify payment obligations and delivery terms for online salesTrader
s.015 Telephone calls to conclude a distance contract (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Disclose identity and purpose at start of sales callsTrader
  • Identify yourself and your purpose during sales callsTrader
s.016 Confirmation of distance contracts (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Provide contract confirmation for distance salesTrader
  • Provide contract confirmation on a durable mediumTrader
  • Provide written confirmation of distance contractsTrader
s.019 Offence relating to the failure to give notice of the right to cancel (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Fail to give notice of cancellation rightTrader
  • Fail to give required cancellation noticeTrader

Unlimited fine

s.021 Liability of persons other than the principal offender (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Be liable for another's failure to give cancellation noticeAny Person
  • Cause another person to breach consumer cancellation notice dutiesAny Person

Unlimited fine

s.022 Offences committed by bodies of persons (opens in a new tab) Prosecution
  • Company and officer liability for offences under regulation 19Director or Officer
  • Corporate offence liability for officersDirector or Officer

Unlimited fine

s.023 Duty to enforce (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Trading Standards and DETI must enforce distance selling rulesLocal authority
9 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Part 3

Right to cancel

6 of 12 sections shown
s.032 Exercise of the right to withdraw or cancel (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Acknowledge consumer cancellations promptlyTrader
  • Acknowledge consumer cancellations promptly on a durable mediumTrader
  • Acknowledge receipt of online contract cancellations immediatelyTrader
s.034 Reimbursement by trader in the event of withdrawal or cancellation (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Reimburse consumers promptly when they cancel or withdrawTrader
s.035 Return of goods in the event of cancellation (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Arrange collection or return of goods and bear return costs when a consumer cancelsTrader
  • Collect cancelled goods or inform customers of return costsTrader
  • Provide address and arrange return of goods when a contract is cancelledTrader
s.036 Supply of service in cancellation period (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Do not start a service before the cancellation period ends unless the consumer requests itTrader
  • Do not start services in cooling‑off period unless consumer requestsTrader
  • Obtain express consent to start services during the cancellation periodTrader
s.037 Supply of digital content in cancellation period (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Do not start digital content delivery before cancellation period endsTrader
  • Only start digital content delivery after consumer consent and cancellation‑right acknowledgementTrader
  • Obtain consent before providing digital content during the cancellation periodTrader
s.038 Effects of withdrawal or cancellation on ancillary contracts (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Inform other traders when a consumer cancels an ancillary contractTrader
6 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Part 4

Protection from inertia selling and additional charges

1 of 3 sections shown
s.041 Help-line charges over basic rate (opens in a new tab) Regulated
  • Charge only basic rate for consumer help‑line callsTrader
  • Use basic-rate phone numbers for customer helplinesTrader
2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Part 5

Delivery and risk

0 of 2 sections shown
2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Part 6

Enforcement

2 of 3 sections shown
s.044 Complaints (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Trading Standards and the CMA must consider consumer contract complaintsLocal authority
s.046 Notification of undertakings and orders to the CMA (opens in a new tab) Regulated
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
  • Enforcement authorities must notify the CMA of undertakings and ordersLocal authority
1 other section in this Part — procedural and definitional
Part 7

Consequential amendments

0 of 1 section shown
1 other section in this Part — procedural and definitional
Schedules

Schedules

0 of 23 shown
23 other schedules
s.sch001 The information referred to in regulation 9(1) is—
s.sch002 The information referred to in regulations 10(1) and 13(1) is...
s.sch002 Note: In the case of a public auction, the information...
s.sch004 Unsolicited Goods and Services Act 1971
s.sch004 Payment Services Regulations 2009
s.sch004 Co-ordination of Regulatory Enforcement (Regulatory Functions in Scotland and Northern Ireland) Order 2009
s.sch004 Waste Batteries and Accumulators Regulations 2009
s.sch004 Unsolicited Services (Trade and Business Directories) Act (Northern Ireland) 2010
s.sch004 Postal Services Act 2011 (Disclosure of Information) Order 2012
s.sch004 Consumer Rights (Payment Surcharges) Regulations 2012
s.sch004 Enterprise Act (Part 8 Domestic Infringements) Order 2013
s.sch004 Consumer Credit Act 1974
s.sch004 Companies Act 1985
s.sch004 Financial Services (Distance Marketing) Regulations 2004
s.sch004 Supply of Extended Warranties on Domestic Electrical Goods Order 2005
s.sch004 Companies Act 2006
s.sch004 Waste Electrical & Electrical Equipment Regulations 2006
s.sch004 Legislative and Regulatory Reform (Regulatory Functions) Order 2007
s.sch004 Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008

Help complying

Guvnor’s practical routes through this instrument.

Consumer rights compliance checklist

Quick compliance check for traders selling goods, services, or digital content to consumers. Covers quality standards, remedies, distance selling, unfair terms, and …

Open a shop

Start a retail business and open your first shop

Handling customer refund disputes

When a customer demands a refund, what are your legal obligations? This guide helps you determine whether the customer is entitled to …

Understanding consumer rights law for traders

Learn your legal obligations when selling goods, services, or digital content to consumers. Covers the Consumer Rights Act 2015 quality standards, tiered …

Start selling online legally

Everything you need to know before launching an online shop. Covers distance selling regulations, pre-contract information, cancellation rights, refund obligations, website compliance, …

Grow your retail business

Scale your retail business - expand online, open new locations, build your team, and manage increased compliance as you grow

Consumer Rights and Returns

Understand consumer rights for returns, refunds, and replacements under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.

Consumer rights compliance for digital content sellers

Your legal obligations under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 when selling software, apps, games, music, video, e-books, …

Consumer rights quick reference for traders

A quick reference card for traders covering what consumers can claim under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Key timeframes, remedy tiers, helpline …

Distance Selling and E-Commerce

Comply with Consumer Contracts Regulations for online, phone, and mail order sales.

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, …

E-commerce legal compliance checklist

Quick reference checklist for online retailers to audit their e-commerce legal setup against the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and the Digital Markets, …

E-commerce regulations for online selling

Legal requirements for selling online - including consumer contracts, pre-contract information, cancellation rights, and digital content regulations.

Write consumer-friendly terms and conditions

How to write consumer contracts that are legally compliant and enforceable. Covers the transparency requirement under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, terms …

7 more guides that reference this instrument

Connected legislation

The wider family of instruments made under the same parent Act.

Duty extraction and severity labels are Guvnor’s analysis of the instrument, not the instrument itself. Always verify against the linked source text.