- Made under
- European Communities Act 1972
- 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.
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.
General
1 of 6 sections shownOther 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
Information requirements
11 of 20 sections shown- Give consumers key contract information before they're boundTrader
- 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
- Provide a copy or confirmation of off-premises contractsTrader
- 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
- 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
- Disclose identity and purpose at start of sales callsTrader
- Identify yourself and your purpose during sales callsTrader
- Provide contract confirmation for distance salesTrader
- Provide contract confirmation on a durable mediumTrader
- Provide written confirmation of distance contractsTrader
- Fail to give notice of cancellation rightTrader
- Fail to give required cancellation noticeTrader
Unlimited fine
- Be liable for another's failure to give cancellation noticeAny Person
- Cause another person to breach consumer cancellation notice dutiesAny Person
Unlimited fine
- Company and officer liability for offences under regulation 19Director or Officer
- Corporate offence liability for officersDirector or Officer
Unlimited fine
Other duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Trading Standards and DETI must enforce distance selling rulesLocal authority
9 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Right to cancel
6 of 12 sections shown- Acknowledge consumer cancellations promptlyTrader
- Acknowledge consumer cancellations promptly on a durable mediumTrader
- Acknowledge receipt of online contract cancellations immediatelyTrader
- Reimburse consumers promptly when they cancel or withdrawTrader
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Inform other traders when a consumer cancels an ancillary contractTrader
6 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Protection from inertia selling and additional charges
1 of 3 sections shown- 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
Delivery and risk
0 of 2 sections shown2 other sections in this Part — procedural and definitional
Enforcement
2 of 3 sections shownOther duties (1) — Crown / regulator
- Trading Standards and the CMA must consider consumer contract complaintsLocal authority
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
Consequential amendments
0 of 1 section shown1 other section in this Part — procedural and definitional
Schedules
0 of 23 shown23 other schedules
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.