In the guide
This guidance is for England, Scotland & Wales
Traders must comply with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 when they sell goods, services and digital content away from their business premises, such as on your doorstep, in your home or at your place of work. These are called 'off-premises' contracts.
You have the right to cancel most off-premises contracts and the cancellation period is 14 days. Traders must give you certain informationbefore they make a contract with you. They must get your clear agreement if they want to charge you for 'extras'. There are clear rules on delivery and the point at which you become responsible for the goods. If the trader supplies you with 'unsolicited' goods (goods that you have not ordered) you can keep them and you do not have to pay for them.
These Regulations also cover 'on-premises' contracts (when you buy from a trader at their business premises) and 'distance' contracts (when you buy without face-to-face contact with the trader, such as online).
You also have rights and remedies under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 when a trader supplies you with goods, services and digital content.
What is an off-premises contract?
An off-premises contract is a contract between you and a trader when any of the following occur:
'Business premises' includethe trader's permanent place of business as well as temporary sites where they normally operate, such as market stalls.
It is important tonote that if a trader visits you at home and leaves a quotation with you, or sends you one later and you do not immediately agree to go ahead with the contract, it becomesan on-premises contract rather than an off-premises or distance contract. This means that the trader does not have to give you the same pre-contract information and does not have to give you cancellation rights. For example, a trader who supplies and installs kitchens callsat your home by appointment. After you have discussed your requirements, the trader measures up and then leaves you with a written quotation. You are told that the price quoted will be honoured if you go ahead with the contract within a specified number ofmonths. A month later, you agree to sign the contract. As you did not agree to thecontract immediately, it is classed asan on-premises contract rather than an off-premises one.
Which types of contract do the Regulations apply to?
The contract you have with the trader will fall into one of the categories of contract listed below:
Which contracts don't the Regulations apply to?
Not all sales, service and digital content contracts are covered by these Regulations (but you will have rights under other legislation). The excluded contracts are:
Information the trader must give you
When you buy goods, services or digital content under an off-premises contract you are entitled to expect that the trader provides you with certain information, as set out below. This information must be given on paper or, if you agree, in another durable form such as email. It must be clear, understandable and legible and providedbeforeyou enter into the contract. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, this information is considered a term of the contract you have with the trader (unless it relates to the main characteristics of the goods or the main characteristics, functionality and compatibility ofdigital content). If a trader does not provide you with the required information, or it is changed without your clear agreement, you can make a claim to have your costs (if you have any) reimbursed.
*If the trader does not give you this information you do not have to pay those charges
If you ask a trader to perform a repair or maintenance service immediately and it costs 170 or less, the trader does not have to provide the information listed above. However, there are rules that they must satisfy before the contract is made:
After the contract is made, you must be given a copy of the signed contract or confirmation of the contract in a durable form (such as paper or email), which includes all the information listed above. If the trader gave you this information before the contract was concluded they don't have to give you it again. This information forms part of the contract that you have with the trader. If the trader changes the information, either before you make the contract or at a later stage, it does not take effect unless you and the trader have clearly agreed that it will.
Note that this part of the Regulations does not apply to NHS medicinal products or services, passenger transport contracts or to contracts where you pay no more than 42.
Contracts you can't cancel
There are certain contracts that you doNOT have the right to cancel under these Regulations. You should check the list below before assuming you have cancellation rights:
Take note that if you unseal goods after delivery that must remain sealed for health or hygiene reasons, unseal audio, video or computer software after delivery or mix goods with other goods after delivery so that they are inseparable (such as mixing sand with cement), you lose your right to cancel the contract.
Your right to cancel the contract
The Regulations give you the right to cancel an off-premises contract at any time and for any reason within the cancellation period. You also have the right to withdraw your offer to buy before the contract is made.
| Type of contract | Cancellation period |
| sales contract: goods, including goods supplied with a service | 14 days after the day you (or the person such as a neighbour with whom you have an arrangement) takes possession of the goods |
| sales contract: multiple goods in one order but delivered on different days | 14 days after the day you (or the person such as a neighbour with whom you have an arrangement) takes possession of the last of the goods |
| sales contract: goods consisting of multiple lots or pieces delivered on different days | 14 days after the day you (or the person such as a neighbour with whom you have an arrangement) takes possession of the last of the lots or pieces |
| sales contract: regular delivery of goods over a set period that is longer that one day | 14 days after the day you (or the person such as a neighbour with whom you have an arrangement) takes possession of the first of the goods |
| service contract | 14 days after the day on which the contract was made |
| digital content not supplied on tangible medium (downloads etc) | 14 days after the day on which the contract was made (unless you asked for the download to be started within this period, you knew you would lose your right to cancel and the trader provided this information as part of the contract confirmation) |
If the trader does not provide you with information on your cancellation rights, the cancellation period can be extended by up to 12 months depending on when / whether the information is provided.
It is a criminal offence if a trader fails to give you a notice of your right to cancel, fails to inform you that you may have to pay the cost of returning goods if you cancel and fails to inform you that you have to pay for services when you ask for them to be carried out within the cancellation period. Report your complaint to the Citizens Advice consumer service so that it can be referred to trading standards.
You have the right tocancel the contract before it beginsor cancel a contract during the cancellation period by informing the trader of your intentions. You can use the cancellation form provided by the trader if you wish (but you do not have to). You are entitled to a refund of all payments, including payment for, or equivalent to, the cost of basic delivery (if you choose deliveryarrangements that are more expensivethan the basic type,you will not get a refund for this).This should be within 14 days or, if you are returning goods, 14 days from when the trader received the goods back from you. If you can provide evidence to show that you returned the goods, you can obtain your refund earlier. The trader must collect the goods after cancellation if they agreed to do soor if they were delivered to your home and cannot be returned by post, otherwise you are responsible for returning them within 14 days from cancellation. Unless the trader has agreed to pay the return costs, you must do so but the trader is required to inform you of this. The trader is not allowed to charge you a cancellation fee.
You are entitled to check the goods to make sure you are happy with their nature, characteristics and function but if the trader believes you have used them more than was necessary to decide if they aresuitable, they may be able to claim compensation from you up to the contract price. Try to treat goods like you would in a shop. How would you inspect them in a shop before you bought them?
There are times when you may want the trader to start a service straight away. You are required to make this request in a durable form, such as in writing or by email.
Under these circumstances, the tradermustinform you that you lose your right to cancel once the contract has been performed (this does not apply to utility contracts). If the service has not been completed and you cancel within the cancellation period, you will have to pay for the part of the service that the trader has carried out. If goods are supplied with a service, you have the right to return the goods if you cancel within the cancellation period but you may be liable to pay some or all of the service costs. For example, if you have a washing machine installed and you decide to cancel within your cancellation period you should get a refund for the washing machine but you may have to pay any installation charge.
If you withdraw or cancel a contract in most cases any ancillary contract (a contract that is connected to the main contract, such as a warranty) is automatically terminated at no cost to you.
Additional payments under the contract
If the trader offers you an 'extra' that is linked to the main contract, such as gift wrapping or special delivery, they must always get your clear agreement to charge you for it. This means that the trader cannot have a pre-ticked box in an order form, for example, that you have to 'un-tick' or ask the trader to remove to avoid payment. If you did not agree you will not have to pay, and if you have paid you are entitled to claim a refund.
Telephone helpline charges
If the trader provides a telephone helpline for you to contact them about a contract that you have entered into, they can only charge you the 'basic rate'. This means the normal geographic or mobile rate. Numbers beginning with the prefixes 01, 02, 03 or 07 (except those beginning 070) and Freephone numbers beginning 0800 and 0808 meet the requirements of the Regulations.If the trader charges you more than the basic rate, you are entitled to reclaim the extra from them.
Delivery of goods
The trader must deliver the goods to you unless you have agreed otherwise. The goods must be delivered without undue delay or in any event not more than 30 days after the day on which you entered the contract.This does not prevent you and the trader from agreeing your own arrangements for delivery but you should ensure this arrangement is written into the contract.
If any of the following apply:
... you are entitled to cancel the contract and claim a full refund.
If you order multiple goods from the trader and some of them are not delivered on time or not at all, you have an alternative to ending the contract. You can cancel the order for any of the goods or reject goods that have been delivered. The trader must refund you for the part of the order you cancelled or for the goods you rejected. Where goods form part of a 'commercial unit' (for example, a set of cutlery) you cannot cancel part of the order, you have to cancel the whole order. These Regulations do not prevent you from seeking other remedies for late delivery if you so wish.
When are you responsible for the goods?
You become responsible for the goods when youor a person identified by you to take delivery, takes actual possession of them. Until that time, the trader is responsible for them even if they use a carrier. If you organise your own carrier, then the trader is only responsible for the goods until your carrier takes possession of them.
Inertia selling
If a trader supplies unsolicited goods, you are entitled to keep them as an unconditional gift and do not have to pay for them. Inertia selling is a banned practice under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
'On-premises' & 'distance' contracts
These Regulations also deal with a trader's obligations when they sell from their business premises (including mobile premises) and when they sell at a distance without face-to-face contact with you.
See the guides 'Buying from business premises: on-premises contracts explained' and 'Buying by internet, phone and mail order: distance contracts explained' for information on these other types of contract.
What about faulty goods or digital content, or a service that is below a reasonable standard?
The Regulations described above are in addition to the rights and remedies you have under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 when goods, digital content or services are supplied to you.
The 'Sale & supply of goods: your consumer rights' , 'Supply of digital content: your consumer rights' and 'Supply of services: your consumer rights' guides give more information on your rights and remedies.
The 'Sale & supply of goods: what to do if things go wrong' , 'Supply of digital content: what to do if things go wrong' and 'Supply of services: what to do if thing go wrong' guides give you a clear direction to follow when you want to complain.
Key legislation
Last reviewed / updated: July 2020
Please note
This information is intended for guidance; only the courts can give an authoritative interpretation of the law.
The guide's 'Key legislation' links may only show the original version of the legislation, although some amending legislation is linked to separately where it is directly related to the content of a guide. Information on amendments to legislation can be found on each link's 'More Resources' tab.
For further information in England and Wales contact the Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 2231133. In Scotland contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 164 6000. Both provide free, confidential and impartial advice on consumer issues.
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