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Consumer rights · 1 min

Cooling-Off Deadline

For most things bought online, by phone or at your door in the EU and UK, you can cancel within 14 days without giving a reason. Enter when the clock started and read the exact deadline, plus the honest list of purchases the right does not cover.

Official sources — the law this page applies

Currency-agnostic · symbol only Rules version 1.0 Reviewed July 2026

Your details

days

For goods: days since delivery. For services and digital subscriptions: days since you placed the order.

The statutory right exists for distance and doorstep sales. In-store purchases have no automatic cooling-off; returns there are the shop's policy, not law.

If the seller failed to inform you, the period extends by up to 12 months.

Everything is calculated in your browser as you type. Nothing you enter is sent or stored, and no account is needed.

Your result

You can still cancel.

9 days left

to send the cancellation — sending it in time is what counts

Your deadline

Statutory period
Days used
Days left to send the cancellation
After cancelling: send goods back within
Refund due within

How the clock starts

What you boughtClock startsPeriod

What decides your case

Worth checking

No cooling-off right exists for: custom-made or personalised items, sealed goods unsealed after delivery (hygiene, software, media), perishables, urgent repairs you requested, and digital content once you agreed to immediate access and downloading began. Sellers rely on that last one — the checkbox you clicked at checkout.

Cancelling in time is about sending the notice within the period, not the seller receiving it. Email works; keep a copy. The seller then refunds within 14 days, including standard outbound shipping, though they may wait until the goods are back or proof of return arrives.

This page states the EU Consumer Rights Directive and the UK's equivalent regulations in their general form. Member states add details, and in-store returns remain pure shop policy everywhere.

Common questions

How long is the cooling-off period for online purchases?
14 days in the EU and UK, no reason needed. For goods it runs from delivery; for services and subscriptions, from the day you ordered. You then have another 14 days to send goods back, and the seller must refund within 14 days of cancellation or of receiving the return.
Does the 14-day return right apply in physical stores?
No. The statutory cooling-off right covers distance selling (online, phone, mail) and doorstep sales. A physical shop can set any returns policy it likes, including none, for a non-faulty item — the generous window on the receipt is goodwill, not law. Faulty goods are a separate, stronger right.
What if the seller never mentioned the right to cancel?
The period extends by up to 12 months beyond the original 14 days. The moment the seller belatedly provides the information, a fresh 14-day window starts. Sellers who bury or omit the notice lose the exception arguments too, which makes this the first thing to check in the order confirmation.
How this is calculated

The rules below come from the EU Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) and the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. The page maps your answers onto them; nothing is fetched or stored.

goods → 14 days from delivery services → 14 days from the order not informed → period extends up to 12 months after cancelling → return goods ≤ 14 days; refund ≤ 14 days

The gauge counts your days against the applicable period. “Sending counts” is the directive's own rule: the cancellation must be dispatched before the period ends.

This is not legal advice. Exceptions are listed above in full; when a purchase sits near one of them, the seller's terms and your national consumer body settle it.