Cooling-off period

A cooling-off period is a window in which you can cancel a contract without giving a reason or paying a penalty. In the UK, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give 14 days for distance contracts (online, phone, mail order) and contracts made away from the trader’s premises.

According to regulation 30, for services “the cancellation period ends at the end of 14 days after the day on which the contract is entered into”. For goods, the 14 days start when you receive them, or the last item of a multi-part order.

Example: a service contract made online on 10 October 2026 can be cancelled until the end of 24 October 2026.

Two rules change the outcome:

• If you expressly ask for a service to start during the 14 days, regulation 36 lets the trader charge a proportionate amount for what it supplied.
• If the trader did not tell you about your right to cancel, regulation 31 extends the period by up to 12 months, or to 14 days after you receive the information.

Shop purchases have no statutory cooling-off period. Check dates in your contract with the contract date extractor.