Your rights
Refunds after cancelling in the cooling-off period
legislation.gov.uk · GOV.UKLast checked 11 Nov 2026
Once you cancel within the cooling-off period, regulation 34 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 sets out the refund.
Refund rules
- The trader must reimburse all payments received from you, including standard delivery (reg. 34(1)-(2)).
- For services, and for goods where the trader has offered to collect them, the deadline is the end of 14 days after the trader is informed of your decision (reg. 34(6)). For goods otherwise, it is 14 days after they receive the goods back or you supply evidence of sending them (reg. 34(5)).
- The refund must use the same means of payment unless you agreed otherwise, and no fee may be charged (reg. 34(7)-(8)).
If the service already started
If you expressly asked for the service to start during the cancellation period, you may have to pay a proportionate amount for what was supplied up to when you cancelled (reg. 36(4)).
You pay nothing for it if the trader did not give you the required information about the right to cancel or about that cost, or if the service was not supplied at your request (reg. 36(6)).
Quick answers
How long does a trader have to refund a cancelled service?
The end of 14 days after the trader is informed of your decision to cancel (reg. 34(6)).
Can they charge a refund fee?
No. Regulation 34(8) says the trader must not impose any fee in respect of the reimbursement.