The sheet to print
Regretted online purchase: the sheet to keep
Eight reflexes, in the order they serve, from the mandatory-reason form to the full refund. Each carries the text that grounds it.
File EU 2011/83
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Law as verified onJuly 29, 2026
- 01
Write “I withdraw”, and nothing more
An unequivocal statement addressed to the seller is enough: the model form exists, but any clear sentence counts. No reason to provide. Keep the acknowledgment of receipt: the burden of proving you exercised the right is on you.
Article 11(1) and (4) · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 11 (Exercise of the right of withdrawal), paragraphs 1 and 4 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 02
Count from the day of delivery
14 days from the day you, or the person you indicated, acquire physical possession of the goods. Neither the order, nor the payment, nor the dispatch starts the clock.
Article 9(2), point (b) · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 9 (Right of withdrawal), paragraph 2, point (b) · eur-lex.europa.eu - 03
Check the list of exceptions before writing
Plane and train tickets, concert tickets, bookings for specific dates, perishable goods, personalised items: the official list is public. A claim lost in advance weakens the ones that are well founded.
Section “Exceptions” · Returns: the exceptions to the cooling-off period · europa.eu - 04
Look at who is selling before you pay
The right of withdrawal does not cover goods bought from a private individual. On a marketplace, the seller's status, professional or private, is read before the purchase.
Section “Exceptions” · Returns: goods bought from a private individual · europa.eu - 05
Send back within fourteen days, the posting date rules
The return leaves at the latest 14 days after your statement, and the deadline is met upon dispatch. The direct return costs stay with you if they were announced before the purchase.
Article 14(1) · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 14 (Obligations of the consumer in the event of withdrawal), paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 06
Pay the extra that gives you proof of dispatch
The seller may withhold the refund until the goods come back or until your evidence of having sent them, whichever comes first. With a receipt, you do not wait on the goodwill of their warehouse.
Article 13(3) · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 13, paragraph 3 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 07
Demand the money, not a store credit, standard delivery included
All payments are reimbursed within 14 days of your withdrawal, by the same means of payment as the initial transaction, unless you expressly agree to another means. An imposed store credit is not a refund.
Article 13(1) · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 13 (Obligations of the trader in the event of withdrawal), paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu - 08
A seller who hid your right gave you twelve more months
When the trader fails to inform you of your right of withdrawal, the period expires 12 months from the end of the initial period. Check what the sales page and the order confirmation actually said.
Article 10(1) · Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights), Article 10 (Omission of information on the right of withdrawal), paragraph 1 · eur-lex.europa.eu
General information on the European baseline, not legal advice on your case. Independent educational site, unconnected to the institutions of the European Union. The redress links in this file point only to official bodies.
Sources checked on July 29, 2026. · https://depleindroit.odersa.org/en/fiches/l-achat-en-ligne-regrette · Content licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What the law owes you
Every right with its amount or its deadline, the extract of the official text it rests on, and its address.
Withdraw within fourteen days: no reason to give
14 days
For a purchase made online, by phone or at your doorstep, you can cancel the contract within 14 days without providing any justification. For goods, the period runs from the date of delivery; for services, from the day the contract was agreed.
The official text · Section “Right of withdrawal: a 14-day cooling-off period”
Your Europe · European Union · https://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/consumers/shopping/returns/index_en.htm“This means you can cancel the contract within 14 days without providing any justification (the "cooling-off period"). For goods this means 14 days from the date of delivery, for services 14 days after the day the contract was agreed.”
A written starting point: taking possession
For a sale, the withdrawal period expires 14 days after the day you, or a third party you indicated, acquire physical possession of the goods. The order date and the payment date do not count.
The official text · Article 9(2), point (b)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“2. Without prejudice to Article 10, the withdrawal period referred to in paragraph 1 of this Article shall expire after 14 days […] (b) in the case of sales contracts, the day on which the consumer or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by the consumer acquires physical possession of the goods”
Trying is not consuming
You are only liable for the diminished value caused by handling that goes beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods. An unboxed, tried product remains covered by the right.
The official text · Article 14(2)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“2. The consumer shall only be liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling of the goods other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.”
Fourteen days to send back, the posting date rules
The return leaves at the latest 14 days after your statement of withdrawal, and the deadline is met upon dispatch. You bear only the direct cost of returning the goods, and only if the seller informed you of it before the purchase.
The official text · Article 14(1)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“1. Unless the trader has offered to collect the goods himself, the consumer shall send back the goods or hand them over to the trader or to a person authorised by the trader to receive the goods, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which he has communicated his decision to withdraw from the contract to the trader in accordance with Article 11. The deadline shall be met if the consumer sends back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. The consumer shall only bear the direct cost of returning the goods unless the trader has agreed to bear them or the trader failed to inform the consumer that the consumer has to bear them.”
All payments, same means, fourteen days
The trader reimburses all payments received, delivery costs included, within 14 days of your withdrawal, using the same means of payment as your initial transaction, unless you expressly agree to another means.
The official text · Article 13(1)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“1. The trader shall reimburse all payments received from the consumer, including, if applicable, the costs of delivery without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which he is informed of the consumer's decision to withdraw from the contract in accordance with Article 11. The trader shall carry out the reimbursement referred to in the first subparagraph using the same means of payment as the consumer used for the initial transaction, unless the consumer has expressly agreed otherwise and provided that the consumer does not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.”
The seller's silence stretches the period by twelve months
If the trader fails to inform you of your right of withdrawal, the period expires 12 months from the end of the initial withdrawal period. A house policy that keeps quiet about your right does not shorten it: it extends it.
The official text · Article 10(1)
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“1. If the trader has not provided the consumer with the information on the right of withdrawal as required by point (h) of Article 6(1), the withdrawal period shall expire 12 months from the end of the initial withdrawal period, as determined in accordance with Article 9(2).”
The exceptions are the text's, not the seller's
The right of withdrawal has exceptions, and it is EU law that sets them. A returns policy adds none: any contractual term which directly or indirectly waives or restricts the rights resulting from the directive is not binding on the consumer, and the consumer cannot waive those rights.
The official text · Article 25
Official Journal of the European Union · EUR-Lex · https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=CELEX:02011L0083-20220528“If the law applicable to the contract is the law of a Member State, consumers may not waive the rights conferred on them by the national measures transposing this Directive. Any contractual terms which directly or indirectly waive or restrict the rights resulting from this Directive shall not be binding on the consumer.”
This site is educational and independent: it is not an official site of the European Union, and this verdict is not legal advice on your case. The deadlines and wordings quoted are copied from the official text or the official page, whose link appears under each right.
File EU 2011/83
The items in this file
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