Canceling an online order

As of 2010, you may be wondering what your rights are, in respect to canceling and returning an online order (UK consumer from UK suppliers). For most products, such as clothing, electronics and DVD's, you should be entitled to a 7 day cool off period.

This means that you can cancel the order and receive a full refund for seven days after the order date. There are some exceptions however, such as,

• Banking and financial products
• Lottery tickets
• Betting tickets
• Flowers or foods which may quickly spoil
• Sealed video games, compact discs, etc, which have been opened

Another exception is if you have ordered a service rather a goods product. If the service begins before the seven days have expired, then you may not have a right to claim a cancellation.

To cancel an online order, you will, of course, need to inform the supplier. You can inform a supplier in one of three ways,

• By post
• By fax
• By email

The safest, but slowest method is by post. If you send the letter by registered post then the supplier will have a tough task of denying they were informed in due time.

When should you receive a refund?

Not all suppliers will charge a credit card before the order has been shipped. If this is the case, then the supplier should immediately cancel the payment agreement upon cancellation notification.

However, if you have already paid for your goods or service before cancellation, you should expect to receive a full refund within a period of thirty days.