Consumer Rights Act refund after 30 days: UK online rules

A UK customer who buys online has two different refund rights. They can cancel for any reason within 14 days of delivery under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, and if the goods are faulty they can reject them for a full refund within 30 days under the Consumer Rights Act 2015; after 30 days a faulty item gets a repair or replacement first, and a refund only if that fails.

The two are easy to mix up in a refund email. Below: the rules for each, and five replies. Words in double braces, like {{order_number}}, are blanks: fill each one from the order, never from memory.

Which right applies

	Right to cancel	Short-term right to reject
Law	Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regs. 29–35	Consumer Rights Act 2015, ss. 20–22
Goods must be faulty?	No, any reason	Yes: GOV.UK says faulty, not as described, or doesn't do what it's supposed to
Time limit	14 days after the goods come into the customer's possession	30 days, from the day after ownership has passed and the goods are delivered
Return postage	Customer, if you told them so before the sale	You, for the reasonable costs
Refund deadline	14 days after you get the goods back, or evidence they were sent	14 days from the day you agree the customer is entitled

GOV.UK adds: customers have the same rights on sale items as at full price, and it is illegal to take away customers' rights or mislead them about them, "for example by displaying a sign that says you do not accept returns or offer refunds".

The 14-day right to cancel

Regulation 29(1) lets the customer cancel a distance contract "at any time in the cancellation period without giving any reason". The period starts when the contract is made (reg. 29(2)), so a customer can cancel before the parcel arrives. It ends 14 days after the day the goods come into the physical possession of the customer, or a person other than the carrier they named; for an order delivered on different days, 14 days after the last item arrives (reg. 30).

If you didn't give the information on the right to cancel before the sale, the period ends 12 months after it would have ended; if you give the information within those 12 months, it ends 14 days after the customer receives it (reg. 31).

How they cancel. They use the model cancellation form in Schedule 3 or "make any other clear statement setting out the decision to cancel the contract" (reg. 32(3)). It counts if sent before the period ends. If you offer an online cancellation form, you must acknowledge each one "on a durable medium without delay" (reg. 32(4)).

Sending it back. Unless you offered to collect, they must send the goods back "without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days" after telling you. They bear the direct cost unless you agreed to, or didn't tell them they would have to (reg. 35).

The refund (reg. 34):

• All payments, and the delivery charge up to "the least expensive common and generally acceptable kind of delivery offered by the trader".
• By the end of 14 days after you receive the goods back, or after the customer supplies evidence of sending them, if earlier. If you offered to collect, 14 days after they told you.
• The same means of payment, unless they expressly agreed otherwise, and no fee.
• You may deduct a loss in value caused by handling "beyond the sort of handling that might reasonably be allowed in a shop", but not if you didn't give the cancellation information.

Exceptions (reg. 28). No right to cancel for goods "made to the consumer's specifications or are clearly personalised", goods "liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly", and newspapers and magazines except subscriptions. The right ends once sealed hygiene goods, or sealed audio, video or software, are unsealed after delivery, or goods are inseparably mixed with other items.

The 30-day short-term right to reject

When goods don't conform to the contract, section 19(3) of the Consumer Rights Act gives the customer three remedies: the short-term right to reject, the right to repair or replacement, and the right to a price reduction or the final right to reject.

The customer rejects by indicating it; section 20(6) says this "may be something the consumer says or does, but it must be clear enough to be understood by the trader". From then on:

• you must refund them, and they must make the goods available for collection, or return them if you agreed that;
• you "must bear any reasonable costs of returning them" (s. 20(8)), except where they bring the goods back in person to where they took possession;
• the refund is due "without undue delay, and in any event within 14 days beginning with the day on which the trader agrees that the consumer is entitled to a refund", by the same means of payment, with no fee (s. 20(15)–(17)).

The 30 days run to "the end of 30 days beginning with the first day after" ownership has passed, the goods have been delivered, and any installation you must do is done (s. 22(3)). Goods that can reasonably be expected to perish sooner get that shorter period. If the customer agrees to a repair or replacement, the 30 days stop while they wait; if the repaired or replacement item is still faulty, they have 7 days after getting it back, or the rest of the original period if longer (s. 22(6)–(8)).

After 30 days: repair, replacement, then refund

Once the 30 days have passed, the customer can require a repair or replacement. You must do it "within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer" and pay the costs, "including in particular the cost of any labour, materials or postage" (s. 23(2)). The customer can't insist on one that is impossible or disproportionate compared with the other.

The refund comes with the next step. Section 24(5) gives a price reduction or the final right to reject, the customer's choice of one, when:

• after one repair or one replacement, the goods still don't conform;
• neither repair nor replacement is possible; or
• you didn't repair or replace within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience.

On a final rejection you may make a deduction for the use the customer has had, but not in the first 6 months after delivery, except for motor vehicles (s. 24(8)–(10)).

Who proves the fault. For repair, replacement, price reduction and final rejection, a fault that appears within 6 months of delivery is taken to have been there on delivery, unless it is established otherwise (s. 19(14)–(15)). GOV.UK puts it this way: "You can ask a customer to prove an item was faulty when they bought it if they ask for a repair or replacement after 6 months." It adds that customers have up to 6 years to make a claim (5 years in Scotland).

Template 1: change of mind, within 14 days

Hi {{first_name}},

No problem. I've noted your cancellation of order {{order_number}} on {{cancellation_date}}.

Please send the items to {{return_address}} by {{return_deadline}}. {{return_cost_sentence}}

As soon as they arrive, or you send us proof of postage, I'll refund {{refund_amount}}, including standard delivery, to the {{payment_method}} you paid with.

{{your_name}}

{{return_cost_sentence}} must match what you told the customer before they bought. {{return_deadline}} is 14 days after the day they told you.

Template 2: faulty, within 30 days

Check the delivery date in the order. Within 30 days, a full refund is the customer's choice, not yours.

Hi {{first_name}},

I'm sorry {{item_name}} arrived {{fault_description}}. You're entitled to a full refund, and we'll cover the return.

{{return_method_sentence}} I'll refund {{refund_amount}} to your {{payment_method}} within 14 days of today. If you'd rather have a replacement, just say so.

{{your_name}}

Template 3: faulty, after 30 days

Hi {{first_name}},

Thank you for telling us about the fault with {{item_name}} from order {{order_number}}. We'll put it right: we can {{repair_or_replace_offer}}, at no cost to you, including postage.

{{return_method_sentence}} If the {{repair_or_replacement}} doesn't fix the problem, you can then choose a price reduction or to return it for a refund.

{{your_name}}

If the fault appeared within 6 months of delivery, don't ask the customer to prove it was there from the start.

Template 4: a repair or replacement has already failed

Hi {{first_name}},

I'm sorry {{item_name}} is still {{fault_description}} after the {{repair_or_replacement}}. You can now choose either:

• a price reduction of {{price_reduction_amount}} and keep the item, or
• return it for a refund of {{refund_amount}}.

Reply with the one you'd like, and I'll arrange it today.

{{your_name}}

If the item was delivered more than 6 months ago, {{refund_amount}} may reflect a deduction for use; within 6 months, it is the full price.

Template 5: change of mind, after 14 days, not faulty

Check the delivery date, and whether your order confirmation gave the cancellation information. If it didn't, the period may still be open (reg. 31).

Hi {{first_name}},

Thanks for getting in touch about order {{order_number}}. It was delivered on {{delivery_date}}, and the 14-day period to cancel ended on {{cancellation_period_end}}, so I can't take it back under the cancellation rules. {{store_policy_sentence}}

If something is wrong with it, reply with a photo and I'll look at it straight away.

{{your_name}}

{{store_policy_sentence}} is for a longer window in your own policy, if you have one. More refund replies: the refund request templates and damaged or wrong item replies. Selling to the EU too? See the EU right of withdrawal.

Refund replies with Corresso

A UK refund reply starts with choosing the rule: cancellation, the 30-day right to reject, or repair first. Corresso drafts each reply from the documents your store approved, such as your returns policy, and every fact in the draft cites the document it came from.

Rules written in code hold any draft that promises a refund or replacement without citing a document allowed to offer one, and any draft with an order number or date the AI wrote itself. With Shopify connected (read-only), the order sits beside the email, and one click fills its details into the draft. A person reads every draft and presses Send. AI drafts, a person sends.

This is a summary, not legal advice. Sources read on 20 October 2026.