The "Distance Selling Regulations" no longer exist — since 13 June 2014 UK online sales have been governed by the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which give most customers a 14-day right to cancel, require specific pre-sale information, and set clear rules on refunds. The old name stuck because it's what everyone still types into Google, but if you're selling online in the UK today, it's the 2013 Regulations you actually have to follow.
This guide walks through what those rules require in plain English: the information you must give before someone buys, the 14-day cooling-off period and its important exceptions, how refunds and return postage work, and the confirmation you owe every customer. It's general information to help you get your shop in order, not legal advice — for anything specific, check GOV.UK or speak to a qualified adviser.
Why "distance selling regulations" is the wrong name
The original Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 covered sales made without a face-to-face meeting — online, by phone, by mail order. They were replaced by the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, which came into force on 13 June 2014 and implemented an EU-wide consumer rights directive. Despite Brexit, these Regulations remain UK law and still apply.
The 2013 Regulations sit alongside — but are separate from — the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which governs whether goods are of satisfactory quality, as described, and fit for purpose. Think of it this way: the Consumer Rights Act is about the product; the Consumer Contracts Regulations are about the process of buying at a distance. You need both. Our guide to UK consumer rights law for online sellers covers the quality-and-faults side in detail.
The pre-contract information you must give
Before a customer places an order, the Regulations require you to give certain information in a clear and understandable way. Get this wrong and, in some cases, the contract can be affected or the cancellation window extended. The core items include:
A clear description of the goods, digital content or service, and how long any commitment lasts.
The total price including taxes, or how it will be calculated, plus all delivery charges and any other costs. No surprise fees added at the final step.
Your business identity and contact details — trading name, geographic address and a way to contact you.
Delivery arrangements and the expected time for delivery or performance.
The right to cancel, how to exercise it, and who pays for return postage if the customer changes their mind.
Payment, complaints handling, and any after-sales service or guarantees.
A crucial detail people miss: at the moment the customer commits to pay, the order button (or its equivalent) must make it unambiguous that placing the order involves an obligation to pay. Wording such as "Pay now" or "Buy now" satisfies this; a vague "Submit" or "Continue" may not. If you don't make the payment obligation clear, the customer may not be bound by the order at all. This is one reason a well-structured checkout matters commercially as well as legally — we cover the wider psychology in designing trust into your checkout.
The 14-day right to cancel
This is the headline right, and the one customers know best. For most goods bought online, the consumer has 14 days to change their mind and cancel — no reason required. Two timings sit inside that:
The cancellation period. For goods, the 14 days generally start the day after the customer receives them. If an order arrives in several instalments, the clock typically starts the day after the last item is delivered. For a service, it runs from the day after the contract is entered into.
The return period. Once a customer has told you they're cancelling, they then have a further 14 days to actually send the goods back.
The customer must be able to inform you clearly that they're cancelling. You can offer a model cancellation form, but they're allowed to use any clear statement — an email is fine. They don't have to use your form or your words.
The exceptions that trip merchants up
Not everything carries a right to cancel. Some categories are exempt, and some lose the right once a specific event happens. The common ones:
Custom-made or personalised goods. Items made to the customer's specification — engraved, monogrammed, cut to size — are generally exempt. This matters enormously for the growing number of made-to-order British micro-brands.
Perishable goods. Food, flowers and anything that will deteriorate or expire quickly.
Sealed goods unsealed for health or hygiene reasons. Think cosmetics, earrings or certain personal-care items — if the customer breaks the seal, the cancellation right can fall away.
Downloaded digital content. Once a customer starts downloading or streaming digital content, they lose the right to cancel — but only if they gave express consent to start before the 14 days were up and acknowledged that they'd lose the right. If you don't capture both, the right survives.
Sealed audio, video or software once unsealed, and newspapers or magazines (though subscriptions are treated differently).
If you sell exempt items, say so clearly before purchase — customers who aren't warned are far more likely to dispute. If you sell downloadable products or gift cards, your checkout needs to record that consent and acknowledgement, not just assume it.
Refunds and return postage — who pays what
Refund timing is prescriptive, so get it right:
Refund within 14 days. Once goods are returned, you must refund within 14 days of receiving them back (or within 14 days of the customer providing evidence they've sent them, whichever is sooner). For a service or a cancelled contract with no goods, it's 14 days from being told of the cancellation.
Refund the standard delivery cost too. You must refund the original outbound delivery charge — but only up to the cost of your cheapest standard option. If a customer paid extra for next-day delivery, you needn't refund that premium.
Return postage is usually the customer's. The consumer normally pays the cost of returning goods after cancelling — provided you told them so before they bought. If you didn't make this clear in your pre-contract information, you have to cover the return cost yourself.
You can reduce a refund for reduced value. If goods have been handled beyond what's needed to inspect them — worn, used, damaged through excessive handling — you may deduct an amount reflecting the lost value.
Refund the way they paid. Use the same payment method the customer used, unless they agree otherwise, and don't charge a fee for issuing the refund.
Because return-postage terms hinge entirely on disclosure, this is worth spelling out plainly in your policy and repeating at checkout. With Stripe-based payments, refunds go back to the original card automatically, which keeps you inside the "same method" rule without manual workarounds.
Confirmation: the durable medium requirement
After the sale, you must give the customer confirmation of the contract — including any information you didn't already provide — on a "durable medium". In practice, a confirmation email is the standard way to meet this. It has to arrive within a reasonable time after the order and, for goods, no later than the moment they're delivered. A good automated order-confirmation email that restates the price, the delivery terms, the right to cancel and how to exercise it usually satisfies the requirement in one go.
A practical compliance checklist
None of this requires a legal team. Most of it is about disclosure and process. To get compliant:
Publish a clear returns and cancellations policy that states the 14-day right, any exempt products, and who pays return postage.
Show full pricing including delivery before the customer commits — no fees revealed only at the end.
Make sure your order button clearly signals payment ("Pay now" / "Buy now").
Send an order-confirmation email that repeats the key terms.
For digital products, capture consent to start delivery and acknowledgement of losing the cancellation right.
Refund within 14 days, including standard outbound delivery.
A modern platform helps you tick most of these off without custom development. On Dirora, the checkout shows delivery costs up front, order-confirmation emails go out automatically, and your policy pages and cancellation terms live in the Visual Theme Editor so you can keep them clear and current. And because Dirora charges no transaction fees on any plan, processing a change-of-mind refund doesn't cost you a per-sale platform cut on top. If you also sell abroad, the same disclosure discipline applies market by market — our consumer-rights guide and privacy-focused GDPR for small online shops round out the picture, since data protection sits right alongside these contract rules at checkout.
The bottom line
The "Distance Selling Regulations" are a memory, but the protections they represented are stronger than ever under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Give clear information before the sale, honour the 14-day right to cancel while flagging the genuine exceptions, refund promptly and be upfront about return postage, and confirm everything in writing. Do those five things and you're not just compliant — you're running the kind of transparent shop customers actually trust.
This article is general information, not legal advice, and the rules can change. Check the current guidance on GOV.UK or consult a qualified professional before finalising your policies.
Frequently asked questions
Do the Distance Selling Regulations still apply in the UK?
No. The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 were replaced on 13 June 2014 by the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. People still search for the old name, but it's the 2013 Regulations that apply to online sales today.
How long does a customer have to cancel an online order?
For most goods, 14 days from the day after they receive the item. They must tell you they're cancelling within that period, and then have a further 14 days to return the goods. For services, the 14 days run from the day after the contract is made.
Which products are exempt from the 14-day right to cancel?
Common exemptions include custom-made or personalised items, perishable goods, sealed items unsealed for hygiene reasons, and downloaded digital content once the customer has consented to start and acknowledged they'll lose the right. Always tell customers before they buy if an item is exempt.
Who pays for return postage on a cancelled order?
The customer normally pays to return the goods, but only if you told them so in your pre-sale information. If you didn't make that clear before purchase, you have to cover the return cost yourself.
How quickly must I refund a cancelled order?
Within 14 days of receiving the goods back, or of the customer providing proof they've been sent, whichever is sooner. You must also refund the standard outbound delivery cost, though not any premium a customer paid for faster shipping.