Legal support Cooling-off period / right of withdrawal

The right of withdrawal, distance selling law, cooling-off period, reflection period. These are all terms for the same thing: the customer's right to return an online purchase.

Two times 14 days

A customer has the legal right to return a product within 14 days of receipt without giving a reason. After this period, the customer has another 14 days to actually return the product. This means that you will be without the product for a maximum of 28 days. The customer does not have to keep the product in its packaging, but may remove it to examine it. You must inform your customers of these rights. If you fail to do so, the cooling-off period will be extended to 12 months. These are all legal provisions that you must comply with as a retailer.

Inform

You must inform your customers of this right of withdrawal. Simply stating this in the terms and conditions is not sufficient. We therefore recommend that you copy and paste the following text onto an information page about the cooling-off period.

You have the right to cancel your order up to 14 days after the day of receipt without giving any reason. After cancellation, you have another 14 days to return your product. You will then be credited with the full order amount including shipping costs. Only the costs for returning the product from your home to the online store are at your own expense. These costs are approximately $7.25 per package. For the exact rates, please consult the website of your carrier. If you exercise your right of withdrawal, the product will be returned to the entrepreneur with all accessories supplied and, if reasonably possible, in its original condition and packaging. To exercise this right, please contact us at UWEMAIL@uwwinkel.nl. We will then refund the order amount due within 14 days of notification of your return, provided that the product has already been returned in good order. If the product is damaged or the packaging is more damaged than is necessary to try the product, we may charge you for this reduction in value of the product. Therefore, please handle the product with care and ensure that it is well packaged when returning it.

Is this standard text not applicable, for example because the products you sell are not subject to the right of withdrawal? If so, please refer to the page with more sample texts on the right of withdrawal

Money back including shipping costs

You are obliged to refund the order amount (including any shipping costs). This must be done within 14 days of notification of return, but you may wait until the product has actually been returned. You must use the same method as was used for payment, but in consultation you may use a different refund method. Read all about refunds after returns here

Exceptions

A number of products may be excluded from return, but these exceptions are laid down by law. These include, for example, custom-made or non-perishable products. However, you may not simply exclude other products from return, such as special offers or products ordered specifically for the customer. These products may be returned in accordance with the law. Read more about exceptions to the cooling-off period

Want to know more?

In this blog post, we take a closer look at the right of return.