Clothes bought online in the UK come with a legal right to change your mind, one that does not exist in the same way on the high street. This guide explains how the 14 days work, what a seller can and cannot refuse, and when your money is due back.
Why online and in-shop returns are treated differently
When you buy in a shop, you can see and try the item. According to Citizens Advice, that means you have no automatic right to a refund simply because you changed your mind. Many shops offer 14 or 30 days for unused items, but that is the shop’s own policy, and sale items may have shorter windows.
Online, by phone or by mail order, the position differs. Because you could not see or try the garment first, the law gives you a cooling-off period. The rules sit in the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and GOV.UK summarises them for businesses: customers can cancel up to 14 days after an order is delivered, and do not need to give a reason.
One distinction is worth holding on to. Faulty goods are covered by separate rules, and Citizens Advice notes that faulty items are protected whatever a shop’s returns policy says. The cooling-off period is a change-of-mind right, which is why it matters for fit, colour and the simple regret of an impulse purchase.
When do the 14 days start?
Citizens Advice says the period begins the day after you receive the order. It runs for 14 days, and that is the legal minimum; a seller may offer longer, but not shorter. GOV.UK’s business guidance frames it the same way, as up to 14 days after delivery.
If an order arrives in several parcels, the sensible assumption is to count from the delivery of the item you want to return, and to check the seller’s terms. Keep the delivery confirmation email, since it fixes your start date.
What does cancelling actually involve?
There are two separate 14-day clocks, and the distinction trips people up.
| Step | What you must do | Deadline, according to Citizens Advice |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tell the seller | Say you do not want the item, ideally in writing, and keep a copy | Within 14 days of receiving it |
| 2. Send it back | Post or return the item, and keep proof of posting | A further 14 days after telling the seller |
| 3. Refund | The seller repays you | Within 14 days, counted from the day after the seller receives the item or proof of posting, whichever comes first |
Citizens Advice advises that if you cancel by phone you should note who you spoke to and follow up in writing. A cancellation message sent on day 14 is still in time, even though the parcel travels later. Note that Citizens Advice recommends checking the seller’s own terms, because some allow a longer return period.
Worked example
Illustrative arithmetic, using the rules above. A coat is delivered on 3 November. The period begins the day after, so the buyer has until about 17 November to tell the seller. If the buyer emails on 7 November, the further 14 days to return the coat run to 21 November. If the buyer posts it on 10 November and gives the seller proof of posting that day, the refund clock starts from the earlier of that proof or the coat’s arrival, rather than waiting for the parcel to be unpacked.
What can a seller refuse to take back?
The right to cancel has exceptions. Two matter most for clothing, and the legislation itself sets them out in regulation 28.
- Made-to-measure or personalised items. The regulations say the cancellation right does not apply to goods “made to the consumer’s specifications or … clearly personalised”. A jacket cut to your measurements, or a garment printed with your name, falls on the wrong side of the line.
- Sealed goods unsuitable for return for hygiene reasons. If these become unsealed after delivery, the cancellation rights cease. Citizens Advice gives earrings with a broken hygiene seal as an example. Whether a particular garment, such as swimwear or underwear with a hygiene sticker, falls in this category depends on the facts, and the legislation does not name clothing specifically.
Citizens Advice also notes that the cooling-off period does not apply to items from private sellers, such as people selling on social media marketplaces or in online auctions. A business must tell you before purchase if an item has no cooling-off period; a private seller does not have to.
For bespoke tailoring, the exception is one reason fitting is done in person. Our guide to what a tailor can and cannot alter covers what can be adjusted after you own a garment.
How much handling is allowed before a refund is reduced?
You are allowed to look at what you bought. The regulations let a trader recover a reduction in the goods’ value if you handled them beyond what was necessary to establish their nature, characteristics and functioning. They describe this as handling that goes beyond the sort that might reasonably be allowed in a shop.
In practice, that means trying a dress on is the sort of handling a shop would allow. Wearing it to an event, or washing it, is not. The regulation also says the trader cannot recover that reduction if it failed to give the required cancellation information beforehand.
Packaging is a separate matter. Citizens Advice says original packaging is not required, but the item must be protected, and you can be charged for damage caused by poor packaging. Leaving the tags attached and keeping the garment unworn remains the simplest way to avoid any dispute about condition.
Who pays for postage and delivery?
Citizens Advice sets out the position as follows:
- If the seller supplies a pre-paid returns label, you pay nothing to post it back.
- Otherwise, the seller’s terms say who pays; if they do not say, the seller must refund your postage.
- You can often return online orders to a shop in person, at no postage cost.
- Keep proof of posting. Proof of delivery may cost extra.
Outbound delivery is dealt with in the regulations. The trader must refund the delivery payment, unless you expressly chose a delivery option costing more than the least expensive common and generally acceptable kind the trader offered. In that case the refund is limited to what the cheapest option would have cost. So if standard delivery cost £3.99 and you paid £7.99 for next-day, the repayment of delivery would be £3.99, a £4.00 difference you bear yourself.
What if the seller never explained the right?
Sellers must give consumers certain information in writing, and email counts. According to Citizens Advice, if that information was not provided, the cooling-off period extends to one year and 14 days. GOV.UK’s business guidance reaches a similar point: if a customer is not told about the right to cancel, they can cancel at any time within 12 months, and if the business tells them during that period, they have 14 days from the date they are told.
That is a safeguard for buyers, but it is rarely the ideal route. Acting inside the ordinary 14 days is far simpler, and it is worth keeping the confirmation email and any returns policy page as a record of what you were told.
Are returns policies the same as legal rights?
Not always. A retailer’s returns page may offer 28 or 30 days, free collection or store credit. Those are commercial promises, and they can be more generous than the law. They cannot be less generous than the legal minimum for goods covered by the regulations. Citizens Advice advises checking the seller’s terms, since they may allow longer than the legal minimum.
Returns also have a wider context. Frequent returns carry costs for sellers and the environment, and the fate of unwanted clothing is part of a larger system, which our piece on where donated clothes go after collection explains. A pre-purchase check of the fibre content and size information, described in fibre content labels on clothes explained, can reduce disappointment. So can a wardrobe audit that shows what you actually wear.
Sending it back with confidence
The framework is simple once the two clocks are separated: 14 days to tell the seller, 14 days to send the item back, and 14 days for the seller to repay. Exceptions cover made-to-measure and personalised garments, certain unsealed hygiene goods and private sales. Handling beyond a shop-style try-on can reduce a refund. For a dispute, Citizens Advice runs a consumer helpline, which is a sensible next step if a seller refuses a valid return.
This article is general information based on published guidance, not legal advice.
Sources: Citizens Advice (Changing your mind about something you’ve bought); GOV.UK (Online and distance selling for businesses: returns and cancellations); legislation.gov.uk (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28); legislation.gov.uk (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 34)
