News

11/08/2009

Not all online purchases can be cancelled

European Consumer Centre has noticed that consumers often have an erroneous understanding about the right to cancel purchases made in electronic stores. For example, the Centre has been contacted by appalled travellers, who have not been able to cancel air travel tickets bought on the Internet.

You should keep some basic things about the right to cancel in mind to avoid any surprises:

1. The cancellation period depends on the country. For example, in Finland and Germany the period is 14 calendar days, but in the Great Britain and France it is 7 workdays.

The list on the cancellation periods in different countries

2. The right to cancel does not cover all products and services. These special cases include, for example:

  • Accommodation services
  • Air and rail travel tickets
  • Concert tickets
  • Magazine subscriptions
  • Betting services
  • Lottery services
  • Custom made products produced according to consumer specifications
  • Products or services, whose price depends on their changing quotation on the finance market
  • Services started within seven days with the consent of the orderer.

3. Recordings or programmes that are sold sealed also cannot be returned if the seal has been broken.

4. However, a company can grant a right to cancel the aforementioned products and services, if it so chooses. For example, many Internet sites selling hotel and airline reservations offer the possibility to cancel the order with certain conditions. The right to cancel is always explained in the contract terms.

Read more about the right to cancel