Return Deadline Calculator (UK & EU)

About the Return Deadline Calculator (UK & EU)

The Return Deadline Calculator gives the last day for each of your rights after buying something in the UK or the EU, and names the rule behind each date so you can quote it to the seller.

Why the days are counted from the day after

UK and EU rules count a period “after” or “beginning with the first day after” an event, so the delivery day itself is not day one. Delivered on 1 October, the 14 days run from 2 to 15 October, and the 30-day right to reject runs from 2 to 31 October. Counting the delivery day as day one is the most common reason people think they have a day less than they do.

The UK rules used

• Cancel: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 — 14 days after the day you get the goods. Regulation 31 extends it when the seller did not tell you about the right.
• Send back and refund: regulation 35(4) gives you 14 days after telling the seller to send the goods back; regulation 34(5) gives the seller 14 days after receiving them, or after you show proof of sending, to refund.
• Reject a faulty item: Consumer Rights Act 2015, section 22(3) — 30 days beginning with the first day after delivery.
• Six months: section 19(14) — a fault appearing within six months beginning with the day of delivery is presumed to have been there at delivery.

The EU rules used

• Withdraw: Directive 2011/83/EU, Article 9 — 14 days from the day you get the goods. Article 10 extends it by 12 months when you were not told.
• Weekend deadlines move to the next working day. Public holidays move it too, but they differ by country, so only weekends are moved here.
• Legal guarantee: at least two years for a faulty item, with the fault presumed present at delivery for one year — two years in some countries.

Where this tool stops

Some purchases have no right to cancel at all, such as goods made to your specifications or clearly personalised, goods that go off quickly, and sealed goods unsealed after delivery that cannot be returned for health or hygiene reasons; services have different start dates. This page gives the standard deadlines for goods; it is not legal advice on a particular dispute. Our guide to returning a faulty product in the UK, EU and US walks through what to say to the seller.