Right of withdrawal when buying online: return within 14 days, and what the webshop may not do

23 September 2026

Arslan Advocaten

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Right of withdrawal when buying online: return within 14 days, and what the webshop may not do

If you buy something online as a consumer, you can in principle cancel the purchase within fourteen days without giving any reason; for a product, that period starts on the day after you received it (Article 6:230o of the Dutch Civil Code (BW)). The webshop must then refund you within fourteen days, including the standard delivery costs.

Nederlands: Lees dit artikel in het Nederlands: Herroepingsrecht bij online kopen: binnen 14 dagen retour, en wat de webshop niet mag

Türkçe: Bu makaleyi Türkçe okuyun: İnternetten alışverişte cayma hakkı: 14 gün içinde iade ve web mağazasının yapamayacakları

Written by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar (Nederlandse orde van advocaten) for employment law and personal injury. Last updated: 17 September 2026.

Written and legally reviewed by Onur Arslan, attorney at Arslan Advocaten. Registered in the specialisation register of the Netherlands Bar for employment law and personal injury. Reviewed on 17 September 2026 against the statutory text on wetten.overheid.nl.

The coat does not fit, the colour is disappointing or you simply regret it. Buying online means you could not see or hold the product beforehand. That is why the law gives you a cooling-off period. In the statute this is called the right of termination (ontbindingsrecht); in everyday language, the right of withdrawal. Webshops do not always handle it correctly.

Which purchases does it apply to?

The right of withdrawal applies to distance contracts and off-premises contracts that you conclude as a consumer with a trader.

A distance contract is a purchase through a webshop, app, telephone or email, without you and the seller being physically present at the same time. It does not apply to:

purchases in an ordinary shop (an in-store exchange policy is a service, not a statutory right);
purchases from a private individual, for example through a classified ads website;
purchases by a business owner for their business.

When does the cooling-off period start and end?

The period is fourteen calendar days and, for a product, starts on the day after receipt; for a service, on the day after the contract was concluded.

Situation	The fourteen days run from the day after
A single product	the day on which you (or someone you designate, other than the carrier) receive it
Several products in one order, delivered separately	the day on which you receive the last product
A service	the day on which the contract was concluded
The webshop did not inform you correctly about the right of withdrawal	the period is extended by up to twelve months (Article 6:230o(2) BW)

That last rule is important. If the webshop did not properly tell you in advance that you have a right of withdrawal and how to exercise it, you can sometimes still cancel months later.

How do you exercise your right?

You inform the webshop unambiguously, within the period, that you are cancelling the purchase; you can do this with the model form, with your own message, or via the online withdrawal function on the website.

You do not have to give a reason or use any particular wording. An email saying “I am cancelling the purchase of order 12345” is sufficient. A webshop cannot require in its terms and conditions that you use a particular form.

In addition, since June 2026 a webshop must offer an online withdrawal function (Article 6:230oa BW): a clearly visible and easily accessible way to cancel via the website or app, without you having to create an account. After your cancellation, the webshop must confirm receipt without delay. If you cancel by email yourself, keep that email: you must be able to show that you cancelled in time.

What must you send back, and what must the webshop refund?

You return the product within fourteen days of your cancellation; the webshop refunds everything you paid within fourteen days of your cancellation, including the standard delivery costs (Article 6:230r BW).

Refund. The webshop may withhold the refund until it has received the product back or you have shown that you have sent it back.
Outbound delivery costs. You get these back, but only up to the cost of the cheapest standard delivery. If you chose express delivery, you pay the difference yourself.
Return costs. These are for your account if the webshop informed you of this in advance. Many webshops offer free returns, but this is not a statutory obligation (Article 6:230s BW).
Use. You may handle the product as you would in a shop: try it on, look at it, briefly try it out. If you go further and the value drops as a result, the webshop may charge you for that loss in value. Refusing the entire refund is then generally not justified.

When do you have no right of withdrawal?

The law contains a list of exceptions (Article 6:230p BW); the most important ones concern made-to-measure goods, perishable goods, sealed products and services on a fixed date.

Exceptions include:

products made to your specifications, such as a made-to-measure sofa or a printed T-shirt;
products that spoil quickly or have a short shelf life;
sealed products that cannot be returned for reasons of hygiene or health protection and whose seal you have broken;
sealed audio, video and software that you have opened;
individual newspapers and magazines;
services provided on a specific date or within a specific period, such as a concert ticket, hotel stay or airline ticket.

For digital content and services that start immediately, the right of withdrawal may lapse if you expressly agreed to this in advance. For a service that has already been partly performed, you pay in some cases a proportionate amount for what has already been provided.

By way of illustration. Someone orders a winter coat online and receives it on a Monday. She tries it on at home, removes the label and decides after ten days that she does not like the coat after all. She sends an email saying she is cancelling the purchase and returns the coat. The webshop refuses a refund “because the label has been removed”. That refusal goes too far. The cancellation was made within fourteen days of receipt, so it was in time. A removed label can at most lead to compensation for loss in value if the product is worth less as a result, not to the loss of the entire right of withdrawal. This is a hypothetical example to illustrate the rule, not a case handled by our firm.

What you should do

Note the date of receipt and count fourteen days from the following day.
Cancel in writing or via the withdrawal function of the webshop and keep the confirmation.
Return the product within fourteen days, preferably with tracking.
Wait no more than fourteen days for the refund. If it does not arrive, send a written reminder with a specific deadline.
If you paid by credit card or through a payment service, ask about chargeback options.
Did the webshop fail to inform you properly? Then your cooling-off period may be longer. Have this assessed before you give up your right.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to give a reason?

No. You may cancel without giving any reason.

The webshop only offers a voucher. Do I have to accept it?

No. The webshop must refund you using the same means of payment you used, unless you expressly agree to something else.

Does the right of withdrawal also apply to a product bought in a sale?

Yes. A discount makes no difference to the statutory right of withdrawal.

What if the product arrives broken?

You then have two routes side by side: you can cancel within the cooling-off period, but you can also demand repair or replacement because the product does not conform to the contract. In the latter case, the return costs are not for your account.

Does this apply to a subscription I took out online?

Yes. For a service or subscription taken out online, you in principle have a fourteen-day cooling-off period from the moment the contract is concluded. After that, the rules on cancelling the subscription by giving notice apply.

Need help?

Is a webshop refusing a refund, or does it concern a larger purchase such as furniture, a bicycle or electronics? Arslan Advocaten assesses your position and drafts the formal demand letter.

Call 070 450 0300 or send your question via the contact form.