What is a letter before action?

A letter before action (LBA) is a formal notice sent before starting court proceedings. It sets out your claim, the legal basis (e.g. Consumer Rights Act 2015, Housing Act 1988), the remedy you seek, and a deadline to respond — typically 14 days. Civil Procedure Rules require this step before most court claims, and courts take a dim view of parties who skip it.

Can I write my own legal letter?

Yes. You do not need a solicitor to write a legal letter. What matters is citing the correct legislation, stating your claim with precise dates and amounts, and giving a clear deadline. A well-drafted letter citing the right Act and section often resolves disputes without court proceedings — and costs nothing extra to send.

Does a legal letter actually work?

In many cases, yes. Most businesses, landlords, and employers respond when they receive a formally worded letter that cites specific legislation and mentions court or tribunal proceedings as the next step. It signals you know your rights and are prepared to escalate — which is often enough to get a resolution.

What UK legislation covers consumer complaints and refunds?

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is the primary law. Section 9 requires goods to be of satisfactory quality; section 20 gives you the right to a full refund within 30 days if goods are faulty. For services, section 49 requires reasonable care and skill. For distance/online purchases, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you a 14-day cooling-off period.

24 August 2026

Bought Something Online and Changed Your Mind? Your 14-Day Right to Cancel and Get a Refund (UK)

You ordered something on a whim, or the salesperson at the door was very persuasive — and now, box unopened or barely touched, you have changed your mind. The good news that a lot of people never realise: when you buy at a distance (online, by phone or by mail order) or away from a shop (on your doorstep), the law gives you a genuine no-fault right to cancel. You do not need the item to be faulty. You do not need a reason. You simply have a window to walk away and get your money back — and if the seller never told you that right existed, the window is far longer than 14 days.

General information for the UK — these rules apply in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Not legal advice. Current as at August 2026 — always check the current position before you act.

The one thing to understand first: this is a “change of mind” right, not a faulty-goods right. It comes from the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and it lets you cancel a distance or doorstep purchase whether or not anything is wrong with it. Your separate rights when something is actually faulty come from a different law (the Consumer Rights Act 2015) — covered at the end.

When the right applies — and when it does not

The cancellation right covers two situations (regulation 27):

Distance contracts — anything bought without meeting the seller face to face: online, over the phone, or by mail order.
Off-premises contracts — things agreed away from the trader’s business premises, classically a doorstep or in-your-home sale.

What it does not cover is the ordinary in-store purchase. If you buy something in a physical shop and simply change your mind, you have no legal right to a refund — any “28-day returns” policy there is the shop’s goodwill, not the law. The statutory cooling-off right is the reward for buying at a distance or on the doorstep, where you could not inspect the goods properly first.

The 14 days: when the clock actually starts

You get 14 days to cancel, but the day it starts from depends on what you bought (regulation 30):

Goods (one item): the 14 days run from the day after the goods arrive in your hands — not the order date.
Several items in one order, delivered separately: the clock starts from the day you receive the last item.
One item delivered in multiple parts/lots: from the day the last part arrives.
A regular repeat delivery (e.g. a monthly subscription box of goods): from the day the first delivery arrives.
Services and digital content: from the day after the contract was made.

You do not have to wait for the item to arrive to cancel — you can cancel from the moment you place the order. And you must make your decision to cancel clear within the window; a simple, dated message to the seller saying you are cancelling is enough.

The bonus most people miss: the seller must have told you

Under regulation 31, the trader has to tell you about your cancellation right before you buy. If they never told you, your 14-day window extends to 12 months on top — effectively a year and 14 days to change your mind. If they tell you late, at some point inside that year, the window instead closes 14 days after they finally inform you. So if a doorstep seller or a dodgy website gave you no cancellation notice at all, you may be able to cancel months after the sale.

Getting your money back

Once you have cancelled, the money side works like this:

The seller must refund you within 14 days (regulation 34). For goods, that is 14 days after they get the item back, or after you show evidence you have sent it back — whichever is sooner.
You must send the goods back without undue delay, within 14 days of telling the seller you are cancelling (regulation 35).
Your delivery cost comes back too. The refund must include the standard outbound delivery you paid. If you chose a pricier express option, they only have to refund up to the cost of their cheapest standard delivery — the premium top-up is not refundable.
Who pays return postage: you normally cover the cost of sending it back — unless the seller agreed to pay it, or the seller failed to tell you you would have to. If they never told you, they must foot the return cost.
The “handled too much” deduction: you are allowed to examine goods as you would in a shop. But if you handle them beyond what is needed to check their nature and how they work — using or damaging them — the seller can dock the refund for the lost value. Crucially, they lose even that deduction right if they never gave you the required cancellation information.

Services and digital content: the timing traps

These two categories have their own rules, and they catch people out:

Services (regulation 36): a trader can only start the work inside the 14 days if you expressly asked them to. If you did, and you then cancel partway through, you still can — but you must pay a proportionate amount for what has already been done. And if the service is fully completed within the 14 days, with your prior consent and your acknowledgement that you would lose the right, the cancellation right is gone. If the trader never gave you the cancellation information, or did work you never requested, you owe nothing.
Digital content (regulation 37) — downloads, streaming, apps: you lose the right to cancel once the download or stream has begun, but only if the seller first got your express consent to start early and your acknowledgement that you would lose the right. If they skipped those steps, you keep the right even after supply has started.

What you cannot cancel (the exemptions)

Some purchases are outside the cancellation right altogether (regulation 28). The main ones:

Made-to-measure, bespoke or personalised goods — anything made to your specification.
Perishable goods — things that deteriorate or expire quickly (fresh food, flowers).
Sealed goods unsealed after delivery where hygiene/health is the issue — e.g. underwear, cosmetics, earrings — once you break the seal.
Sealed CDs, DVDs or software once you unseal them.
Newspapers, periodicals and magazines (a subscription to them is not exempt — you can cancel the subscription).
Dated accommodation, transport, car hire, catering or leisure/event bookings — a hotel for a specific night, a flight, a concert ticket for a set date.
Goods bought at a public auction.

This is not the same as your faulty-goods rights

Do not confuse the two regimes — you may have both. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you the no-fault, change-of-mind cancellation right described above, and only for distance and doorstep purchases. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 is entirely separate: it gives you remedies when goods are actually faulty, not as described, or not fit for purpose — including a 30-day right to reject for a refund — no matter where or how you bought them. If your item is defective, that is a Consumer Rights Act claim; if you have simply changed your mind about an online or doorstep order, this cooling-off right is your route.

Getting the letter right

You cancel by making your decision clear to the seller — and putting it in writing gives you the proof and the date that matter if they drag their feet. A good cancellation letter or email states plainly that you are exercising your right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, identifies the order and the date, confirms you are within the cancellation period (or, where the seller never told you about the right, that the extended period applies), and asks for a full refund including the standard delivery cost within 14 days. Clear, dated and specific is what turns a “sorry, no returns” into a refund.

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Sources: The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3134), regulations 27, 28, 30, 31, 34, 35, 36 and 37; Consumer Rights Act 2015 (section 22, short-term right to reject); Citizens Advice and Which? guidance on the cooling-off period and cancelling distance and doorstep purchases. Current as at August 2026. General information for the UK, not legal advice — check the current position before you act.