Cooling-off period for doorstep sales, by country
Spain is the only statute here that gives 30 days, and only when the contract follows an unsolicited visit to the consumer’s home or a sales excursion; Austria, France, Norway and Sweden give 14 days, and Japan 8 days counted from the day the buyer receives the written contract document. Australia gives the shortest period, 10 business days, and only for unsolicited agreements whose price is above a threshold or not known at signing. Germany’s ingested sections define the off-premises contract and grant the right of withdrawal but leave the length of the period to § 355, which is not ingested.
| Country | Cooling-off period | Which sales are covered |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | 14 days | Contracts the consumer signed neither at the trader’s business rooms nor at the trader’s stand at a fair or market; contracts concluded outside business premises |
| Australia | 10 business days | Unsolicited consumer agreements: negotiated in person away from the supplier’s premises, or by telephone, without the consumer inviting the dealer; price over $100 or not known at signing |
| Germany | Contracts made with both parties physically present at a place that is not the trader’s business premises, and the other off-premises cases listed in § 312b | |
| Spain | 30 calendar days after an unsolicited visit or sales excursion (14 calendar days for other contracts) | Contracts made during unsolicited visits by the trader to the consumer’s home, or on excursions organised to promote or sell goods or services |
| France | 14 days | Contracts made away from the place where the trader normally works, with both parties present (even if the consumer made the offer), and contracts made on a promotional excursion |
| Japan | 8 days | Door-to-door sales (訪問販売): contracts offered or concluded at a place other than the seller’s business premises, and certain sales made at the business premises to customers drawn there on the street |
| Norway | 14 days | Sales of goods and services to a consumer made at a distance or outside permanent business premises |
| Sweden | 14 days | Contracts made with trader and consumer present at a place other than the trader’s premises, after an offer made there, or on an excursion organised for marketing or sales |
Country by country
Austria
- Rule
- Konsumentenschutzgesetz § 3; Fern- und Auswärtsgeschäfte-Gesetz § 11
- Under the Consumer Protection Act the 14 days start when the consumer is handed a document naming the trader and explaining the right, and for sales of goods no earlier than the day the consumer gets the goods.
- If that document is not handed over, the right lasts 12 months and 14 days.
- The right also applies where the trader brought the consumer to its premises on an advertising trip, an excursion or by approaching them in the street.
Hat der Verbraucher seine Vertragserklärung weder in den vom Unternehmer für seine geschäftlichen Zwecke dauernd benützten Räumen noch bei einem von diesem dafür auf einer Messe oder einem Markt benützten Stand abgegeben, so kann er von seinem Vertragsantrag oder vom Vertrag zurücktreten.Dieser Rücktritt kann bis zum Zustandekommen des Vertrags oder danach binnen 14 Tagen erklärt werden. Der Verbraucher kann von einem Fernabsatzvertrag oder einem außerhalb von Geschäftsräumen geschlossenen Vertrag binnen 14 Tagen ohne Angabe von Gründen zurücktreten. Australia
- Rule
- Australian Consumer Law (Schedule 2) ss 69, 82
- The period starts on the day the agreement is made; for a telephone agreement it runs to the end of the tenth business day after the consumer is given the agreement document.
- The period is longer if the dealer broke the rules on calling hours, identifying itself or leaving on request (3 months), or on informing the consumer of the termination period (6 months).
- Regulations can add or remove kinds of agreement, and the $100 amount can be changed by regulation.
in each other’s presence at a place other than the business or trade premises of the supplier of the goods or servicesthe consumer did not invite the dealer to come to that place, or to make a telephone callis more than $100 or such other amount prescribed by the regulations the period starting on the day on which the agreement was made and ending at the end of the tenth business day after the day on which the agreement was made Germany
- Rule
- BGB §§ 312b, 312g
- The length of the period is in § 355 BGB, which is not ingested, so no number of days is shown.
- § 312g(2) lists contracts with no right of withdrawal; see the guide on purchases that cannot be returned.
die bei gleichzeitiger körperlicher Anwesenheit des Verbrauchers und des Unternehmers an einem Ort geschlossen werden, der kein Geschäftsraum des Unternehmers ist Dem Verbraucher steht bei außerhalb von Geschäftsräumen geschlossenen Verträgen und bei Fernabsatzverträgen ein Widerrufsrecht gemäß § 355 zu. Spain
- Rule
- Ley General para la Defensa de los Consumidores y Usuarios art. 102
- The 30-day period replaces the general 14-day period for these contracts only.
- The consumer need not give a reason and bears no cost other than those in articles 107.2 and 108.
- Article 103 lists contracts with no right of withdrawal.
En el caso de los contratos celebrados en el contexto de visitas no solicitadas efectuadas por el empresario en el domicilio del consumidor o usuario o de excursiones organizadas por el empresario con el objetivo o efecto de promocionar o vender bienes o servicios, el plazo de desistimiento se amplía a treinta días naturales. France
- Rule
- Code de la consommation art. L221-1, L221-18
- For contracts made away from the trader’s premises the consumer may withdraw from the day the contract is made, even before the goods arrive.
- The same period applies to telephone canvassing and distance contracts.
Dans un lieu qui n'est pas celui où le professionnel exerce son activité en permanence ou de manière habituelle, en la présence physique simultanée des parties, y compris à la suite d'une sollicitation ou d'une offre faite par le consommateur Le consommateur dispose d'un délai de quatorze jours pour exercer son droit de rétractation d'un contrat conclu à distance, à la suite d'un démarchage téléphonique ou hors établissementPour les contrats conclus hors établissement, le consommateur peut exercer son droit de rétractation à compter de la conclusion du contrat. Japan
- Rule
- 特定商取引法 第二条, 第九条, 第二十六条
- The 8 days run from the day the buyer receives the written document the seller must hand over (the day of the first document if one was received earlier).
- If the seller lied about the right or intimidated the buyer, the 8 days run from a later correct document.
- The rules on withdrawal do not apply to a visit the consumer requested at home.
以外の場所において、売買契約の申込みを受け、若しくは売買契約を締結して行う商品若しくは特定権利の販売 第五条第一項又は第二項の書面を受領した日（その日前に第四条第一項の書面を受領した場合にあつては、その書面を受領した日）から起算して八日を経過した場合 その住居において売買契約若しくは役務提供契約の申込みをし又は売買契約若しくは役務提供契約を締結することを請求した者に対して行う訪問販売 Norway
- Rule
- Angrerettloven §§ 1, 21, 22
- The 14 days run from the day the services contract is made or the consumer gets the goods in physical possession.
- Two of the usual exceptions (services fully performed with the consumer’s prior consent, and urgent repairs the consumer asked for) do not apply to unsolicited door sales.
avtalen inngås ved fjernsalg eller salg utenom faste forretningslokaler Angrefristen utløper 14 dager fra den dag avtalen om tjeneste ble inngått, eller den dag forbrukeren får varen i fysisk besittelse. Unntakene fra angreretten i første ledd bokstavene c og e gjelder ikke ved uanmodet dørsalg. Sweden
- Rule
- Lag (2005:59) om distansavtal och avtal utanför affärslokaler 1 kap. 2 §, 2 kap. 10 §
- The period starts when the consumer takes possession of goods or, for services, when the contract is made, and never before the consumer has been told about the right.
- The same period applies to distance contracts.
avtal utanför affärslokaler: avtal som ingåsdå näringsidkaren och konsumenten samtidigt är närvarande på någon annan plats än i näringsidkarens affärslokalunder en utflykt som har organiserats av näringsidkaren i marknadsförings- eller försäljningssyfte inom 14 dagar från den dag som anges i 12 § Countries not in this table yet
The Netherlands: the rules on contracts away from the premises sit in Book 6 of the Civil Code, which is not ingested. The United States, United Kingdom and Canada are not covered because the statutes are not ingested.
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