When you sell a vehicle to a consumer online, by phone or by email, without meeting them face to face before the deal is agreed, the buyer can cancel for any reason within 14 days of getting the vehicle. You must give them clear cancellation information before and after the sale. If you do not, the 14 days can stretch to up to 12 months, and you lose the right to deduct for excessive use.
That is the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, usually shortened to the Consumer Contracts Regulations. Here is how they work on a forecourt.
This is general guidance, not legal advice. If you are unsure how the rules apply to a particular sale, take advice.
When a vehicle sale counts as a distance sale
The regulations define a distance contract as one agreed under an organised distance sales scheme, without the trader and consumer being physically together, using only remote communication up to and including the moment the contract is made.
On a forecourt, that usually covers:
- a buyer who completes an online checkout and pays on your website
- a deal agreed by phone, email or messaging, then delivered
- a deal agreed remotely where the buyer collects the vehicle later
The key question is where and how the contract was concluded. A buyer who reserves online but then comes in, inspects the vehicle and agrees the deal at your premises is likely to be in a different position from one who commits online. Where the line falls on a given deal can be a judgement call, so set your process up so it is clear when the contract is made.
A sale agreed face to face somewhere other than your premises, for example at the buyer's home, can be an off-premises contract, which also carries a 14-day right to cancel. These rules only apply to consumers, not trade buyers.
The 14-day cancellation period
For any reason. Under regulation 29, the buyer can cancel within the cancellation period without giving a reason. No fault is needed.
It starts when they get the vehicle. For goods, regulation 30 says the period ends 14 days after the day the goods come into the physical possession of the consumer, or someone they name (not the carrier). If you deliver on the 3rd, the clock starts on the 4th. If the handover moves, the window moves with it.
How they cancel. Under regulation 32, the buyer can use the model cancellation form or any clear statement. An email saying "I want to cancel" counts. If they send it before the period ends, it is in time.
What you must tell the buyer
Schedule 2 lists the information you must give before the contract is made. For a vehicle, the points that matter most are:
- Main characteristics of the vehicle. Make, model, mileage, condition, known faults, history.
- Who you are. Your trading name and geographic address, plus phone and email.
- The total price. Including taxes, plus any delivery or admin charges.
- Payment, delivery and timing. How payment works and when you will deliver or hand over.
- The right to cancel. The conditions, time limit and procedure for cancelling. Including the model cancellation form from Schedule 3 makes it easy for the buyer to follow.
- Return costs. Whether the buyer pays to return the vehicle if they cancel.
- The legal duty that goods conform. A reminder that you must supply goods that meet the contract.
- Complaints and after-sales. Your complaints process, any warranty or after-sales service, and any out of court dispute scheme available.
Then, under regulation 16, you must confirm the contract on a durable medium, such as an email or PDF, within a reasonable time and at the latest when the vehicle is delivered.
What happens if the information is missing
This is the part that catches dealers out.
The window gets longer. Under regulation 31, if you do not give the right-to-cancel information, the cancellation period is extended. If you give it within 12 months, the period ends 14 days after the buyer receives it. If you never give it, the period ends 12 months after the normal 14 days would have ended.
You lose your deduction. If you failed to give the cancellation information, you cannot deduct for diminished value (regulation 34(11)).
You may pay for the return. If you did not tell the buyer they would bear the cost of returning the vehicle, you bear it (regulation 35).
In other words, a buyer who was never told about their rights could hand back a vehicle many months later, after thousands of miles, and you would have no deduction to fall back on.
Refunds, returns and deductions
Returning the vehicle. The buyer must send or hand the vehicle back within 14 days of telling you they are cancelling. You must collect it if you offered to, or, for an off-premises sale delivered to the buyer's home, if it cannot normally be returned by post, which a vehicle cannot (regulation 35). Unless you agreed otherwise, the buyer pays the direct cost of returning it, but only if you told them that in advance.
Timing of the refund. Under regulation 34, you must refund without undue delay, and within 14 days of getting the vehicle back or of the buyer supplying evidence they have sent it back, whichever comes first. If you offered to collect it, the 14 days run from when the buyer told you they were cancelling.
What you refund. All payments received, including the standard delivery cost. If the buyer chose a more expensive delivery option, you only have to refund the cost of your cheapest standard option. Refund using the same payment method unless the buyer agrees otherwise, and do not charge a fee.
Deductions for diminished value. You can deduct for any loss in value caused by handling beyond what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods. The regulations measure this against the sort of handling that might reasonably be allowed in a shop. For a vehicle, that suggests a reasonable test of the kind a buyer might have had on your forecourt, not weeks of daily commuting. There is no set formula, so record the mileage and condition at handover and at return, with photos, so any deduction you make is based on evidence.
Finance, extras and part-exchanges
Ancillary contracts end too. Under regulation 38, cancelling a distance contract automatically ends any ancillary contracts, at no cost to the buyer, and you must tell the other trader involved.
The finance agreement has its own rule. Credit agreements are outside most of the Consumer Contracts Regulations (regulation 6). A regulated credit agreement has a separate 14-day right to withdraw under section 66A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Withdrawing from the finance is not the same as cancelling the vehicle purchase. If a buyer cancels a finance deal, speak to the lender early.
Part-exchanges. How a part-exchange is unwound on cancellation depends on how the deal was structured. Agree your approach with your adviser before it happens, not on the day.
How this interacts with the Consumer Rights Act
The two sets of rules sit side by side.
The Consumer Contracts Regulations give a "changed my mind" right that has nothing to do with faults. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 gives rights when the vehicle is faulty, not as described or not fit for purpose, including the 30-day short-term right to reject. A distance buyer has both.
So if a buyer cancels on day 10 because they found a fault, they might rely on either. And if the 14 days have passed, a faulty vehicle is still covered by the Consumer Rights Act. Do not tell a distance buyer they have no rights because the cancellation period is over.
Paperwork that keeps you safe
A simple pack for every distance sale:
- Pre-contract details. The full vehicle description, price breakdown and the Schedule 2 information, on the listing page or checkout.
- Cancellation notice and model form. The cancellation information shown before they commit and repeated in the confirmation, with the model cancellation form attached.
- Confirmation email. Sent promptly after the sale, before or at handover, with everything above.
- Handover record. Date, time, mileage, condition photos and a signed delivery note. Electronic signatures let a buyer sign on their own phone at the door.
- Cancellation log. The date the window ends, any cancellation received and when the refund was paid.
This is where software helps. Vehiso's buy online checkout includes the statutory 14-day right-to-cancel information in the buyer's confirmation, and tracks when each window ends, restarting it from the actual handover date. It is on paid plans from £49 a month, and deposits can be taken through online payments. It gives you the information and the tracking, not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Does the 14-day cancellation right apply to used vehicles?
Yes. The Consumer Contracts Regulations apply to distance and off-premises sales of goods to consumers, and used vehicles are not excluded. The 14 days run from the day after the buyer, or someone they nominate, takes physical possession of the vehicle.
Can a buyer cancel if there is nothing wrong with the vehicle?
Yes. Under regulation 29 they can cancel within the cancellation period without giving any reason. This is separate from the Consumer Rights Act, which covers faulty vehicles.
Can I charge for the miles a buyer drove before cancelling?
You can deduct for loss in value caused by handling beyond what is needed to establish the vehicle's nature, characteristics and functioning, judged against what might reasonably be allowed in a shop. You cannot deduct anything if you failed to give the buyer the right-to-cancel information. Record mileage and condition at handover and return so any deduction is evidence based.
What if I forgot to give the cancellation information?
The cancellation period is extended. If you give the information within 12 months, it ends 14 days after the buyer receives it. If you never give it, it ends 12 months after the normal period would have ended, and you lose the right to deduct for diminished value.
Is a vehicle reserved online with a deposit a distance sale?
It depends on when and how the contract is concluded. If the buyer commits and pays online without visiting, it is likely to be a distance contract. If the deposit only holds the vehicle and the deal is agreed at your premises after a viewing, the position may be different, so make your reservation terms clear and take advice if unsure.
