Legal reflection time for online stores

This week we received a question from a merchant: what exactly is the legal cooling-off period for my online store? Am I required to have a legal cooling-off period? Within how many days must I return the money? Who pays for the shipping costs? In short, he had a lot of questions regarding the legal cooling-off period for his online store. In this Week's Case we want to tell you more about this.

The legal cooling-off period (or right of withdrawal) is mandatory for online stores. Why? In a physical store, your customer can view, try on and review a product. In an online store, he doesn't have these opportunities. He has to rely on the specifications, images and the information you provide. That's why the consumer who buys something through an online store has a cooling-off period, so he still has the opportunity to view, try on and/or evaluate his purchase.

The statutory cooling-off period is 14 days. This time starts when your customer has received all products. For example, does he order 2 items and you do not deliver them at the same time? Then the 14 days only start when he receives the last item.

Note: Have you not informed consumers of their cooling-off period? Or have you not provided the model dissolution/revocation form? Then the cooling-off period is extended by up to one year.

Using the legal cooling-off period: a customer who wants to use his cooling-off period must make it clear to you that he wants to return his purchase. He must make this known to you within 14 days of receiving all products. After he has made this known to you, he has another 14 days to return it. You are required to put the model withdrawal form on your website. However, you may not oblige (or otherwise require) your customer to use this form.

You must refund the purchase price + return shipping costs within 14 days, after the customer has expressed. Because the customer has another 14 days to return it after their notice, you may not have received the product yet. In that case, you may "demand" that the customer prove that he has returned it. The shipping costs for the return are to be borne by your customer only if you have included this in your Terms and Conditions. As of 2014, you are also required to state the amount of these shipping costs.

Our Tip: Webshops that do not meet the legal requirements risk not only a hefty fine, but also a number of other (legal) consequences: the legal cooling-off period is extended to a maximum of 12 months or return shipping costs are borne by the webshop. Make sure your online store is legally sound.