Cancellation requests: what does the consumer law say?

The new plan upgrade will cost him substantially more than what he is spending on his current plan.

In this case, the initial terms of the contract in terms of services and prices are no longer the case since the new offer has nothing to do with renewal agreement. If Brian accepts this offer and changes his mind soon, he has the right to cancel this new plan within 5 working days. Subsequently, he will get a full refund and return the Samsung tablet to his internet service company.

A Cooling-Off Period

When it comes to consumer rights law and practice, cooling-off period refers to the time frame after a consumer purchases an item and decides to cancel the purchase, and thereafter returns the purchased item, for any reason, and subsequently gets a full refund.

A good number of nations now have laws that give room for cooling off periods in terms of specific transactions. However, the conditions for the application of such laws as well as the transactions included in the laws would vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. 

For instance, within the U.S. there’s 72-hour cooling down period directive from the federal government --- and this applies to a good number of consumer transactions done at home or outside of the seller’s conventional store or selling point.

Refund Policies

While refund policy is technically not cooling off periods, a good number of retailers will on their own grant buyers a definite time frame in which they can return purchased items --- as long as those items are not damaged and can be sold to another buyer. In some jurisdictions, the law directs retailers to offer return policies.

For instance, the European Union Consumer Rights 2011 Directives mandate member states to provide buyers/consumers with the right to return purchased items or cancel services provided by a business outside of their conventional business arena, e.g. mail order, online, or door-to-door --- limited exceptions apply --- and the return time frame is within two weeks and may span to one year where the seller failed to clearly stipulate the rights of the buyer --- full refund applies in this case. 

Your Right to Cancel

According to the law, the seller is obliged to inform you about the right you have to cancel a transaction at the time of sale. Also, the seller is obliged to give the buyer a cancellation form (2 copies) --- the buyer will keep one and send the other copy to the seller if such person has a change of mind and decides to cancel the transition, including a copy of the receipt or contract. There should be date on the receipt or contract, including the seller’s name and address, and the buyer should state the reason for cancelling the transaction.

Exceptions

It’s important to say that some types of sales are not cancelable --- it doesn’t matter if they occur in places that the rule applies to. In essence, the cooling off rule will not apply to the following;

sales that are under $25 , accomplished at your homesales under $130 transacted at temporary locations goods as well as services that are not primarily for personal, household or family use.sales made completely online, via phone or mailgoods required to meet an urgent needsales accomplished as part of the buyer’s request to get a repair or maintenance service on the buyer’s property --- this does not apply to purchases beyond the repair or maintenance requestVehicles purchased at temporary locations in the case where the seller has a permanent business location, even if it is one locationsecurities, insurance, or real estateCrafts or arts purchased at fairs, including schools, civic centers, and shopping malls. Typical Scenario of Return Policy --- Reason for Return

Julia purchased a smart television that features internet surfing facility. Julia wasn’t aware that she needs internet connection to be able to use the browsing feature of the TV. So, she turns on the television, expecting to start browsing automatically but it didn’t happen because she needed to buy internet plan from an internet service provider. The Consumer Guarantees Act does not cover Julia’s case.

Learn more about consumer law and cancellation requests.

Further Reading:

https://www.ftc.gov/about-ftc/bureaus-offices/bureau-consumer-protection