Your rights
Consumers may only withdraw from a contract without giving reasons in certain cases. This applies to contracts concluded via means of distance communication (typically via the internet or by telephone), to contracts concluded outside of business premises, and to the conclusion of a consumer credit agreement.
Consumers have the right to withdraw from the contract within 14 days of receiving the goods without giving a reason and without incurring a contractual penalty.
However, this does not apply in certain cases. These include, for example, goods that have been customised to the consumer’s specifications, as well as perishable goods. Audio and video recordings or computer programmes cannot be returned once their original packaging has been opened or damaged. Newspapers and other periodicals are also excluded from the right of withdrawal.
The law also expressly covers so-called unsolicited deliveries. If you order a computer from an online shop and a keyboard is delivered along with it, you are not required to bear the cost of returning it to the retailer or to inform them of this.
You may also return the goods even if you have opened or used them. The operator of the online shop may neither impose restrictions beyond the statutory provisions nor shorten the withdrawal period.
Your obligations
Retailers have comprehensive information obligations towards consumers. For example, when a purchase is made in an online shop, they must inform the consumer of the option to return the goods without giving a reason. If they fail to do so, the consumer may withdraw from the contract up to one year and 14 days after the contract is concluded.
The trader is obliged to refund the consumer not only all sums paid but also the shipping costs incurred. The trader also bears the costs of returning the goods, unless they have already informed the consumer prior to the conclusion of the contract that these costs are to be borne by the consumer in the event of withdrawal.
However, only the costs of the cheapest available delivery method will be refunded.
Whilst when shopping in a high street shop you can only make a complaint about goods if they are faulty, the law grants customers a generous 14-day ‘cooling-off period’ when buying from an online shop, at a sales promotion or a trade fair. However, this cooling-off period does not apply in all cases; for example, custom-made items as well as music and audiovisual media are excluded.
The new Civil Code has significantly strengthened the position of consumers who shop outside of physical shops. These are either contracts concluded outside of standard business premises (for example, at a trade fair or during a sales event) or so-called distance contracts. The latter primarily include purchases from online shops, but also cover contracts concluded by telephone or via teleshopping.
The biggest advantage for consumers with this type of shopping is the option to withdraw from the contract within 14 days of receiving the goods – without giving any reason and without risk of a penalty. “You don’t even have to explain that the goods are a different colour, have an unpleasant texture or simply don’t fit in your home,” adds David Elischer, an expert in civil law at the Faculty of Law in Prague.
You can reconsider your purchase
This is a significant difference from shopping in a high-street shop, where a remedy can only be sought if the goods are faulty. Such claims can be made within 24 months of receipt. Goods that are not faulty, on the other hand, can only be returned if the seller permits this in their terms and conditions. Withdrawal from the contract is then only possible in the event of recurring defects or a serious breach of contract (details can be found further down the page – Ed.).
When shopping in an online shop, the goods cannot be inspected or tried out in advance, which is why the law provides for a fourteen-day ‘cooling-off period’. If you decide not to keep the goods, they can be returned without any difficulty. “In such a case, the trader is obliged to refund the consumer all monies received from them,” explains lawyer Vojtěch Steininger. The refund must be made no later than 14 days after the withdrawal.
However, the trader must not only refund the price of the goods. “This also includes the delivery charges they received from the customer,” explains Elischer. “The trader also bears the costs of returning the goods, unless they have already informed the consumer before the contract was concluded that these costs are to be borne by the customer in the event of withdrawal,” he adds.
The trader will only ever cover the costs of the cheapest shipping method offered. If you have the goods delivered by courier or return them by courier, you are only entitled to the amount corresponding to standard postal delivery.
The trader is obliged to inform the customer of their right of withdrawal, either directly in the contract or in the terms and conditions. “If they fail to inform the consumer of their right of withdrawal in good time, the withdrawal period only begins once the information is provided retrospectively. If this does not happen, the consumer may withdraw from the contract within one year and 14 days,” explains Steininger.
Returning overpriced pots. The same rule applies to contracts concluded over the telephone. If, for example, you order a book via teleshopping, you can return it within 14 days of receipt without giving a reason. Contracts concluded outside the usual business premises are also subject to the same rules. “This includes, for example, purchases at trade fairs, fairs or other sales events. We also expressly consider to be contracts concluded outside business premises any contract concluded during a trip organised by the trader for the purpose of advertising and selling their goods or services,” explains David Elischer, referring to an amendment to the Civil Code that has been in force since 2014. This has severely restricted the scope of action of well-known “con artists” who exploited the naivety of older people and sold them “bargain” goods at inflated prices.
So, for example, if your grandparents return today from a sales event with a set of “luxury” pots, it is sufficient to return them to the seller’s address and enclose a notice of withdrawal with the parcel. If the pots are delivered later, you must notify the retailer of the withdrawal as soon as possible (this can also be done by telephone) and subsequently refuse to accept the goods.
Original labels are not required
You can return the goods even if the packaging has already been opened or the goods have been used – and should the retailer claim that this is not possible, they are wrong. Even damaged goods can be returned. In this case, however, the retailer may claim compensation – which is highly likely to happen in practice. Nevertheless, no charges may be made for damaged packaging.
We would like to point out once again that this is a completely different situation from returning goods within a specific timeframe in a physical shop. This is done entirely at the shop’s own initiative and is not required by law. Therefore, the shop may set certain conditions, such as that the goods must not have been used under any circumstances and that the original labels and unused packaging must be present. In such cases, the seller is also not obliged to refund the purchase price; instead, the goods are often exchanged or a refund is provided in the form of a store credit for a future purchase.
Withdrawal from the contract is also subject to restrictions designed to prevent abuse. “The law does not allow the consumer to withdraw from a contract for the supply of goods that have been specially tailored to the consumer, from contracts for perishable goods, or from the supply of periodicals, magazines, newspapers, and audio and video recordings,” David Elischer cites as examples. Some goods cannot be returned at all; in other cases, the law imposes conditions. For example, a film on DVD can only be returned without giving a reason if the original packaging is undamaged. Otherwise, there would be a risk of abuse – one could order a film from an online shop, watch it and then return the disc.
“This does not, of course, preclude the possibility of withdrawing from the contract for legal reasons, although this usually involves a material breach of contract,” adds Elischer.
When and how can one withdraw from the contract?
Withdrawal from the contract (LN subscribers can find a template for withdrawing from a car purchase contract in the digital reader – Ed.) constitutes a unilateral termination of the obligations between the contracting parties. It is strictly limited to the cases expressly specified in the law or in a contractual agreement. Unilateral means that – much like in the case of termination – no declaration, let alone the consent of the other contracting party, is required. Unlike termination, the consequences are more serious: there is no notice period, and the obligation is rescinded from the outset, as if it had never arisen.
Back to square one
The cancellation of a sales contract represents a significant change in the relationship between buyer and seller and essentially returns them to square one: the customer returns the goods, and the retailer refunds the money.
Withdrawal from the contract is a mechanism used in two situations, which, however, differ significantly. The first case is withdrawal within 14 days of receiving the goods, where the contract was concluded either by distance selling or outside of the seller’s usual business premises. The key point is that this is a withdrawal without cause (details can be found in the main text of this page – Ed.). The law also permits such withdrawal in the case of consumer credit agreements.
Contract breached; I’m withdrawing!
The second scenario, the ‘classic’ withdrawal from the contract, must, however, always be based on specific grounds. ‘As a general rule: withdrawal from the contract is possible if the service is defective and constitutes a material breach of contract,’ explains lawyer Vojtěch Steininger. This applies in particular to situations where the product has an irreparable defect that prevents its proper use, or where repairable defects occur repeatedly. If, for example, a computer screen fails three times and a repair is required, you can either demand a new product or withdraw from the contract and claim a refund of the purchase price upon returning the device.
You may also withdraw from the contract if the trader has not dealt with the complaint within 30 days or an agreed longer period. Withdrawal is also possible if either party is in default of performance.
Procedure
The notice of withdrawal can be sent to the seller by post to the address of their registered office or by email. Withdrawal from the contract is also possible by telephone, although it may then be difficult to prove that the withdrawal has actually taken place. “If it is simpler or clearer for the trader, they may offer the consumer the option of withdrawing from the contract using a pre-printed form, whether in electronic or printed form,” says David Elischer of the Faculty of Law in Prague, citing an example of common practice.
The period begins on the day after the contract is concluded. It is sufficient if the notice of withdrawal is at least dispatched on the last day of the period. If the customer does not use email, it is advisable to send the withdrawal by registered post with proof of delivery in order to have clear proof of the date the letter was sent.
No escape for the trader
Some traders may attempt to avoid accepting a letter of withdrawal or the returned goods. In such a case, it is crucial that the withdrawal takes effect from the moment the recipient has the opportunity to take note of it. It is therefore sufficient for the letter to have been delivered to the trader’s registered office. If the trader deliberately refuses to accept the post, the law assumes that the item sent by post arrived on the third working day after dispatch.