Key takeaways
- Online purchases often come with a cooling-off period: 14 days in the EU, 7 days in Morocco, for example.
- A product that breaks or doesn’t match its description is usually covered by a legal guarantee, on top of any brand warranty.
- Write to the seller, then send a formal letter; card payments can often be charged back.
- Keep the order, receipts, photos of the defect and every message.
A phone that stops charging after a month, a sofa that never arrives, a dress that looks nothing like the photo. Consumer laws in most countries protect you in these situations, but sellers rarely volunteer the information. Knowing the right words, and the order of the steps, makes a big difference.
Know your main rights
- Cooling-off period for distance sales: in many countries you can cancel an online or phone purchase without giving a reason within a set time. It’s 14 days in the EU and the UK, and 7 days under Morocco’s consumer protection Law 31-08, for example. Some items (custom goods, perishables, opened software) are excluded.
- Legal guarantee of conformity: a product must work and match its description. In the EU, this lasts at least two years. Elsewhere, implied warranties or similar rules exist.
- Delivery: if the item doesn’t arrive by the agreed date, you can usually set a final deadline and then cancel for a full refund.
1. Gather your evidence
Keep the order confirmation, the receipt or invoice, the product page (screenshot it: listings change), the delivery tracking, and photos or video of the defect or the damaged package. Note the dates you contacted the seller and their answers.
2. Contact the seller in writing
Describe the problem factually, say what you want (repair, replacement, refund), and give a reasonable deadline. Use email or the seller’s contact form so you have a trace. Mention the legal right you rely on: it signals you know your rights.
3. Escalate
- If there’s no satisfactory answer, send a formal demand letter by registered mail or email with proof of delivery (see /blog/how-to-write-a-formal-demand-letter/).
- If you paid by card, ask your bank about a chargeback for goods not received or not as described. Deadlines apply, often counted from the transaction or delivery date.
- Contact a consumer association or your country’s consumer protection authority; many offer free mediation.
- For marketplaces, open a dispute through the platform’s buyer protection.
- As a last resort, use a small-claims court or the online dispute services available in your country.
For purchases from private individuals, consumer laws generally don’t apply in the same way. See /blog/online-marketplace-scams-buyer-and-seller/ for buying second-hand safely.
Avoid these mistakes
Don’t send the product back before agreeing how the return works, keep proof of postage, and don’t throw away the packaging while the dispute is open. Never accept a voucher if you’re entitled to a refund, unless you prefer one.
Frequently asked questions
The seller says the warranty is the manufacturer’s problem. Is that true?
Often not. In many countries, the legal guarantee is the seller’s responsibility, separate from the manufacturer’s commercial warranty. Ask the seller to deal with it.
Can I return an item I simply don’t like?
For online purchases, often yes during the cooling-off period. In physical shops, returns of non-defective items depend on the shop’s policy, not the law, in most countries.
What if the online shop has disappeared?
Ask your bank for a chargeback if you paid by card, and report the site to the consumer authority or the police. It may have been a fake shop (see the guide on common online scams).
General information to help you get organised, not legal advice. Procedures and numbers can change: confirm them with the office concerned, and in danger call your local emergency number first.
