Buying online or on your doorstep

Before you buy

The business must provide the following information to you:

• about the business – their name, physical address, phone number, email
• what you are buying – what the product/service is, the arrangements to deliver/supply it to you
• costs – the total price, any other charges or how the price/charges will be calculated
• cancellation – your right to cancel and how to cancel
• other information – the length of the contract, the conditions that apply to a deposit

These information requirements do not apply when you buy on your doorstep for less than €50.

Making an online payment

When you buy online the business must make sure that you:

• always know when you are making a payment. This means that when you order by clicking a button, it must be clearly labelled with words indicating ‘obligation to pay’ or similar

• can easily show if you want other products or services. This means that a business cannot use pre-ticked boxes for additional payments

After you buy

The business must give you a copy of the signed contract or confirmation of your order.

When you use an online marketplace such as donedeal.ie, ebay.ie, booking.com, the operator must tell you:

• how they rank the results for their online search
• whether the seller is a business or consumer
• that you are not protected by consumer law when the seller is a consumer
• how consumer law obligations are shared between the website operator and the business

The information should be in plain language and easy to find.

You can cancel and get a full refund up to 14 days from when you make a purchase. This right extends to 30 days for doorstep sales. For goods, the cancellation timeline starts after you physically receive them.

When you use this right, you do not have to give the business a reason for cancelling. If there is a dispute, it is up to you to show that you used your right to cancel.

Business obligations

The business must:

• inform you that you can cancel and detail the cancellation timescales
• give you a cancellation form and explain how you cancel
• provide a refund, when applicable:
  • no later than 14 days after you cancelled
  • using the same payment method you paid with, unless you agree otherwise
• cancel any other service you ordered with the goods/service – for example, insurance for a sofa

If the business does not tell you of your right to cancel, the right to cancel extends to 12 months from the date it was due to expire.

Using your right to cancel

When you want to use your right to cancel, you must:

• inform the business in writing within the cancellation timescale
• return the goods to the business and pay any costs that may apply
• return the goods to the business within 14 days of cancelling and pay any costs that apply
• not use the service you are cancelling and pay for what you have used

When the right to cancel does not apply

The right to cancel does not apply in certain circumstances, for example if a product/service is personalised or not suitable for return for heath/hygiene reasons.

The right to cancel in consumer law also does not apply in some sectors:

• passenger transport services (for example, air, rail, boat, bus)
• contracts for accommodation, transport of goods, car rental services, catering or leisure activities when they are for a set date or period

If you want to cancel a service in these sectors you should check the t&c’s in your contract to see if this is possible.  If you feel that a business is not adhering to your contract, you should complain to them.  If you are not satisfied with the response of the business you can take other actions.