Returns policy template for a UK online shop: the wording the law needs, and the lines that cost you money

A returns policy is read in two moods: by a customer about to buy, who wants to see that returning is easy, and by a customer who wants their money back, who reads every word. The template below is written for the second reader, because that is the one who ends up at the card issuer. It states the law accurately, says what the shop offers on top, and includes the lines that protect the shop's money without taking anything from the customer that the law gives them.

Free tool

Returns policy maker for a UK online shop

Fill in your shop's name, email and returns address, and the exclusions that apply to your range. The tool writes the policy clause by clause, with the cancellation form at the end.

Which letterCustomer pays return postageFree returns Shop name Email address for returns Returns address Exclusions that apply to your rangeThe 14-day right does not cover goods made to your specification or personalised, or sealed goods that cannot be returned for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed.Keep only what you sell. The regulations' list: goods made to the customer's specification or personalised; goods that perish or expire quickly; sealed goods not returnable for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed; sealed audio, video or software once unsealed; digital content once the download has started. Date of this version

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• List only the exclusions that apply to your range, and do not invent new ones: the list is the regulations', not yours.
• Show the policy before the order and repeat the key lines in the order confirmation. If the cancellation information is never given, the 14-day right is extended by 12 months.
• A policy that is silent on return postage makes it the shop's cost. If you choose the free returns version, you are bound by it.
• A longer window or an exchange is an offer on top; the statutory 14 days stay as the floor. Delete clause 7 if you sell only to consumers.

The rule this rests on: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 regulations 28 to 35 and Schedule 2; Consumer Rights Act 2015 sections 19 to 24. A draft to check and adapt, not legal advice.

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The template

1. Changed your mind: 14 days to tell us, 14 days to return. "If you are a consumer buying online, you may cancel your order for any reason up to 14 days after the day you receive it. Tell us by email at [address] or by using the form at the end of this page. You then have 14 days to send the goods back to us at [returns address]. We refund the price and the standard delivery charge within 14 days of receiving the goods back, or of you sending us proof of posting, whichever is first, to the card you paid with."

2. Return postage. "You pay the cost of returning goods you have changed your mind about. We recommend a tracked service; the goods are your responsibility until they reach us." If you prefer to offer free returns, say so here, and know that you are then bound by it.

3. Condition. "You may inspect the goods as you would in a shop. If they come back used, worn or damaged beyond that, we may deduct an amount reflecting the loss in value."

4. What you cannot return under the 14-day right. List only the exclusions that apply to your range: "goods made to your specification or personalised; goods that perish or expire quickly; sealed goods that cannot be returned for health or hygiene reasons once unsealed; sealed audio, video or software once unsealed; digital content once you have started the download." Do not list exclusions you do not sell. Do not invent new ones; the list is the regulations', not yours.

5. Faulty, damaged or not as described. "Your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 are not affected by anything in this policy. If goods are faulty, damaged or not as described, tell us. Within 30 days of delivery you may reject them for a full refund. After that we will repair or replace them at our cost, and if we cannot, refund you. We pay the return postage for faulty goods and will send you a prepaid label."

6. Exchanges. "We do not run exchanges as such: return the item under clause 1 and place a new order, so neither of us is waiting on the other." Or, if you do offer exchanges, say how. Keep it to one sentence.

7. How to cancel. The regulations require you to give a way to cancel; a short form (name, order number, "I wish to cancel") at the foot of the policy satisfies it. Email counts as a cancellation when it arrives, even if it comes on day 14 at 11pm.

8. Business customers. "This policy applies to consumers. Business purchases are governed by our terms of sale." Leave the sentence out if you sell only to consumers.

Where it has to appear

Before the order, and in the order confirmation. The 14-day right, the fact that the customer pays return postage, and the model cancellation form are among the information Schedule 2 of the regulations requires before the contract is made, and regulation 31 extends the cancellation period by 12 months if it is not given. A link labelled "Returns" in the footer, the policy on the product page, and the key lines repeated in the confirmation email is the pattern that satisfies both the regulations and the card schemes, which ask for the policy to have been shown at checkout when a chargeback is raised.

The lines that lose money

A policy that says "returns within 14 days" without saying the customer has 14 days after telling you to post the goods is wrong and will be read against you. A policy that is silent on return postage makes it your cost. A policy that says "no refunds on sale items" is unlawful for distance sales and is the kind of line a card issuer reads before deciding a dispute. A policy that applies the 14-day exclusions to faulty goods, for instance refusing to take back a faulty personalised item, is wrong under the 2015 Act; our returns rights checker works through both laws for any order.

What to offer on top

A longer window, say 30 days, is cheap and converts well; the statutory 14 remains the floor. Free returns are expensive and should be a decision taken on your return rate, not copied from a bigger shop. Whatever you add, write it as an offer, not as a right, so that if you withdraw it the law is unchanged.

A customer who cannot find the policy before buying will find the chargeback button after. Our guide on responding to chargebacks covers what the issuer wants to see, and the policy on this page is the first exhibit.

This is general information for consumer sales in the UK, not legal advice.