Can my customer cancel the job, and what do I get paid if they do? Five questions for trades

A customer has sent a message saying they no longer want the job, and you need to know two things: whether they are allowed to cancel, and what you are owed for the deposit, the materials and any work already done. The answer depends on who the customer is, where the job was agreed, what you gave them and whether work had begun. This questionnaire asks about each in turn and gives the one outcome that fits, with the regulation behind it. It follows the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 as we read them on legislation.gov.uk on 2 October 2026. It takes about a minute, and nothing you choose leaves the page.

Free tool

Customer cancels a job: which rule applies and what you are owed

Answer each question. Some questions appear only when an earlier answer makes them relevant. Nothing you choose leaves this page.

1. Who is the customer, and where was the job agreed?ChooseA business, such as a contractor, shop or landlord companyA householder who agreed it at your shop, office or yardA householder who agreed it at home, or straight after your visitA householder who agreed it wholly by phone, email or online
2. Is the job an urgent repair the customer called you out for, or the building of a new house?ChooseAn urgent repair or maintenance visit they asked forA new building, or a conversion into a substantially new oneNeither: a refit, installation or other planned work
3. Did the customer get the cancellation information and form before they agreed to the job?ChooseYes, with the quote or before they agreedNo, or only afterwards, or not sure
4. Did the customer tell you they were cancelling within 14 days after the day the job was agreed?ChooseYes, inside the 14 daysNo, after the 14 days had ended
5. Had you started the work when they cancelled, and had they asked you in writing to start early?ChooseNo work had startedStarted, after they asked in writing to start earlyStarted, with no written request from themFinished at their written request, and they accepted the right ends

Start again

The outcome is the rule as our guides and the sources named set it out, applied to the answers you gave. It is not advice on your own case.

Email me this result

We send the figures above to your inbox as they stand now, with a link back to this page.

Email addressSend it

Also send me the weekly admin fix (one practical guide a week; unsubscribe any time)

We use your address to send this result and keep a copy of what we sent. Privacy notice.

Works in your browser. Nothing you type leaves this device unless you ask us to email you the result.

The questions, and why each is asked

1. Who is the customer, and where was the job agreed? The 14-day right to cancel in the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 belongs to consumers, and only for off-premises and distance contracts. A job agreed straight after you spoke to the customer at their home still counts as off-premises.

2. Is the job an urgent repair the customer called you out for, or the building of a new house? Regulation 28 takes urgent repairs or maintenance the customer specifically asked you to visit for out of the right to cancel. Regulation 6 puts the construction of new buildings outside the Regulations altogether. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

3. Did the customer get the cancellation information and form before they agreed to the job? Where the information on the right to cancel is not given, regulation 31 extends the cancellation period by up to 12 months, and regulation 36 says the customer bears no cost for work done in that period. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

4. Did the customer tell you they were cancelling within 14 days after the day the job was agreed? Regulation 30 ends the cancellation period 14 days after the day a service contract is entered into. Where the contract also passes goods to the customer, it counts as a sales contract and the 14 days run from the day the goods arrive. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

5. Had you started the work when they cancelled, and had they asked you in writing to start early? Regulation 36 says work must not begin in the cancellation period unless the customer makes an express request, which for a job agreed off your premises must be on paper, by email or in another durable form. This question appears only when an earlier answer makes it relevant.

Every outcome, and the rule behind it

No 14-day right to cancel: your own terms decide what is owed

Reached when: "Who is the customer, and where was the job agreed?" answered "A business, such as a contractor, shop or landlord company" or "A householder who agreed it at your shop, office or yard".

The right to cancel within 14 days in Part 3 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 applies only to distance and off-premises contracts between a trader and a consumer. A business customer, or a householder who agreed the job at your premises, does not have it. What they owe for pulling out is what your contract says. For a householder, Schedule 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lists a term demanding a disproportionately high sum in compensation among those that may be unfair.

• Read the cancellation clause in the terms the customer accepted before you reply.
• Charge what the cancellation cost you, such as materials you cannot return, not a flat penalty.
• If you have no written terms, add a cancellation clause to your quotes for the next job.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 5, 27 and 29; Consumer Rights Act 2015, Schedule 2 Part 1; read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Terms and conditions template for tradespeople.

No 14-day right for an urgent call-out or a new building

Reached when: "Is the job an urgent repair the customer called you out for, or the building of a new house?" answered "An urgent repair or maintenance visit they asked for" or "A new building, or a conversion into a substantially new one".

Regulation 28 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 removes the right to cancel where the customer specifically requested a visit for urgent repairs or maintenance. It still applies to extra services you agree on that visit beyond the repair, and to goods other than the replacement parts the repair needs. Regulation 6 puts contracts for the construction of new buildings, or of substantially new buildings by conversion, outside the Regulations. In both cases your own terms decide what a customer who pulls out owes.

• Keep the message in which the customer asked you to come out urgently.
• Treat extra work agreed during an urgent visit as a job with a 14-day right to cancel.
• Check what your written terms say about a customer pulling out.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 6(1)(e) and 28(1)(e) and (2), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Terms and conditions template for tradespeople.

They can cancel for up to 12 months and owe nothing for work done

Reached when: "Did the customer get the cancellation information and form before they agreed to the job?" answered "No, or only afterwards, or not sure".

Where the customer was not given the information on the right to cancel, regulation 31 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 ends the cancellation period 12 months after the day it would otherwise have ended, so about 12 months and 14 days after the job was agreed. Regulation 36(6) says the customer bears no cost for work done in the cancellation period. If you give the information late, within those 12 months, the period ends 14 days after the customer receives it.

• Give the cancellation information and the model form now: the period then ends 14 days after they receive it.
• Refund what they have paid within 14 days of the day they told you they were cancelling.
• Put the information and form on every quote agreed away from your premises from today.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 31, 34 and 36(6), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in How to write a quote for a job.

The 14 days have ended: your own terms decide what is owed

Reached when: "Did the customer tell you they were cancelling within 14 days after the day the job was agreed?" answered "No, after the 14 days had ended".

You gave the cancellation information, so under regulation 30 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 the right to cancel ended 14 days after the day the job was agreed, or 14 days after the goods arrived if the contract also supplies goods. A customer who pulls out after that is breaking the contract, and what they owe is what your terms say. Schedule 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lists a disproportionately high sum in compensation among the terms that may be unfair.

• Count the 14 days from the day after the job was agreed, and check the date of their message.
• Charge for materials you cannot return or reuse and time you cannot fill, with the receipts to show it.
• Return any part of the deposit that is more than the cancellation cost you.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30; Consumer Rights Act 2015, Schedule 2 Part 1; read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Terms and conditions template for tradespeople.

They can cancel, and everything they paid goes back within 14 days

Reached when: "Had you started the work when they cancelled, and had they asked you in writing to start early?" answered "No work had started".

Regulation 29 of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 lets the customer cancel in the cancellation period without giving a reason. No work has been done, so regulation 34 applies in full: you must reimburse all payments received, deposit included, without undue delay and not later than 14 days after the day you were told. The refund goes back by the same means of payment unless the customer agrees otherwise, and you must not charge a fee for making it.

• Refund the deposit within 14 days of the day they told you, by the method they paid with.
• Check whether you ordered goods made to the customer's specification: regulation 28 treats those differently.
• On the next job, hold off ordering special materials until the 14 days have ended, where you can.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 28(1)(b), 29 and 34, read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in How to write a quote for a job.

They can cancel and owe nothing for the work already done

Reached when: "Had you started the work when they cancelled, and had they asked you in writing to start early?" answered "Started, with no written request from them".

Regulation 36(1) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 says a trader must not begin a service in the cancellation period unless the customer has made an express request, on a durable medium such as paper or email for an off-premises contract. You started without one, so regulation 36(6) applies: the customer bears no cost for the work supplied in the cancellation period. Everything they have paid must be reimbursed within 14 days of the day they told you.

• Refund what they have paid within 14 days of the day they told you they were cancelling.
• From now on, get a text or email asking you to start before any job begins inside the 14 days.
• Add a start-early request line to your quote so the customer can sign or reply to it.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 34 and 36(1) and (6), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Terms and conditions template for tradespeople.

The right to cancel has ended: the full price is due

Reached when: "Had you started the work when they cancelled, and had they asked you in writing to start early?" answered "Finished at their written request, and they accepted the right ends".

Regulation 36(2) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 says the customer ceases to have the right to cancel a service contract once the service has been fully performed, if the work began after their express request and with their acknowledgement that they would lose the right once the job was finished. Both parts are needed. If you have the request but not the acknowledgement, the right to cancel continues until the 14 days end, and the customer then pays for the work done.

• Send the invoice for the full price with a copy of the customer's written request.
• Keep the request and the acknowledgement with the job file for six years.
• If the invoice is not paid, follow the chasing steps in the linked guide.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36(1) and (2), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Customer won't pay for work done? What a UK tradesperson can do, step by step.

They can cancel, but they pay for the work done so far

Reached when: any other set of answers.

The customer asked you in writing to start inside the 14 days, so regulation 36(4) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 applies. They can still cancel, but they must pay for the service supplied up to the time they told you, in proportion to the whole job. Regulation 36(5) bases the amount on the total price agreed in the contract. On a £3,000 job that is one third done, the customer owes £1,000, and anything paid above that goes back within 14 days.

• Work out the share of the job done when their message arrived and apply it to the agreed price.
• Send a short statement: price agreed, share done, amount owed, deposit held, balance either way.
• Refund anything they paid above that amount within 14 days of the day they told you.

Source: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulations 34 and 36(4) and (5), read on legislation.gov.uk 2 October 2026. The working is in Terms and conditions template for tradespeople.

How to use the result

Use it with the quote, the customer's messages and your diary in front of you, because every question turns on a date or a document. If the outcome is that money goes back, send it within the 14 days the regulation gives you and keep a record. If the outcome is that your terms decide, read what your terms say before you reply. Then fix the cause: most of the outcomes that leave you unpaid come from a missing cancellation form or a missing written request to start early.

The outcome applies the rule to the answers given; it cannot see the facts behind them. Where an answer is a judgement, or the facts are unusual, the outcome may not fit. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Overlyft sets up AI assistants for trades and building firms: they prepare drafts for a person to approve. None of these outcomes depends on them.