What European law provides after you have paid
Two separate rights apply to a distance purchase in the Union, and they are frequently confused. One lets you change your mind for any reason within a fixed period. The other applies when the product is not what it should be, and it lasts far longer.
Both have exceptions, and one of the exceptions applies to a substantial share of what is sold in this category. Knowing which right you are exercising determines what you can ask for.
This page covers the withdrawal right, the conformity guarantee, which exceptions apply here, what a seller may and may not do, and how to make a claim that works.
⚠️ Scope. This page describes a process and what can be verified from documents. It does not describe what a product does to a person, gives no amounts, and does not replace a healthcare professional.
🔴 The withdrawal right
What it is
A period after a distance purchase during which a consumer may withdraw without giving any reason.
The period
Fourteen days, running from receipt of the goods rather than from the order. Some sellers offer longer voluntarily.
What it requires
Notifying the trader of the decision within the period. Returning the goods follows, generally within a further fourteen days.
What it does not require
A reason, a fault, or the seller’s agreement. It is a right rather than a concession.
What the withdrawal right costs you
Return postage
Generally borne by the consumer, provided the trader informed them of that beforehand. Where they did not, the trader bears it.
Diminished value
A consumer may handle goods to establish their nature and characteristics. Handling beyond that can reduce the refund.
Nothing else
No restocking fee, no administration charge, and no deduction for having exercised the right.
The refund timing
Within fourteen days of the trader being informed, though they may withhold until the goods are returned or proof of return is supplied.
🔴 The exception that matters here
What it says
Sealed goods which are not suitable for return for health protection or hygiene reasons lose the withdrawal right once unsealed.
Why it applies
Ingestible products in sealed containers frequently fall within it, and sellers in this category generally rely on it.
What that means practically
An unopened product can generally be returned. An opened one generally cannot, under this right.
What it does not affect
The conformity guarantee, which is a separate right and is not lost by opening anything.
The other exceptions
Goods that deteriorate rapidly
Products liable to deteriorate or expire quickly are excluded. Whether it applies here depends on the product and it is invoked occasionally.
Custom-made goods
Anything made to a consumer’s specification. It applies to bespoke formulations and rarely to anything else.
What sellers sometimes claim
Exceptions that do not exist, or the hygiene exception applied to unopened goods. Neither is supportable.
The test
The exception attaches to unsealing, not to the sale. An unopened sealed product retains the withdrawal right.
The conformity guarantee
What it is
A separate right: goods must conform to what was described, and the seller is liable where they do not.
The period
Two years from delivery under the Union framework, with some national variation in how it operates.
What counts as non-conformity
Not matching the description, not having the qualities stated, or not being fit for the purpose the consumer made known and the seller accepted.
What it entitles you to
Repair or replacement first, and a price reduction or termination where those are not possible or not provided within a reasonable time.
Where non-conformity actually arises here
Content below the stated figure
If a certificate for the batch shows materially less than the label claims, the product does not conform to its description.
A batch code mismatch
Where the certificate supplied does not correspond to the product received, the described characteristics have not been evidenced.
Contamination
A product exceeding a legal limit is not merely non-conforming; it is unsafe and separate obligations apply to the seller.
Condition on arrival
Material that arrives visibly degraded, damp or damaged is not what was described, regardless of what the certificate says.
Making a claim that works
Document first
Photographs of the product, the packaging, the batch code and any visible problem, taken before anything is returned.
State the right you are using
Withdrawal, if within the period and the goods are unopened. Non-conformity, if the product is not what was described.
Be specific
The batch code, the date of purchase, the stated figure and the certificate figure. A factual claim is harder to deflect.
In writing
Email rather than telephone, so there is a record. It matters if the matter escalates.
What a seller may not do
Refuse withdrawal on unopened goods
Within the period, for a product not covered by an exception. The right does not require their agreement.
Charge a restocking fee
There is no basis for one under the withdrawal right.
Limit the conformity guarantee
A commercial guarantee may add to the statutory rights and cannot replace or reduce them.
Require a reason
Withdrawal requires none. A seller demanding one is misdescribing the right.
Cross-border purchases
Within the Union
The framework applies across member states, and a seller in another member state is subject to the same rights.
Where to complain
National consumer authorities, and the European Consumer Centres network which assists with cross-border disputes.
Online dispute resolution
A Union platform exists for disputes arising from online purchases, and traders selling online are required to link to it.
Outside the Union
The framework does not apply. A purchase from a third-country seller carries whatever that jurisdiction provides, which may be very little.
What to check before ordering
The returns policy
Whether it states the withdrawal period, who pays return postage, and which exceptions are claimed.
Whether it exceeds the minimum
Some sellers offer longer periods or accept opened goods. That is a commercial choice and a positive signal.
Whether it contradicts the law
A policy stating no returns under any circumstances is not enforceable and it indicates unfamiliarity with the framework.
The trader’s identity
Name, address and contact details must be provided. A seller you cannot identify is one you cannot pursue.
The information a trader must give you beforehand
Before the order is placed
The main characteristics of the goods, the total price including delivery, the trader’s identity and address, and the existence of the withdrawal right.
Why the last one matters
If a trader fails to inform a consumer of the withdrawal right, the period is extended substantially beyond fourteen days.
What that means practically
A seller with no mention of withdrawal anywhere has not started the clock properly, and the period runs far longer than they think.
How to check
The order page, the confirmation email and the terms. The information must be provided in a clear and comprehensible manner, not buried.
The withdrawal form
What it is
A model form set out in the framework, which traders must make available and which consumers may use to notify a withdrawal.
Whether you must use it
No. Any unambiguous statement of the decision to withdraw is sufficient, including a plain email.
Why it is still useful
Because it is unambiguous by construction, and ambiguity is what a reluctant trader will use.
What to include either way
The order number, the date, the items, and a plain sentence stating that you are withdrawing from the contract.
What happens with a partial return
Returning some items
Permitted. The withdrawal right applies to the contract and a consumer may withdraw in respect of part of it.
The delivery charge
The trader must refund the standard delivery cost paid on the outbound order, though not any premium for expedited delivery.
What is frequently got wrong
Traders refunding the goods and withholding the outbound delivery charge. On a full withdrawal that is not correct.
On a partial withdrawal
The position is more complicated and depends on what remains. It is worth asking rather than assuming.
Evidence that makes a claim straightforward
The photographs
Packaging sealed, the batch code legible, and the product as it arrived. Taken before opening.
The certificate
The one supplied for that batch, saved rather than linked, since links to superseded batches disappear.
The correspondence
Everything in writing. A telephone call resolves nothing that can be disputed later.
The arithmetic
Where content is the issue, the calculation showing the discrepancy. A specific figure is far harder to deflect than a description.
When a seller does not respond
The escalation path
The national consumer protection authority, and the European Consumer Centre where the seller is in another member state.
The online platform
The Union dispute resolution platform for online purchases, which traders selling online must link to.
The payment route
Chargeback through a card issuer, where the goods were not as described. It is a separate mechanism with its own conditions.
What to have ready
The correspondence, the photographs and the certificate. The same evidence serves every route.
What this framework does not cover
Whether a product suits you
Not a legal question and not a basis for a non-conformity claim. Withdrawal exists precisely for changing your mind.
Ordinary batch variation
A batch differing from the last within normal ranges is not a non-conformity. The description was still accurate.
Degradation after purchase
Material that aged in your cupboard is your storage rather than the seller’s conformity.
Where the line sits
Whether the product matched its description when it arrived. That is the test, and photographs on arrival are what establish it.
The habit that costs seconds and settles everything
Photograph the parcel before opening it
The sealed packaging, the batch code, and the delivery note. Three photographs, taken once, before anything is unsealed.
Why before
Because the hygiene exception attaches to unsealing. A photograph of an intact seal is the evidence that the withdrawal right was still available at that moment.
What it also captures
The batch code, which is what every subsequent conformity question turns on, and which becomes illegible or discarded surprisingly often.
What it costs
Ten seconds per delivery. It is the same habit that serves the storage record and the comparison between purchases, which is why it is worth forming once.
Which right to use, in one line
You changed your mind
Withdrawal. Fourteen days, unopened, no reason needed, and the seller’s agreement is not required.
The product is not what it said
Non-conformity. Two years, opened or not, with the certificate and the photographs as the evidence.
Why sellers here rely so heavily on one exception
The hygiene exception is broad
It covers sealed goods unsuitable for return on health grounds, and an ingestible product in a sealed container fits the description comfortably.
What that produces
A category where, in practice, almost nothing opened comes back. Sellers state it plainly and they are generally entitled to.
Where it is overstated
Applied to unopened goods, or to goods that were never sealed in the first place. Neither use is supportable and both appear.
What it never covers
The conformity guarantee. A seller invoking the hygiene exception against a non-conformity claim has answered a different question from the one asked.
A short glossary
Withdrawal right
The right to cancel a distance purchase within fourteen days of receipt, without giving a reason, subject to exceptions.
Hygiene exception
The exclusion of sealed goods unsuitable for return on health or hygiene grounds, once they have been unsealed.
Conformity guarantee
The two-year statutory liability of a seller for goods that do not match their description or lack stated qualities.
Diminished value
The reduction a trader may apply where a consumer handled goods beyond what was needed to establish their nature.
Online dispute resolution
The Union platform for resolving disputes arising from online purchases, which online traders must link to.
The five checks that apply to any product
The batch certificate
Request it with the number printed on the packaging. A general document for the product line does not cover this batch, and those differences are exactly what it should record.
Total THC
Delta-9-THC plus THCA multiplied by 0.877, because THCA becomes THC under heat and the limit applies to the sum, not to either value alone.
Price per milligram
A division, not an opinion. The only figure that makes two products comparable, whatever the format, process and pack size.
The claims
Without an authorisation number in the EU Register these are assertions, not data — and for cannabidiol that register contains no authorised entry to this day.
The seller’s details
Company name, address and contact. Without them there is also no counterparty to turn to if something turns out to be wrong.
How this connects to the rest
With the certificate
It is the evidence for a non-conformity claim based on content, and the batch match is the first thing to check.
With the eight questions
The returns position is the last of them, and the answer is informative about the seller.
With storage
Material that arrived degraded is a conformity question. Material that degraded afterwards is not.
With price per milligram
A content figure materially below the stated one is a non-conformity, and the arithmetic is what reveals it.
What this is for in practice
Before ordering
Read the returns policy for the period, the postage and the exceptions claimed.
On arrival
Photograph the packaging and the batch code before opening anything. It takes seconds and it is the evidence.
If you change your mind
Withdrawal, within fourteen days, unopened. No reason required.
If the product is wrong
Non-conformity, with the certificate and the photographs. It is a different right and it lasts two years.
Frequently asked questions
How long do I have to change my mind? Fourteen days from receipt, on distance purchases, without giving a reason. Some sellers offer longer.
Can I return an opened product? Generally not under the withdrawal right, where the hygiene exception applies to sealed ingestible goods. The conformity guarantee is unaffected.
Who pays return postage? The consumer, provided the trader said so beforehand. Where they did not, the trader bears it.
Can a seller charge a restocking fee? No. There is no basis for one under the withdrawal right.
What is the conformity guarantee? A separate two-year right covering goods that do not match their description or lack the qualities stated.
When does that apply here? Content materially below the stated figure, a batch code mismatch, contamination, or material arriving visibly degraded.
What should I do first? Photograph the product, packaging and batch code before returning anything, and put the claim in writing.
Can a policy say no returns? It can say it and it is not enforceable. Statutory rights are not something a policy can remove.
What about buying from another member state? The same framework applies, and the European Consumer Centres network assists with cross-border disputes.
What about outside the Union? The framework does not apply, and you have whatever that jurisdiction provides.
What we check and what we do not
We check what can be checked from documents: official registers, declared contents, certificates of analysis, arithmetic. We test no products, rank nothing, and assert no effects.
The two rights are frequently presented as one, and the distinction is what makes a claim work. Changing your mind is a fourteen-day right on unopened goods. A product that is not what it said it was is a two-year right, unaffected by whether you opened it.
That second right is the one that matters most in this category, because the commonest real problem — a content figure that does not match, or a certificate for a different batch — is precisely a non-conformity. It is also the one sellers mention least.