Right of withdrawal in the EU, for sellers

14 days: the information due before the order

Directive 2011/83/EU lists the information due before a distance contract. For withdrawal, it is:

• the conditions, time limit and procedure: 14 days, running from receipt of the goods for a sale (Article 9);
• the model withdrawal form set out in Annex I(B) of the directive;
• the fact that the buyer pays for returns, where that is the case, and the cost when the goods cannot normally be returned by post;
• the cases where the right does not apply or is lost: made-to-order goods, goods that spoil quickly, hygiene products unsealed after delivery, digital content supplied at once with the buyer's express consent, the buyer then giving up the right, among others (Article 16);
• since June 19, 2026, that the online withdrawal function exists and where it is.

After a withdrawal, you refund the buyer within 14 days, standard delivery included, and you may wait until you get the goods back or proof that they were sent (Article 13).

"Withdraw from contract here", required since June 19, 2026

For a contract concluded through a website, the trader provides a function that lets the consumer withdraw online, for the whole withdrawal period (Directive (EU) 2023/2673, which adds Article 11a). France has written it into its code (Code de la consommation, D221-5, in French):

• it carries the words "withdraw from contract here", in French "renoncer au contrat ici", or an unambiguous equivalent;
• it is prominently displayed on the site, easy to reach, and available throughout the withdrawal period;
• the buyer gives or confirms their name, the contract concerned and how they want to receive the acknowledgment, then submits with a "confirm withdrawal" button or an equivalent;
• you send an acknowledgment on a durable medium, with the content of the statement and the date and time it was sent.

In France, contracts already running on June 19, 2026 stay under the earlier rules.

Twelve more months, and return costs on you

If the trader did not provide the information on the right of withdrawal, the period ends 12 months after the initial 14 days (Directive 2011/83/EU, Article 10). If the information arrives during that extension, the buyer has 14 days from that point.

Return costs follow the same logic. The buyer only bears the direct cost of returning the goods, and only if you told them so; you can also choose to pay it (Article 14).

"Free returns" in Google, return costs on the buyer in the terms

The gap can come from a page other than the terms. The published report on a sporting goods marketplace finds four values for one rule:

• "Retour gratuit 30 j" (free returns, 30 days) in the description of 49 pages, the text Google shows under the title;
• "Retour possible sous 30 jours" (returns accepted within 30 days) in the top bar of every page;
• "Les frais de retour sont à la charge de l'Acheteur" (return costs are borne by the buyer) in the terms of sale;
• return costs borne by the seller only when the seller is a professional partner, in the help center's return conditions.

The description is often the first promise a shopper reads. It announces free returns with no condition, while the contract leaves the cost with the buyer unless a professional partner made the sale: a shopper who trusts the search result expects a free return the contract does not provide.

The fix is smaller than the gap. The wording comes from a description template shared by the listing pages, and the report says so: correcting that template fixes all 49 pages. Offering 30 days rather than 14 is a commercial choice; what matters is that every page says what the contract says.

Terms, promises, online function: the order of fixes

Most of this is settled in your texts; the online function takes work on the site.

1. Gather the withdrawal information in your terms of sale, or in a returns page that is part of them, and make it readable before the order. An FAQ helps buyers; it does not replace that text.
2. Have it checked for the four elements: the 14-day period and when it starts, the model form, who pays for returns, and the exceptions that apply to your catalog.
3. Align your other promises with that text: page descriptions, banners, product pages, confirmation emails. If you advertise free returns, your terms must say the same.
4. Ask your developer, or your store platform, where the "withdraw from contract here" function is, whether a buyer finds it without searching, and whether the acknowledgment goes out. If it does not exist yet, it is development work or a module to install and configure: plan it.
5. Have the wording of the button that places the order checked at the same time, the other requirement that lives in the checkout.

Withdrawal does not replace the legal guarantee of conformity: a faulty product stays covered for two years, long after the 14 days. When a dispute over a return cannot be settled, a French buyer can turn to the consumer mediator you have named. The guide to EU ecommerce legal requirements covers the full list.

The audit reads this information once it has established that you sell at a distance to consumers; without enough evidence, withdrawal is not assessed, and the report says so. It goes through the displayed text of every contractual page in the sample: terms of sale, delivery, returns, refunds, legal notice, and the PDF of your terms if there is one. It applies French consumer law, so it looks for the "droit de rétractation" in the French wording of your terms, then for the four elements; the period is only read in sentences about withdrawal, so it is not confused with a delivery time.

The report says which were found. The information is reported as lacking once two elements are missing: a single one can come down to wording the search does not recognize. For the same reason, a readable period under 14 days is flagged for review without being counted.

In the published store, withdrawal is mentioned with the model form and who pays for returns; the exceptions were not found, and the report notes it without reporting the information as lacking. The free-returns gap comes from another reading, which compares the promises that pages repeat. We have also found a store whose withdrawal information lacked several of these elements.