Who the 14-day rule applies to
The rules come from the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and they apply across the UK. They cover contracts with consumers, meaning people acting for themselves rather than for a business, when the contract is made:
- At a distance: online, by email or over the phone, without meeting face to face.
- Off-premises: somewhere other than your business premises, such as the customer’s home.
If you only work for other businesses, these rules don’t apply to you, although your contract terms still matter. Onboarding a homeowner, a tenant or any individual through an online form and e-signature is a distance contract, so the rules almost certainly apply.
How the 14 days work for services
For a service, the cancellation period ends 14 days after the day the contract is made. During that time the customer can cancel for any reason, without paying a penalty. See regulation 30.
A few kinds of service are excluded, including:
- Urgent repairs or maintenance where the customer asked you to visit to do them. Extra work you agree on that visit isn’t covered by this exception.
- Accommodation, catering, transport of goods, car hire and leisure services booked for a specific date or period.
Regulation 28 has the full list.
What you must tell customers before they agree
Before the customer is bound by the contract, you must give them certain information in a clear and understandable way. For a service business, the important items are:
- What the service is, and the total price, including VAT and any other charges.
- Your business name, address and contact details.
- How and when you’ll carry out the work, and how long the contract lasts.
- Their right to cancel: the conditions, the 14-day time limit and how to do it, with the model cancellation form.
- That if they ask you to start within the 14 days and then cancel, they’ll pay for what you have done.
Schedule 2 lists everything required. After the contract is made, and before you start the work, you must also confirm it in a “durable medium”, such as an email or a PDF they can keep. See regulation 16.
Starting work within the 14 days
Plenty of customers don’t want to wait two weeks. You can start sooner, but only if the customer expressly asks you to. For contracts made at the customer’s home or elsewhere off your premises, that request must be in a durable medium, such as a ticked box on a form they keep a copy of. See regulation 36.
If they ask you to start early and then cancel within the 14 days:
- They pay a proportionate amount for the work done up to the point they told you they were cancelling.
- If the service is finished within the 14 days and they acknowledged they’d lose the right to cancel once it was, they can’t cancel.
- If you didn’t tell them about the right to cancel, or that they’d pay for work done, they owe you nothing.
What happens if you don't tell them
This is where it gets expensive:
- The cancellation period is extended by up to 12 months. If you give the information late, it ends 14 days after they receive it. See regulation 31.
- A customer who cancels during that time may owe nothing for work you’ve already done.
- For contracts made off your premises, failing to give the cancellation information is a criminal offence. See regulation 19.
Your terms still have to be fair
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 says a term that is unfair to a consumer isn’t binding on them, and written terms must be transparent: plain, intelligible and legible. See section 62. Signing online doesn’t change that. A clear, short set of terms is easier to defend than a long one nobody reads. Our guide to electronic signatures covers making the agreement itself.
A simple checklist for online consumer sign-ups
- Show your price, your details and how the work will happen before they agree.
- Explain the 14-day right to cancel, and include the model cancellation form.
- Add a separate, optional tick-box for customers who want you to start sooner.
- Get their agreement to your terms with a clear signature or acceptance.
- Send them a copy of what they agreed to, as a PDF or email, before you start.
- Don’t start within the 14 days unless they ticked the box.
Setting this up in PORTALD
You can put the whole sequence on one checklist. Upload your terms, with the cancellation information and model form, as a PDF contract the customer accepts online; PORTALD records who accepted, which version and when. Add a form with the optional “start sooner” tick-box, and share a copy of the agreed terms to their Files page, where they can download it whenever they need it.
PORTALD records what was agreed. It doesn’t write your terms or check them against the law, so have them reviewed if you’re unsure. See the customer onboarding portal for more.
Start your 14-day free trial14 days free. No card needed.
Common questions
Do the 14-day cancellation rules apply to business customers?
No. They protect consumers, meaning people acting for themselves rather than for a business. Contracts between businesses are governed by their own terms.
When does the 14 days start for a service?
The day after the contract is made. The period ends 14 days after that day.
Can I start work before the 14 days are up?
Yes, if the customer expressly asks you to. For contracts made at their home or elsewhere off your premises, that request must be in a durable medium, such as a ticked box on a form they keep a copy of. If they then cancel, they pay a proportionate amount for the work done.
What if I forgot to tell a customer about the right to cancel?
The cancellation period is extended by up to 12 months, or ends 14 days after you give them the information if you do so late. A customer who cancels in that time may owe nothing for work already done.
Do urgent repairs have a cancellation period?
Not if the customer asked you to visit to carry out urgent repairs or maintenance. Any extra work you agree on that visit is still covered by the cancellation rules.