Notice

Also called: cooling off period or reflection period

The trial period or cooling off period is the legal reflection period a consumer has when buying a product or service remotely. During this period (14 days), the purchase may be dissolved if the delivered product does not meet the customer 's expectations. In this case, it must be possible to return the product to the online store free of charge.

Notification requirement for sellers

Sellers are obliged in distance selling to inform customers of the applicable trial period. If they fail to do so, the law automatically prescribes that the period be extended from 14 days to 1 year. No trial period applies to a number of types of products. These include travel, magazines/newspapers, customized products and food.

If customers return items within the trial period, the purchase price must be refunded within 30 days. In principle, send costs are the responsibility of the buyer.

Even with canvassing, buyers are entitled to a legal cooling-off period.