Returns and withdrawal

Draft for legal review. Last edited 2 September 2026. This is a template written for an EU online pet supplies shop. It has not been reviewed by a lawyer, and the details in [square brackets] still have to be filled in. It must be reviewed by the client’s legal counsel before the shop takes an order.

Animals have opinions. The bed goes unused, the food gets sniffed and refused, the harness does not fit the shape of that particular dog. So the return policy is written to be used, not to be argued with.

The 14 days the law gives you

Because you bought at a distance, you have 14 days to withdraw from the contract without giving any reason. The 14 days start the day after you — or someone you nominated — physically receive the goods. If an order arrives in several parcels, they start the day after the last one.

To withdraw, tell us clearly before the 14 days are up. An email to [returns email address] saying you are withdrawing from order number so-and-so is enough; you may use the model form below, but you do not have to. Sending the goods back without a word also counts, as long as it is inside the window.

Then send the goods back within 14 days of telling us. You are responsible for any loss in value caused by handling them more than you would in a shop — trying a collar on is fine, wearing it out on a month of walks is not.

The 30 days we give you

On top of the statutory right, we accept returns for 30 days from delivery, for any reason. That includes food your animal turned down, opened, provided the packaging is resealable or the remaining contents are intact — this is the part the law does not require and we do anyway, because a refused bag of food is the single commonest reason anyone returns anything to a pet shop.

The goodwill window is a contractual promise, not a statutory one. Where the two differ, whichever is better for you applies.

What cannot be returned

The statutory right to withdraw does not apply to:

• Goods sealed for health protection or hygiene that have been unsealed after delivery — for example medicated shampoos, wound sprays and syringes.
• Goods that spoil quickly: fresh and frozen food, live plants, live foods for fish and reptiles.
• Goods made or personalised to your specification, such as an engraved tag.
• Goods that were inseparably mixed with other items after delivery, or that arrive sealed and are unsealed where sealing was a safety measure.

Prescription and veterinary medicines cannot be returned once dispatched, for the same reason a pharmacy will not take them back.

None of these exceptions apply when the item is faulty, damaged or not what you ordered. See below.

Faulty, damaged or simply the wrong thing

You have a legal guarantee of conformity for two years from delivery. If something is faulty, broke in transit, is not what the page described or is not what you ordered, tell us and we will repair or replace it; if neither works, you get a price reduction or a full refund.

We pay the return postage in every one of those cases, and we send you the label. Do not pay to return a mistake we made.

Who pays to send it back

For a change of mind — statutory withdrawal or our 30-day window — return postage is [ours / yours; the client must choose, and the choice must be disclosed before the order is placed]. Under EU law, if you are not told before ordering that you bear the cost, we bear it.

Sending it back

1. Email [returns email address] with your order number and what you are returning. You will get a return reference the same working day.
2. Pack it so it survives the trip. Original packaging is ideal but not required.
3. Send it to [returns address], marking the return reference on the outside.
4. Keep the proof of postage until the refund lands.

Your refund

We refund within 14 days of getting the goods back, or of you proving you sent them, whichever comes first. The refund goes to the payment method you used, and it costs you nothing.

A full withdrawal refunds the standard outbound delivery cost as well as the goods. If you chose a faster, dearer delivery, we refund the standard rate — the difference bought you speed, and you got it. Returning part of an order refunds the goods only.

Model withdrawal form

Copy this into an email if you would like a form to fill in. You are not obliged to use it.

To [registered legal name of the trading entity], [returns address], [returns email address]:

I hereby give notice that I withdraw from my contract of sale of the following goods: ______________________

Ordered on: ____________ Received on: ____________

Name: ______________________

Address: ______________________

Date: ____________

Anything else

The full terms of sale are on the terms and conditions page. If a return is not going the way it should, write to [customer service email] and a person will read it.