EU refund deadline after withdrawal (14 days)

The moment an EU customer withdraws, a second 14-day clock starts, and this one runs against the store. Directive 2011/83/EU says what you refund, by when, by which payment method, and when you may hold the money until the goods are back. It also says what the customer owes you. This page takes the refund step on its own. Our EU returns rules guide covers the withdrawal right and the Article 16 exceptions; our withdrawal button guide covers the Article 11a function the withdrawal often arrives through.

This page explains the Directive in plain words. It is not legal advice; the national law that transposes the Directive applies in each country.

In short

Deadline: all payments back without undue delay and within 14 days of the day you are informed of the withdrawal (Article 13(1)).
What: the price plus standard delivery; an express surcharge the customer chose may be kept (Article 13(2)).
How: the same means of payment, unless the customer expressly agreed to another and pays no fee for it (Article 13(1)).
Waiting: for goods, until the goods are back or proof of sending arrives, unless you offered to collect them (Article 13(3)).
The customer: sends the goods within 14 days (Article 14(1)), pays the direct return cost where you said so (Article 6(1)(i)), and owes diminished value for handling beyond a shop try-out (Article 14(2)).
Acknowledgement: on a durable medium, with the content and the date and time of submission where the withdrawal function was used (Article 11a(4)).

1. The 14-day refund deadline (Article 13)

Article 13(1) sets the rule in one sentence: the trader reimburses all payments received from the consumer, including, if applicable, the costs of delivery, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which it is informed of the consumer's decision to withdraw. Three details matter for a store.

The start. The days run from the day the withdrawal reaches you, not from the day the parcel comes back. A withdrawal on 1 March means a refund by 15 March, subject to the waiting right below. “Without undue delay” makes the 14 days a ceiling, not a target.
The amount. Everything the customer paid, delivery included. Article 13(2) carves out one item: where the consumer expressly chose a delivery type other than the least expensive standard delivery you offer, you need not reimburse the supplementary cost.
The method. The same means of payment the consumer used, unless the consumer expressly agreed otherwise and incurs no fees as a result (Article 13(1)). A voucher is possible after the customer agrees to it, never as the default.

2. When you may wait for the goods (Article 13(3))

For a sales contract the trader may withhold the reimbursement until it has received the goods back, or until the consumer has supplied evidence of having sent them back, whichever is the earliest. The right to wait falls away where the trader has offered to collect the goods itself (Article 13(3)). Two consequences follow.

A tracking number or a postal receipt from the customer ends the waiting. From that moment the refund is due without undue delay, even if the parcel is still in transit.
If you offer collection, for example a courier pick-up for furniture, you refund within the 14 days whether or not the goods are already with you.

3. What the customer owes you (Article 14)

Article 14(1): the consumer sends back the goods without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day of communicating the withdrawal. Posting the parcel inside the 14 days is enough. The consumer bears the direct cost of returning the goods and nothing more, and even that drops away where you agreed to bear it or failed to inform the consumer before the order that they have to bear it, the information item in Article 6(1)(i).

Article 14(2): the consumer is liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods. The yardstick is a shop: trying a jacket on is normal; wearing it for a week is not. The consumer is in no case liable for diminished value where you failed to give the withdrawal information in Article 6(1)(h). In practice the deduction is yours to show, and it reduces the refund.

Two short rules for services and digital content. Where the consumer expressly asked you to start a service during the withdrawal period and then withdraws, they pay a proportionate amount for what was supplied up to the withdrawal (Article 14(3)). They pay nothing for a service supplied during the period where you failed to give the information in Article 6(1)(h) or (j), or where they did not expressly request the start (Article 14(4)(a)). They pay nothing for digital content where they did not give prior express consent, did not acknowledge losing the right of withdrawal, or you did not confirm the contract as Article 7(2) or 8(7) requires (Article 14(4)(b)).

4. The acknowledgement of receipt

How the withdrawal reached you decides which rule applies. Where the consumer used the withdrawal function on your online interface, Article 11a(4) requires you to acknowledge receipt on a durable medium without undue delay, and the acknowledgement must contain the content of the withdrawal and the date and time of its submission. Where the consumer filled in the model form online or made another statement on your website, Article 11(3) requires an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium without delay. An email is a durable medium; a banner on the page is not.

5. The timeline from the withdrawal day

When	Rule	In Shopify
Day 0	The withdrawal reaches you through the withdrawal function, the model form, an email or any other clear statement. Where it came through the withdrawal function or your online form, acknowledge receipt on a durable medium (Article 11a(4) or 11(3)); for an email, a short reply is good practice.	Note the date on the order. The acknowledgement email is yours to send and to keep with the order.
Day 0 to 14	The customer sends the goods back within 14 days of communicating the withdrawal; sending in time is enough (Article 14(1)). They pay the direct return cost where you said so before the order.	Create the return from the order if you use the returns feature, and send the label or the return address.
By day 14	You refund all payments including standard delivery, by the same means of payment (Article 13(1)). An express surcharge the customer chose may be kept (Article 13(2)).	Open the order, choose Refund, enter the items and the shipping amount. The refund goes to the original payment method.
Later than day 14	For goods, and where you did not offer collection: you may wait until the goods are back or proof of sending arrives, whichever is earlier (Article 13(3)). Then refund without undue delay.	Refund the day the parcel or the tracking proof arrives. A deduction for diminished value is a partial refund with the reason in the order notes.

On Shopify's side the mechanics are plain. The refund screen in the order lets you pick the items, enter a shipping amount to refund, and send the money back to the payment method the customer used. A deduction for diminished value or a kept express surcharge is a partial refund with a lower amount.

6. Four worked examples

Example 1: express delivery chosen by the customer

A customer orders goods for EUR 80.00. Your standard delivery costs EUR 4.90; the customer expressly chose express at EUR 9.90 and paid EUR 89.90. They withdraw in time and send the goods back unused. You refund EUR 80.00 plus EUR 4.90, that is EUR 84.90, within 14 days of the withdrawal. The EUR 5.00 difference stays with you (Article 13(2)).

Example 2: the store never said who pays the return

Your returns page and checkout say nothing about return costs. The consumer bears the direct return cost where you informed them of it before the order (Articles 6(1)(i) and 14(1)). You did not, so the return cost is yours: send a prepaid label or refund the postage on top of the order amount.

Example 3: a jacket worn for a week

A EUR 120.00 jacket comes back with signs of a week's wear, handling beyond what is needed to establish its nature, characteristics and functioning. You may deduct the diminished value under Article 14(2), for example EUR 40.00 if that is the loss you can document, and refund EUR 80.00 plus the standard delivery. In practice the loss is yours to show. Had your store not given the withdrawal information required by Article 6(1)(h), no deduction would be possible.

Example 4: day 14, no parcel and no proof

A customer withdrew on 1 March. It is 15 March, the goods have not arrived and the customer has sent no tracking number or receipt. You did not offer collection. Under Article 13(3) you may hold the refund until the goods are back or proof of sending arrives, whichever comes first. Ask for the proof, and refund without undue delay the day it arrives.

7. Mistakes that cost stores money

Refunding as store credit without express agreement. The default is the original means of payment. A gift card needs the customer's express consent for that order, at no cost to them (Article 13(1)).
Keeping the standard delivery cost. Delivery is part of the refund. What you may keep is the surcharge of a dearer option the customer expressly chose (Article 13(2)).
Waiting for the goods after offering collection. The waiting right in Article 13(3) is for stores that do not offer to collect. If you pick the goods up, the 14 days run from the withdrawal, full stop.
Deducting a restocking fee. The Directive allows one deduction for returned goods: the diminished value caused by handling beyond what is necessary (Article 14(2)). Beyond that and the express delivery surcharge of Article 13(2), the consumer incurs no liability (Article 14(5)), and Article 9(1) says the right costs them nothing else. A flat fee for taking the item back is not that.
Counting the 14 days from the goods' arrival. The period runs from the day you are informed of the withdrawal (Article 13(1)). Arrival of the goods, or proof of sending, ends your right to wait; it does not start a fresh 14 days.

Sources (EUR-Lex): Directive 2011/83/EU (consumer rights, Articles 6, 11, 13 and 14), Directive (EU) 2023/2673 (withdrawal function, Article 11a).

Frequently asked questions

How many days do I have to refund after an EU customer withdraws?

14 days from the day you are informed of the withdrawal, and without undue delay within that time (Article 13(1) of Directive 2011/83/EU). The days count from the withdrawal, not from the day the goods arrive back. For goods you may hold the refund until the goods are back or the customer shows proof of sending them, whichever is earlier (Article 13(3)).

Do I have to refund the shipping cost?

Yes, the cost of the standard delivery you offered. If the customer expressly chose a dearer option such as express, you refund the price of the cheapest standard delivery and may keep the difference (Article 13(2)).

Can I refund as store credit or a gift card?

Not by default. The refund goes back by the same means of payment the customer used. Store credit is allowed where the customer expressly agreed to it and bears no fee as a result (Article 13(1)).

Who pays the return shipping?

The customer bears the direct cost of returning the goods where your store told them so before the order (Article 6(1)(i)) and did not agree to bear it. If that information was missing, or you offered a free return, you pay (Article 14(1)).

Can I deduct money because the goods were used?

You may deduct the diminished value where the customer handled the goods beyond what was necessary to establish their nature, characteristics and functioning (Article 14(2)). In practice you have to show the loss. No deduction is possible if your store did not give the withdrawal information required by Article 6(1)(h).

What must the acknowledgement contain?

Where the customer used the withdrawal function: an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium, such as email, without undue delay, with the content of the withdrawal and the date and time of its submission (Article 11a(4)). Where the customer used the online model form or a statement on your website: an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium without delay (Article 11(3)).