The withdrawal is declared; now the settlement begins. This is where most surprises wait: delivery costs out, postage back, and what the refund actually arrives as.
Unwinding the deal: who returns what, and by when
After withdrawal both sides return what they received within fourteen days. Refunds use the original payment method, and return postage usually falls on the buyer.
✓ Verified: 02/08/2026
WHAT TO DO
DOCUMENTS 2
› Details and tips
👨🏻💻
Max recommends:
The shop refunded the goods but not the delivery, citing its own rules. The law refunds standard delivery, and after I pointed to the provision the money followed.
👩🏼💼
Lea recommends:
Return with tracking and keep the receipt. The dispute almost always turns on whether the goods arrived, and that slip from the counter is what settles it.
Useful Tools
- Verbraucherzentrale Legal
Consumer protection centres.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Within what period must the trader refund? ▾
What each side received must be returned within fourteen days at the latest. That binds both sides: the consumer sends the goods, the trader refunds the money, and both work to the same deadline.
Are the original delivery costs refunded? ▾
Yes, but only at standard level. The trader must also refund payments for delivery, though not additional costs arising because the consumer chose something other than the cheapest standard delivery offered.
Who pays for the return shipment? ▾
The consumer bears the direct costs of returning the goods where the trader informed them of that obligation. Without that information the costs stay with the trader. The consumer also need not return the goods at all where the trader has offered to collect them.
Can the trader refund with a voucher? ▾
As a rule no. For the refund the trader must use the same means of payment the consumer used, unless something else has been expressly agreed. Agreed here means agreed by you, not decided by the shop.