Online purchase return in Spain: your 14-day right and refund

The 14-day right of withdrawal

For purchases made online or at a distance in Spain you have a right of withdrawal (derecho de desistimiento): normally 14 calendar days to notify the seller without giving a reason, followed by 14 days to send goods back.

Create my return now

It applies even if the product is perfect and you simply changed your mind. It is a separate right from the legal guarantee, which covers faulty goods.

It is set by consumer law, so a shop’s “final sale / no returns” policy cannot override it for distance contracts.

This is one of the strongest consumer protections in Spain — but the deadline is strict, so notify the seller in writing and on time, and keep proof that you did so.

When it applies (and when it does not)

• It applies to most consumer purchases from online shops, by phone or off-premises — physical goods and many services and digital subscriptions.
• It is for consumers (personal use), not business-to-business purchases.
• It does not depend on the product being faulty — that is a different route (the legal guarantee).
• A few categories are excluded by law (see the exceptions section below).

Your rights and the refund

• Notify the seller within the initial 14-day period. After that notice, return the goods within the next 14 days unless the seller offered to collect them.
• The seller must refund within 14 days of your withdrawal notice; for goods, it may withhold the refund until receiving the item or proof of shipment.
• The refund includes the standard original delivery cost (not premium delivery you chose).
• You normally only pay the cost of returning the item, and only if the shop told you so before you bought.
• The refund must be made using the same payment method. Another method is valid only if you choose it expressly and it costs you nothing.
• You may inspect the item as you would in a shop. You answer only for diminished value caused by handling beyond what is necessary to establish its nature, characteristics and functioning — and not even that if the seller omitted the withdrawal information.
• If you expressly requested an early start and withdraw before the service is complete, you pay only the proportion already supplied. You owe no such cost if the seller omitted the required information or you did not expressly request the early start.
• If the refund has not reached you by the end of the statutory period, art. 76 TRLGDCU allows a claim for double the sum due, plus any provable loss above that amount.

The deadlines that matter

• 14 calendar days from receiving the goods to notify your withdrawal (the clock starts at delivery, not purchase).
• If the seller omitted the required withdrawal information, the period ends 12 months after the original period would have ended. If it supplies the information during those 12 months, a fresh 14 days — or the applicable 30 days for a special contract — runs from receipt.
• After notifying the seller, you usually have 14 days to send the goods back.
• The refund deadline is 14 days from your notice, subject to the seller’s right to withhold until it receives the item or proof of shipment.
• The period is 30 days, not 14, for contracts concluded during an unsolicited home visit or an excursion organised to promote or sell goods or services. This does not apply to an ordinary online order.
• For services and non-physical digital content the clock generally starts when the contract is made. For separately delivered goods it starts with the last item, for a multi-piece item with the last piece, and for periodic delivery over a fixed period with the first item.

Common exceptions: when withdrawal does not apply (non-exhaustive)

• Custom-made or clearly personalised products.
• Sealed goods are excluded after opening only if genuine health or hygiene reasons then make them unsuitable for return; a seal by itself is not enough.
• For digital content or streaming not supplied on a physical medium, starting performance ends withdrawal where there is no payment obligation. If payment is required, it ends only if you expressly consented to the early start, acknowledged that it would end the right and received the required contract confirmation.
• Newspapers and magazines (except subscriptions), and sealed audio/video/software once unsealed.
• Note: a faulty product is not an exception — it follows the legal guarantee, which is usually stronger.
• Starting a service does not by itself end withdrawal. The exception arises only after full performance; for a paid service, performance must also have begun with your prior express consent and your knowledge that full performance would end the right.
• Other frequent exceptions include goods or services whose price depends on financial-market fluctuations outside the trader’s control that may occur during the withdrawal period, inseparably mixed goods and public auctions; urgent repairs specifically requested at home (but not extra goods or work); and fixed-date accommodation, goods transport, car hire, catering or leisure.

How to return, step by step

• Notify the seller in writing within 14 days — a clear statement (“I withdraw from the purchase”) or the shop’s withdrawal form.
• Send the goods back without undue delay and keep the tracking/proof of return.
• Keep the order confirmation and the date you notified, in case you need to prove the timeline.
• Wait for the refund to be made using your original payment method within 14 days. For goods, the seller may withhold it until it receives the item or proof of shipment; a different payment method must be expressly agreed and cost you nothing.
• No refund or a refusal? Send a written claim with a deadline, then use hoja de reclamaciones and OMIC. Consumer arbitration works only if the business is adhered to the system or accepts the request.
• It is enough to send the withdrawal declaration before the deadline; the seller need not receive it by then. An online form must be acknowledged without delay on a durable medium. Save the proof: the consumer normally bears that burden, but for a vulnerable consumer art. 72 says a timely statement by that person is sufficient.

A real case: opening a mattress did not end the withdrawal right

Common mistakes that cost you the refund

• Only phoning — always notify the seller of the withdrawal in writing so you can prove it.
• Missing the 14-day window because you waited to package or decide.
• Returning with no tracking, so you cannot prove you sent it.
• Confusing withdrawal with the faulty-goods guarantee — for defects, use the legal guarantee instead.
• Accepting a store voucher when you are entitled to a refund using your original payment method.

If the shop refuses or stalls

• A “we don’t accept returns” policy cannot override the legal right of withdrawal for distance sales.
• Silence is not an answer — send a written demand with a clear deadline.
• A burofax creates a dated, certified record of your demand before arbitration or court proceedings. Request certified content and proof of delivery so the record covers both the text sent and its receipt.
• For card payments, ask the bank whether its card-scheme rules permit a chargeback. It is a contractual banking route, not an automatic statutory substitute for the withdrawal claim.

Related guides

Frequently asked questions

Official sources