For most removal bookings there is no 14-day cooling-off period. The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 give a 14-day right to cancel many contracts made online, by phone or away from a trader’s premises, but regulation 28(1)(h) excludes the transport of goods where the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance. A removal booked for a set moving date or delivery window is usually caught by that exclusion. The rules apply across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. What you pay if you cancel then depends on the firm’s own terms, which must be fair.
The general rule and the removals exclusion
The 2013 Regulations normally allow a consumer 14 days to cancel a distance or off-premises contract without giving a reason. Regulation 28 lists contracts the cancellation rules do not apply to. Paragraph (h) covers “the supply of accommodation, transport of goods, vehicle rental services, catering or services related to leisure activities, if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance.”
Moving your belongings is transport of goods. If the booking fixes the moving date, or a defined period such as a delivery window for a long-distance or shared-load move, the statutory cooling-off right does not apply, even when you booked online or by phone.
When the 14-day right might still apply
Some removal-related contracts are not tied to a specific date or period, for example a booking where the date is left entirely open. Other purchases, such as packing materials bought as goods, may be treated differently from the move itself. If you are unsure whether your contract fixes a date or period, read the booking confirmation and ask the firm in writing how it classifies the booking.
Where the right does apply, two further rules in the Regulations matter:
- Starting early: if you ask for the service to begin within the cancellation period and then cancel, regulation 36 means you may have to pay a proportionate amount for what has already been supplied.
- Missing information: if the trader did not give you the required information about the right to cancel, regulation 31 extends the cancellation period, by up to 12 months.
What decides most removal cancellations
Because the statutory right usually does not apply, the firm’s written cancellation terms normally decide whether you lose a deposit or pay a fee. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, terms in a consumer contract must be fair, so a charge that bears no relation to the firm’s actual loss can be challenged. Read the cancellation schedule before paying a deposit and keep a copy.
The cancelling or rescheduling guide explains notice periods and typical fee structures, and the deposits and final payments guide covers what to agree before money changes hands.
Questions to ask before you book
- Is the booking for a specific date or delivery window, and is there any statutory cancellation right?
- What is charged if you cancel 30 days, 7 days or 48 hours before the move?
- Can the date be moved instead of cancelled, and is there a rebooking fee?
- Is the deposit refundable in any circumstances, for example if the firm cannot attend?
If the firm fails to turn up, that is a different problem from you cancelling: see what to do when the removal company has not turned up.
If your moving date changes
House moves are rescheduled more often than they are cancelled, usually because a chain delay moves completion. A change of date is handled under the firm’s own terms, so ask early, in writing, whether it can move the booking and on what terms. Many firms are used to chain delays, but flexibility depends on the contract and the firm’s diary, not on a statutory right.
The bottom line
Do not rely on a 14-day cooling-off period for a removal booked for a set date: regulation 28(1)(h) of the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 usually excludes it. The firm’s written cancellation terms decide what you pay, and those terms must be fair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Get them in writing before paying a deposit.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk, “The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 28: Limits of application”
- legislation.gov.uk, “The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 31: Normal cancellation period”
- legislation.gov.uk, “The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 36: Supply of service in the cancellation period”
- legislation.gov.uk, “Consumer Rights Act 2015, Part 2: Unfair terms”