§5.5.3 Reimbursement of the payments received from the consumer

Article 13 1. The trader shall reimburse 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 he is informed of the consumer’s decision to withdraw from the contract in accordance with Article 11. The trader shall carry out the reimbursement referred to in the first subparagraph using the same means of payment as the consumer used for the initial transaction, unless the consumer has expressly agreed otherwise and provided that the consumer does not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement. 2. Notwithstanding paragraph 1, the trader shall not be required to reimburse the supplementary costs, if the consumer has expressly opted for a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by the trader. 3. Unless the trader has offered to collect the goods himself, with regard to sales contracts, the trader may withhold the reimbursement until he has received the goods back, or until the consumer has supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest. Article 13(1) requires the trader to carry out the reimbursement without undue delay and by no later than 14 days from the day the consumer informs the trader of the decision to withdraw from the contract. For sales contracts, under Article 13(3), the trader can only withhold the reimbursement beyond this deadline until he has either received the goods or at least evidence has been supplied by the consumer that the goods have been sent back. If the goods or the evidence are received after the 14-day period expires, the trader should reimburse the consumer without undue delay. What constitutes ‘undue delay’ must be assessed on a case-by-case basis; however, in normal circumstances it should not take more than a few working days to process the refund. The concept of ‘evidence of having sent back the goods’ is important for the application of Article 13(3). In principle, this ‘evidence’ should be understood as a written statement from an established transport or postal service provider specifying the sender and the recipient. In principle, this evidence should not necessarily have to involve third party guarantees that the goods in question have been inspected and verified. Such extra services are likely to be expensive and could discourage the consumer from exercising the right of withdrawal, which is specifically precluded by the Directive (see Recital 47: ‘[…] The obligations of the consumer in the event of withdrawal should not discourage the consumer from exercising his right of withdrawal’). Although Article 14(2) entitles the trader to hold the consumer liable for any diminished value of the goods caused by mishandling during the right of withdrawal period, under Article 13(3) the trader must reimburse the consumer after having received evidence that the goods have been sent back. If the consumer accepts the trader’s offer to collect the goods, or the trader has offered to collect them at his expense, the trader should not be able to invoke the right to withhold the refund under Article 13(3). This should provide an additional incentive to the trader to arrange for the return of the goods as soon as possible. Article 13(1) specifically requires the trader to use the same means of payment for the refund as the consumer used for the initial transaction. In particular, the trader should refund the full amount paid by the consumer in the currency of the payment: — For example, if the consumer paid by transferring EUR 50 to the trader’s bank account, the trader should reimburse the consumer by transferring the same amount back, covering also any fees charged for the latter transfer by the consumer’s bank. — However, the trader should not have to cover any bank fees paid by the consumer for the initial payment. — If the consumer’s bank account is in one currency but the payment and refund are made in a different currency, the trader should not be responsible for any loss arising from the currency exchange performed by the consumer’s bank on the refund. Article 13(1) also allows the trader and the consumer to expressly agree on a different method, such as reimbursement by bank cheque instead of transfer or in a currency other than the currency of payment, provided that the consumer does not incur any fees as a result of using a different method: — For example, if the trader gets the consumer’s agreement to accept a refund by bank cheque instead of a bank transfer, the trader should bear any additional costs to the consumer, for example, currency exchange or bank costs, arising from the trader’s use of a different payment method. Recital 46 states regarding the use of vouchers: ‘The reimbursement should not be made by voucher unless the consumer has used vouchers for the initial transaction or has expressly accepted them’.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07