What is the Consumer Protection Act cooling-off period?

The cooling-off period in the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 gives you five business days to cancel a transaction that resulted from direct marketing. You do not have to give a reason, and the supplier cannot charge you a penalty for cancelling. The period runs from the later of the date you concluded the transaction or the date the goods were delivered to you.

The word that does the work is "direct marketing". This is not a general right to change your mind about anything you buy. If you walked into a store, compared three fridges and chose one, the cooling-off period does not apply to you.

What counts as direct marketing

Direct marketing is where the supplier approaches you, rather than you approaching the supplier. In practice that means:

• a salesperson at your front door or at your workplace
• a cold call to your phone
• an unsolicited SMS, email or WhatsApp offer
• a mailed or dropped offer you did not ask for
• a stand in a shopping centre where someone stops you to pitch a product or a policy

The common thread is that the approach came to you, unrequested, to promote or offer goods or services. That is exactly the situation the five day right is designed for, because those sales are made under pressure and without time to compare.

How to cancel properly

1. Do it in writing and inside the five business days. Business days exclude weekends and public holidays, and the counting rules generally exclude the first day and include the last.
2. Say clearly that you are cancelling under the cooling-off right in the Consumer Protection Act. Give the contract or order number, the date and your details.
3. Send it in a way you can prove. Email is fine. Keep the sent copy. If you hand it over, get it stamped.
4. Return the goods if you have them, in the condition you received them. The supplier is entitled to have them back.
5. Keep the packaging until the refund is done.

Once you have cancelled and returned the goods, the supplier must refund you. The Act requires that refund within 15 business days of the cancellation, or of receiving the goods back, depending on which applies. There is no penalty and no restocking fee for a valid cooling-off cancellation.

Buying online is covered by a different law

If you bought goods or services electronically, over a website or an app, a separate right applies. The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 gives a consumer seven days to cancel most electronic transactions without reason and without penalty. Your only direct cost is usually returning the goods.

That seven day right does not cover everything. It generally excludes things like goods made to your specifications, perishables, newspapers and periodicals, audio or video recordings and software where the seal has been broken, gaming and lottery services, and accommodation, transport or catering booked for a specific date. Read the terms before you assume.

Rights people confuse with cooling-off

Faulty goods. If goods are defective, unsafe or not fit for the purpose, the Act gives you six months from delivery to return them and choose a repair, a replacement or a refund. That is a quality right and it has nothing to do with cooling off. Do not let a supplier tell you the five days has passed when your complaint is that the product is broken.

Goods you never got to inspect. If goods were delivered that you had no chance to examine first, or that do not match the description or sample you were shown, you have a right to refuse or return them, and the period for doing so is 10 business days.

Advance bookings and reservations. You can cancel a booking, but the supplier may charge a reasonable cancellation fee. That is not free cancellation.

Fixed-term contracts. A consumer can cancel a fixed-term agreement, such as a gym contract, on 20 business days' written notice. The supplier may charge a reasonable cancellation penalty and may hold you to amounts already owed.

Franchise agreements. A franchisee has a 10 business day cooling-off right on a franchise agreement.

What to do if the supplier refuses

Start with a written complaint to the supplier, quoting the right you are relying on and attaching your cancellation. Give a clear deadline.

If that fails, there are free routes:

• The Consumer Goods and Services Ombud for most retail goods and services complaints.
• The Motor Industry Ombudsman of South Africa for vehicles and vehicle repairs.
• Your provincial consumer affairs office, which handles complaints within that province.
• The National Consumer Commission, which enforces the Act and can refer matters to the National Consumer Tribunal.

If the sale involved a financial product, such as a policy sold to you over the phone, the relevant ombud is different. For an insurance dispute see How to complain to the Ombudsman for Short-Term Insurance, which explains where those complaints now go.

For anything you intend to take further in court, remember the ordinary three year period under the Prescription Act 68 of 1969, and check your dates with our prescription checker.

If you cannot afford advice, Legal Aid South Africa can be reached on 0800 110 110.