Return costs on withdrawal: who pays for sending it back?

A customer withdraws, sends their product back, and the question arises: who pays for the return, them or you? It is one of the most frequent confusions in the law of withdrawal, because it mixes two different things (outbound delivery costs and return costs) and because a simple omission in your conditions can reverse the answer to your cost.

The rule fits into one provision of the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU), art. 14. Here is how to apply it without going wrong.

The principle: the customer pays for the return

By default, it is the consumer who bears the cost of returning the goods.

In other words: barring a commercial gesture on your part, the customer pays for the stamp or the drop-off point to send the product back to you. This is the basic rule, and it is logical: the customer chose to withdraw, they bear the material cost of sending the goods back.

But two exceptions reverse this rule, and the second is a real trap.

Do not confuse delivery costs with return costs

First source of error: believing that "return costs" and "delivery costs" are the same thing. They are two opposite flows, with two opposite regimes.

• Outbound delivery costs (what the customer paid to receive the parcel): you must refund them. The Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU), art. 13, requires you to return "all payments received, including the costs of delivery".
• Return costs (sending the parcel back to you): they remain the customer's responsibility (art. 14).

The detail of refunding outbound costs (deadline, amount, payment method) is dealt with on our dedicated page: delivery costs and refunds after withdrawal. Here, we focus on the return.

The trap: if you did not inform, you are the one who pays

Reread the end of art. 14 of the Directive: the customer pays for the return "unless the trader has failed to inform the consumer that these costs are to be borne by the consumer".

This is the mistake that costs the most. The information on return costs forms part of the mandatory pre-contractual information (Article 6 of the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU)). You must indicate, before the order, that the return costs are borne by the customer. If you have not done so:

Concretely, the information must appear somewhere clear and accessible before the purchase: the T&Cs, the "Withdrawal" or "Returns" page, and ideally the model withdrawal form. Our guide on the T&Cs mention of the withdrawal button details the clause to copy.

The case of large parcels (bulky goods)

There is a nuance for goods that cannot be returned by post because of their nature or size (furniture, white goods, mattresses). For these products, you must have informed the customer of the cost of return, or, if that cost cannot be calculated in advance, have given a reasonable estimate of it. Failing that, again, the customer does not have to pay.

This particular case, with the good display practices, is developed here: return costs of a bulky item.

What the withdrawal button changes (and what it does not)

One confusion comes up often: "if I install the button, does it handle return costs?" No, and it is important to understand why.

The withdrawal button mandatory since 19 June 2026 governs the receipt of the request: it lets the customer exercise their right in two clicks, generates an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium, and archives it in a timestamped way. This is the "proof" part: knowing who withdrew, and when.

The allocation of return costs, for its part, is settled upstream, in your pre-contractual information and your T&Cs. The two subjects are linked by the same obligation to inform: on the day the national consumer regulator or a customer contests, you must be able to show (1) that the withdrawal was indeed received and timestamped, and (2) that you had informed about the costs. The button covers the first point; your T&Cs cover the second.

This is why the timestamp matters on the costs side too: the 14-day deadline to refund starts from the date of withdrawal, and for a physical item, it may be deferred until proof of dispatch of the return. We detail this countdown in the 14-day deadline to refund.

The product comes back used: diminished value

Another amount you may sometimes withhold, not to be confused with return costs: the diminished value of the goods.

The starting point is that the customer is entitled to try the item. Article 14(2) of Directive 2011/83/EU lets them handle the goods as they would have done in a shop: unpack, look, try on a garment, switch on a device. That gives you no right to withhold anything.

Their liability is engaged, however, for the loss of value resulting from handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods. A garment worn for an evening, a device visibly used for several days, a scratched object: there, you may withhold a share.

The deduction must remain proportionate and justifiable: the actual loss of value, not a flat penalty. In practice, the difference between the price paid and what the item is now worth on resale. And the burden of showing it is yours, which means documenting the condition on receipt. Dated photographs, a description, a written reservation.

The return costs checklist

To never pay for a return that should not fall to you:

1. Inform before the purchase that the return costs are borne by the customer (T&Cs + Returns page). Without this mention, they become yours.
2. Refund the outbound delivery costs at the standard rate, never the extra cost of an express chosen by the customer.
3. For a bulky item, display the cost of return or a figured estimate.
4. Keep the timestamped proof of the withdrawal: it is what starts the 14-day deadline running and protects you in the event of a dispute.

The rule is simple once you have it in mind: the customer pays for the return, provided you told them so. The real risk is not the rule, it is the omission.

To find out whether the button obligation concerns you and to set up a mechanism that receives, acknowledges and archives every withdrawal with solid proof, take the 2-minute diagnostic.