The EU right of withdrawal — and how Nexly keeps you compliant

What the law requires

The right of withdrawal is not a goodwill policy — it is a statutory right. A consumer may walk away from a distance contract without giving any reason.

• 14 days to withdraw, counted from delivery of the goods (Art. 9).
• If you fail to inform the consumer of the right, the window extends by up to 12 months (Art. 10).
• You must supply clear pre-contractual information and a model withdrawal form (Art. 6 and Annex I).
• Refunds within 14 days of being informed, including the cheapest standard outbound shipping you offered (Art. 13).
• You may withhold the refund until the goods are received or proof of return is supplied (Art. 13(3)).
• The consumer pays return shipping only if you told them so in advance — otherwise you pay (Art. 14(1)).
• Orders can be withdrawn before dispatch too, which is why a cancel button matters as much as a return label.

Where merchants usually fail

Most non-compliance in Shopify stores is not deliberate. It comes from the process, not the policy page.

• The 14-day clock is tracked in a spreadsheet or not at all.
• Refunds are processed when someone gets around to it, not within the statutory window.
• Return shipping cost rules differ per country but the checkout says one thing everywhere.
• No timestamped record that the consumer was informed, or when they exercised the right.
• No way to cancel an unfulfilled order without emailing support.

How Nexly enforces it

Nexly reads the real order from Shopify, applies your per-country rules, and writes the outcome back to the order so the evidence lives where your finance team already looks.

• Per-country windows for DK, SE, NO, DE and the rest of the EU — set the statutory minimum or a longer commercial window.
• Withdrawal and cancellation buttons in the customer portal, including partial cancellation of unfulfilled items.
• Automatic eligibility checks against delivery date, fulfilment status and already-returned quantities.
• Prepaid labels through your own 3PL where you offer free returns, and documented manual return instructions where the consumer pays.
• Deductible return fees applied transparently and shown before the customer confirms.
• Every step timestamped: submitted, approved, shipped, received, refunded — written back to the Shopify order as tags and notes.

Exceptions you can configure

The directive lists goods that are exempt from withdrawal (Art. 16) — custom-made items, sealed hygiene products once unsealed, perishables. Nexly lets you mark products or reasons as non-returnable so the portal never promises something the law does not require and your policy does not allow.

Not legal advice

Nexly gives you the mechanics and the audit trail. Your final policy wording, exemptions and national implementation should be reviewed with your own counsel.