They cancelled the order. They kept the money.
An order the shop cancels is money they have to give back — promptly, in full, in cash. 'Processing' is not a refund. A letter before action to the company's registered office is what makes it one. Written free, today.
Alongside the money itself, courts may award simple interest on money you have been kept out of — commonly 8% a year under the County Courts Act 1984 — and the court fee is typically added to a successful claim. Interest is discretionary. The letter sets this out so the other side can see what ignoring it costs.
How people describe it when they reach us
The sorts of things people tell us. Illustrative, based on patterns in the cases that reach us.
Your legal rights when a shop cancels and doesn't refund
In England and Wales money paid for an order the trader then cancels has to be returned; there is no contract to justify keeping it. The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 set refund timing for consumer cancellations, and contract law covers the trader's.
Case lawContract law — breach of contractFailing to do what was paid for may amount to breach of contract.
A job, a purchase or a loan is typically analysed as a contract. If one side does not perform a central promise — work not done, money not repaid, goods not handed over — a court may find a breach and will then consider what loss flowed from it. The measure is normally the money you are out of pocket, proved with evidence.
ActConsumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, reg.29Most online and phone purchases can usually be cancelled within 14 days.
For most goods and services bought at a distance or off-premises, regulation 29 generally gives the consumer a 14-day cancellation period, with a refund to follow within 14 days of the trader being told. Some goods (personalised, sealed and unsealed, perishable) and some services are excluded, so it depends on what was bought.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗ActConsumer Rights Act 2015, s.28Goods must usually be delivered within the agreed time, or 30 days.
Where a trader supplies goods to a consumer, section 28 usually requires delivery within the time agreed. If none was agreed, delivery must typically be without undue delay and in any event within 30 days. If the trader fails, the consumer may in some circumstances treat the contract as at an end and seek repayment.
Read it on legislation.gov.uk ↗This is general information about the law in England and Wales, not advice about your case. Which provisions apply, and how, depends on the facts.
Four things you'll hear. None of them end it.
For a cancellation they made, the money is due now. Where the trader cancels, there is no basis to hold the payment. The letter sets a 14-day deadline of its own, with interest.
You paid money; you're owed money. Credit is an offer you can decline. The letter declines it.
Then the payment has no basis and must be returned in full. Either the contract stands and they must perform, or it doesn't and the money is yours. There is no version where they keep it.
You can do both. A chargeback is a bank process; the letter is a legal demand. A refused chargeback doesn't affect the claim.
Five things worth gathering now
The letter first. Court only if they ignore it.
Your side, your words
What happened, what was agreed, what you are out of pocket. We ask what a court would ask, so the letter says what a court would need to hear.
Written for you, free
A formal letter before action with a 14-day deadline, setting out what is owed and why. You see it at no charge. Posting it by tracked mail and watching the deadline is £15.
Court claim, prepared
If the deadline passes: one tap turns the letter into a small claim, drafted, checked and filed. The £15 comes off our fee. The decision is the court's.
What JustClaim is: we prepare and file the paperwork for your claim, for a fixed price shown before you pay. We're not a law firm, this isn't legal advice, and no outcome is ever guaranteed — what you get is the strongest honest version of your case, properly made.
Questions people in this exact spot ask
The shop cancelled my order. How long do they have to refund me?
The money should be returned promptly — there is no contract left to justify holding it. Where a consumer cancels, the regulations set 14 days; where the trader cancels, a reasonable time is shorter still. The letter sets a 14-day deadline.
They're offering store credit instead.
You can decline it. You paid money and are owed money. The letter says so.
My bank refused a chargeback. Does that matter?
No. A chargeback is the card scheme's process; your claim against the retailer is separate and unaffected.
The company's website has gone quiet. Are they still trading?
Check Companies House first. A dissolved company can't be sued and one in administration is a different route. Tell us what you find.
How much does it cost if it goes further?
If the letter is ignored, a court claim has a court fee set by the amount: £35 up to £300, £50 up to £500, £70 up to £1,000, £115 up to £3,000. If you win, the fee is normally added to what the other side is ordered to pay. Our fixed price is shown before you pay anything.
Is the letter really free?
Yes. Tell us what happened and the letter before action is written and shown to you at no charge. If you want us to post it by tracked mail and watch the 14-day deadline, that is £15, shown before you pay — and it comes off our fee if it later becomes a court claim.
Refund still 'processing'?
Tell us what happened. The letter before action is written free and shown to you today; posting it and watching the deadline is £15.
Write the letter — free →