Hard to cancel
Cancellation blocked, ignored, or made deliberately difficult.
3,060complaints of this kind in the census
496companies affected
50%graded severe
Where you stand
The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give most online purchases a 14-day cancellation window from delivery, and a further 14 days to return the goods.
General information about consumer rights in the UK, not legal advice for your situation.
Where to escalate
- Citizens Advice consumer service — Free first-line advice on consumer disputes in England, Wales and Scotland.
- Energy Ombudsman — For gas and electricity suppliers, once the supplier has had 8 weeks or issued a deadlock letter.
- Ofcom-approved ADR (Communications Ombudsman or CISAS) — For broadband, mobile, landline and pay-TV, after 8 weeks or a deadlock letter.
What people actually describe
“They cancelled our whole holiday without checking with us or offering an alternative”
“they confirmed ours and then cancelled his now charging £1000 more”
“Ordered one pair of cleats and order was duplicated and it said I could not cancel”
Companies with the most reports of this kind
| Company | Reports | Share of its complaints |
|---|---|---|
| Virgin Media | 113 | 9% |
| TalkTalk | 106 | 13% |
| Three UK | 89 | 11% |
| Sky | 87 | 10% |
| Vodafone UK | 65 | 8% |
| takepayments Limited | 54 | 12% |
| IONOS | ionos.com | 50 | 21% |
| Adobe | 39 | 18% |
| Shutterstock | 37 | 39% |
| IONOS | ionos.co.uk | 35 | 18% |
| Plusnet | 31 | 10% |
| The Telegraph | 29 | 32% |
Counts depend on how many of each company’s reviews are in the census, so this ranks what we have read, not the whole market. See the full ranking.