Returns from EU and UK Shoppers (Right of Withdrawal)

Updated 11 November 2026

Overview

This article explains the right of withdrawal page. If you ship to the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, those shoppers have a legal right to cancel an online purchase within 14 days of delivery, for any reason, and get a full refund. ReturnZen gives them their own page for it, separate from your returns portal, so your return policy, reasons and fees never get in the way of a legal right. The settings themselves are described in EU and UK right of withdrawal (General settings).

Use the menu on the left to quickly navigate this article.

Before you start

• A return policy that lists an EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or UK country. The page switches itself on when one does.
• For a prepaid label, a carrier account in EasyPost that operates where your EU or UK shoppers are, and a return address in that region. See Prepaid return labels for international shoppers.
• The six fulfillment order permissions on your Shopify custom app, so unshipped items can be cancelled. The bell names any that are missing.

Returns from EU and UK Shoppers (Right of Withdrawal)

What the law gives the shopper

• 14 days from delivery to say they are withdrawing, for any reason or none.
• A full refund: the items, tax, duties, and the outbound shipping they paid at checkout, including express shipping if they chose it.
• The refund by the same payment method, with no fee.

What you may do

• Hold the refund until the item is back, or until the shopper's tracking number shows a scan.
• Decline a withdrawal when nothing has been shipped back after the ship-by date.
• Ask the shopper to pay the return postage, if your policy page says so before they buy.
• Deduct for a used or damaged item, by hand, never automatically.

Settings

In the admin, go to Policy > General, EU and UK right of withdrawal.

• Right of withdrawal page: when on, shoppers in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and the UK can use the withdrawal page. When off, the withdrawal page is not offered. It turns on by itself when a return policy covers a country in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or the UK, and stays off otherwise. You can turn it on or off at any time.
• Return label options: Shopper provides their own label (the page shows your return address and asks for a tracking number; default) or Provide a prepaid label (the app buys the label and deducts its estimated cost from the refund, with an optional fallback amount when the cost cannot be estimated). While EasyPost is switched off, or no EasyPost key is saved, a prepaid withdrawal is switched to shopper pays.
• Withdrawal processing: for Fulfilled orders, Manual or Automatic with Process when set to Immediately, The package is in transit or The package is delivered. For Unfulfilled orders, Automatic (cancel the unshipped items in Shopify and refund them at once) or Manual.
• Embed the link: Copy Link copies your portal address followed by /portal/withdrawal, for your store footer and return policy page.
• Test it: Open Withdrawal Page for Latest Test Order.

Screenshot

Policy > General, the EU and UK right of withdrawal card with its four steps

Important: With Immediately, refunds are sent as soon as the shopper confirms, before the item is back, and declining is not possible once the refund is sent.

How it works

A US store shipping to Germany. A shopper in Berlin receives the order on 1 March.

1. On 9 March the shopper opens your withdrawal page from your store footer, enters the order number and the email or postal code, and sees the items. The order shipped to Germany and it is within 14 days of delivery, so the order is eligible.
2. The shopper picks the items, clicks Continue with Withdrawal, then Withdraw from Contract. The shopper can come back for more items inside the 14 days.
3. The confirmation page shows your return address (or the prepaid label with Download Label), a ship-by date 14 days from the request, Print Packing Slip, and a box for the tracking number. The shopper gets one Withdrawal confirmation email, with money in the order's currency and the store currency in brackets.
4. On your side the return carries a Withdrawal badge whose tooltip reads Right of withdrawal from Germany. Ship by {date}. Withdrawal deadline {date}.
5. With Automatic on The package is delivered, the refund goes out when the parcel arrives. With Manual, you process it from the return page when you are ready.
6. If nothing has been posted by the ship-by date, Decline Withdrawal asks Decline withdrawal?, closes the withdrawal, refunds nothing and sends the Withdrawal declined email. It is refused once items were received or a tracking scan was recorded.

The refund. Items, tax, duties and the outbound shipping paid at checkout, to the original payment, no fee. Shipping is refunded once per order, with the withdrawal that returns the order's last items. If an item from the order was exchanged, spent on Shop Now, rejected or missing, the order is not fully returned and no shipping is owed. A prepaid label cost is shown as its own line, and a lowered label deduction can be restored up to the filed value. A withdrawal never gains a fee after it is filed.

Items that have not shipped yet. With Automatic, ReturnZen cancels the unshipped items in Shopify and refunds them, with no restock. With Manual, they wait for you under Cancel and Refund Unshipped Items. The shopper gets the withdrawal confirmation after the refund, plus Shopify's own receipt.

Dates. A deadline that lands on a weekend or public holiday moves to the next working day. When there is no delivery date on the order, the app uses the ship date plus the policy's transit allowance, 7 days by default. A tracking number the shopper types counts as in transit only once the carrier's scan shows the parcel heading to your return address.

Note: If every one of your return policies is a draft, the withdrawal page falls back to the default policy and the bell alerts you.

What the shopper sees

1. Withdraw from your order, with Order number, Email or postal code and Find My Order.
2. Choose the items to withdraw, with You can withdraw until {date}. An unshipped item reads Not shipped yet. This item will be cancelled and refunded.
3. Confirm your withdrawal, then Withdraw from Contract, then Your withdrawal is confirmed.
4. An ineligible order reads why, for example The 14-day withdrawal period for this order ended on {date}., with Start a Return Instead.

No return reasons, no outcomes, no store credit, no workflows, no block lists.

Screenshot

The Withdraw from your order lookup page

The EU and UK right of withdrawal card

This section covers the EU and UK right of withdrawal card on the Policy > General page. Shoppers in the EU, in Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, and in the UK may cancel an online order within 14 days of delivery for any reason and get back what they paid, including the shipping they paid at checkout. The card sets up the separate withdrawal page ReturnZen gives those shoppers, who pays for the return label, and when the refund is processed. For what the law gives the shopper and how the whole flow runs, see Returns from EU and UK shoppers.

Before you start: A return policy that lists an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or the United Kingdom. A rest-of-world policy does not count. For prepaid labels, a carrier account in EasyPost that operates where your EU or UK shoppers are, and a return address in that region. See Prepaid return labels for international shoppers. The six fulfillment order permissions on your Shopify custom app. A store missing them gets a bell alert naming them.

Settings

In the admin, go to Policy > General > EU and UK right of withdrawal.

• Right of withdrawal page: when on, shoppers in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein and the UK can use the withdrawal page. When off, the withdrawal page is not offered. Default: on when a return policy covers a country in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or the UK, off otherwise.

  Note: The switch turns on by itself when a return policy covers one of those countries, and stays off otherwise. You can turn it on or off at any time. The line under the switch reads On because a return policy covers (countries). or Off because no return policy covers a country in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or the UK. until you set it by hand.

Step 1: Return label options

• Shopper provides their own label: the withdrawal page shows your return address and asks the shopper for a tracking number. Default.
• Provide a prepaid label: the app buys the label and deducts its estimated cost from the refund. Needs a carrier account in EasyPost that operates where your EU or UK shoppers are (DPD, DHL eCommerce, UPS Europe, Royal Mail for the UK). When you save, the app runs a test rating from Berlin or London and tells you if no carrier can quote. A withdrawal from a country none of your carriers serves is switched to shopper pays, and you get an alert in the bell. While EasyPost is switched off, or no EasyPost key is saved, a prepaid withdrawal is also switched to shopper pays.
• If the label cost cannot be estimated, deduct this amount instead: a fallback amount in your store currency. Leave this blank to switch that withdrawal to shopper pays and get an alert in the bell.

Important: Prepaid labels across borders are expensive, and USPS, FedEx and DHL Express labels cannot start outside the US. Read Prepaid return labels for international shoppers before choosing this.

Step 2: Withdrawal processing

• Fulfilled orders: Manual reviews and processes each withdrawal in the returns list. Automatic processes the refund by itself when the trigger under Process when happens: Immediately, The package is in transit or The package is delivered.

  Note: With Immediately, refunds are sent as soon as the shopper confirms, before the item is back, and declining is not possible once the refund is sent. With The package is in transit, a tracking number the shopper typed counts as in transit only when the carrier's scan shows your return address; otherwise the withdrawal waits for delivery.

• Unfulfilled orders: Automatic cancels the unshipped items in Shopify and refunds them at once. Manual reviews each withdrawal before the items are cancelled.

Step 3: Embed the link

Your withdrawal page is at your portal address followed by /portal/withdrawal. Click Copy Link, then add the link to your store footer and return policy page. Update your return policy to say shoppers pay return postage if you chose that; the law allows it only when stated up front.

Step 4: Test it

Click Open Withdrawal Page for Latest Test Order. The line under it names the test order it opens; use a test order shipped to a covered country to see the whole page. With no test order the line reads No test order found. Place a test order in Shopify to try the page.

Screenshot

Policy > General, the EU and UK right of withdrawal card with the switch, the four steps and the Copy Link button

What the shopper sees

A page separate from the normal returns portal, with no reasons, no outcomes, no store credit, no fees, no workflows and no block lists. The shopper looks the order up with the order number plus email or postal code, picks the items, confirms with Withdraw from Contract, and lands on a confirmation page with your return address or the label, the ship-by date (14 days from the request) and a box for a tracking number. One confirmation email follows, with the packing slip. See Returns from EU and UK shoppers for the full walk through.

How it works

The refund covers the items, tax, duties and the outbound shipping paid at checkout, to the original payment method, with no fee. A prepaid label's cost is shown as its own line. You can hold the refund until the item is back or a tracking number shows a scan, and you can Decline after the ship-by date, which refunds nothing and emails the shopper.

A withdrawal can never gain a fee after it is filed, whatever you change on this card. The law does not let you deduct automatically for a used or damaged item; hold the refund until the item is back and handle any deduction by hand. On the returns list a withdrawal carries a Withdrawal badge with the country, the ship-by date and the deadline.

Note: A store whose every return policy is a draft falls back to the default policy for withdrawals, with a bell alert.

This article describes how the feature works. It is not legal advice.

Prepaid labels for international shoppers

This section covers what a prepaid return label for an overseas shopper needs, why most US stores let the shopper pay return postage instead, and how the Return label options step on the EU and UK right of withdrawal card works.

Before you start: EasyPost connected under Shipping > Shipping Services. For a prepaid label abroad, a carrier account in EasyPost that operates in the shopper's region, and a return destination in that region under Shipping > Destinations.

How it works

A return label only works if it comes from a carrier that operates where the shopper is. A USPS, FedEx or DHL Express label bought on a US account cannot start a journey in London or Berlin. A prepaid label for an overseas shopper therefore needs two things:

• A carrier account in EasyPost that operates in the shopper's region.
• A return address in that region, usually a warehouse or 3PL, so the parcel does not have to cross a border.

Carriers EasyPost offers by region: for the UK, Royal Mail, Evri, DPD UK, Deutsche Post UK and Interlink; for the EU, DPD Germany, DPD Netherlands, DHL eCommerce from Germany and the Netherlands, CTT Express for Spain and Portugal, and UPS on a European account.

Why most US stores choose shopper pays. A label from Europe back to a US address needs a customs declaration and typically costs 50 to 100 dollars. Deducting that from a refund leaves the shopper with very little, and the law lets you ask them to pay return postage as long as your policy page says so before they buy. Shopper provides their own label is the default for that reason.

Note: The same rule applies to an ordinary return policy that covers other countries: a prepaid label needs a carrier that can pick up where the shopper is. A policy with Generate return labels on and no such carrier buys no label.

Return label options

In the admin, go to Policy > General, the EU and UK right of withdrawal card, step 1, Return label options.

• Shopper provides their own label: the withdrawal page shows your return address and asks the shopper for a tracking number. Default: on.
• Provide a prepaid label: the app buys the label and deducts its estimated cost from the refund. The note under it reads: Needs a carrier account in EasyPost that operates where your EU or UK shoppers are (DPD, DHL eCommerce, UPS Europe, Royal Mail for the UK). A withdrawal from a country none of your carriers serves is switched to shopper pays, and you get an alert in the bell.
• If the label cost cannot be estimated, deduct this amount instead: a fallback amount in your store currency, used when EasyPost cannot quote a rate at request time. Leave it blank to switch that withdrawal to shopper pays and get an alert in the bell.

When you first choose Provide a prepaid label and click Save Changes, ReturnZen asks EasyPost for a test rate from Berlin to the destination the label would use. It also asks for one from London when an active return policy lists the United Kingdom. Later saves do not run the check again. If no carrier can quote, the page tells you and asks you to add a carrier account or switch to shopper pays.

Screenshot

Policy > General, the EU and UK right of withdrawal card, step 1 with Provide a prepaid label chosen and the fallback amount field

What the shopper sees

With Shopper provides their own label, the withdrawal confirmation page shows your return address, the date to send the items by, and a box for their tracking number. The withdrawal confirmation email tells them to add the tracking number on their withdrawal page once the parcel is sent.

With Provide a prepaid label, the confirm step shows: Estimated refund: X, to your original payment method. The return label's cost is taken off your refund, so the amount may change. The confirmation page reads Print your return label and send the items by the ship-by date, with a Download Label button, and the email carries a link to download the label. The label cost is listed as its own line on the refund. If the label could not be bought, the page reads: We couldn't create a return label. Please send the items yourself to the address below by the date shown, and the bell tells you the withdrawal was switched to shopper pays.

While EasyPost is switched off or has no saved key, no prepaid label is bought. The withdrawal is switched to shopper pays, and the shopper is shown your return address to send the items to.

FAQ

Do I have to give EU and UK shoppers a prepaid label? No. The law lets you ask them to pay return postage as long as your policy page says so before they buy. Most US stores choose shopper pays, because a label back to the US from Europe needs a customs declaration and costs 50 to 100 dollars.

Can I refuse a withdrawal because the item was worn? You cannot refuse it. You can hold the refund until the item is back and then deduct for the loss in value by hand.

This article describes how the feature works. It is not legal advice.

Why did the switch turn itself on? A return policy of yours lists a country in the EU, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or the UK. The line under the switch names it. You can switch the page off by hand; the withdrawal page is then not offered.

Can I charge a restocking fee on a withdrawal? No. A withdrawal carries no fee and cannot gain one after it is filed. The only deduction is the estimated cost of a prepaid label, when you chose that option and your policy says so.

What happens to items that have not shipped yet? Under Unfulfilled orders, Automatic cancels them in Shopify and refunds them at once with no restock; Manual holds them for your review. The shopper gets the withdrawal confirmation after the refund, plus Shopify's own receipt.

Can I offer a prepaid label to the UK but not the EU? The setting is one choice for every covered country. A withdrawal from a country none of your carriers serves is switched to shopper pays on its own, so a UK-only carrier account gives UK shoppers a label and EU shoppers your return address, each with a bell alert for the EU ones.

Do I need a European warehouse? For a prepaid label, in practice yes: the carriers above deliver within their region, and a cross-border label back to the US needs a customs declaration and costs far more than most refunds can bear. With shopper pays, the shopper posts to whatever destination the policy names.

This article describes how the feature works. It is not legal advice.

Please reach out to support@returnzen.app with any additional questions.