Consumer Protection Law for Online Shopping Transactions in the Era of the 7-Day Cooling-Off Period

【Legal English Series 13】 Consumer Protection Law for Online Shopping Transactions in the Era of the 7-Day Cooling-Off Period

With the advancement of technology, transaction methods have become more diverse, and online shopping has become a modern trend. In the process of online shopping transactions, consumers are often unable to inspect the goods and do not directly interact with the sellers, making it difficult to determine the credibility of the trading parties. Therefore, consumers are in a relatively disadvantaged position. 

To protect consumer rights and promote the safety of national consumption life, Article 19 of the Consumer Protection Law allows consumers who obtain goods or services through remote communication or visit transactions to have a 7-day cooling-off period after receiving the goods or services.

However, not all goods or services are suitable for returns or cancellations after purchase. If the 7-day cooling-off period were to be universally applied to all goods or services, it might significantly increase the operating costs of businesses, leading them to be reluctant to offer more flexible transaction methods, thereby reducing the diversity of transaction options available to consumers.

Therefore, the Executive Yuan's Consumer Protection Committee has specified, through the "Guidelines for Reasonable Exceptions to the Right to Rescind Communications Transactions," Article 2, seven specific situations in which the 7-day cooling-off period doesn’t apply:

1. Goods that are prone to spoilage, have a short shelf life or are about to expire at the time of contract cancellation.

2. Customized items are made according to the consumer's request.

3. Newspapers, periodicals, or magazines.

4. Audio or video products or computer software that have been unsealed by the consumer.

5. Digital content that is not provided on a tangible medium or online services that are completed upon provision, with the consumer's prior consent.

6. Personal hygiene products that have been unsealed.

7. International air passenger services.

If sellers wish to be exempt from the 7-day appreciation period restrictions, they must meet one of the seven aforementioned conditions and also inform consumers in advance about the exclusion of the 7-day appreciation period. If they fail to do so, sellers cannot avoid the responsibility of accepting unconditional cancellations from consumers!

Next time, we will explore more specific circumstances and reasons for each exception to the 7-day appreciation period. If you have any questions about online transactions, feel free to leave a comment below. The Legal English Series will strive to assist you! bye～