The short version
- A contract signed at home with a salesperson, or agreed online or by phone with no home visit, carries a cooling off period of at least 14 days.
- A contract signed in the showroom, or agreed some time after a salesperson's home visit, carries no statutory cooling off period.
- Windows made to measure for your home may carry no statutory right to cancel (regulation 28(1)(b)).
- An installer who never gives you the cancellation information extends your period by up to 12 months.
How long is the cooling off period for double glazing?
The cooling off period for double glazing lasts at least 14 days when you sign away from the installer's premises, such as at your home with a salesperson. Citizens Advice calls 14 days "the absolute minimum" a seller must give. Within that period you cancel without giving a reason (regulation 29).
The period starts when you enter the contract (regulation 29(2)). When it ends depends on what the contract supplies (regulation 30):
- Windows supplied and fitted: regulation 5 counts a contract for both goods and services as a sales contract. The period ends 14 days after the windows come into your physical possession, or the last of them if they arrive on different days.
- Work only, with no goods: a service contract. The period ends 14 days after the day you enter the contract.
On a supply-and-fit contract for stock-size windows, you can cancel from the day you sign until 14 days after the windows arrive. The 14 days are calendar days, so weekends and bank holidays count.
Where you signed decides your rights
Your statutory right to cancel depends on where and when the contract was made. Which? sets out the same split for double glazing: at home on the spot gives a right to cancel, while a showroom contract or a later agreement after a home visit gives none. The table shows each case before the made-to-measure exception applies. Trading Standards teams warn about doorstep sales in many areas, as our pages on double glazing in Bradford and Southampton double glazing quotes note.
| How the contract was made | Statutory cooling off period | Source |
|---|---|---|
| At home, signed or agreed on the spot with the salesperson | At least 14 days (off-premises contract) | Regulations 5 and 30 |
| At home, you signed an order that the company accepts later | At least 14 days (off-premises contract) | Regulation 5 |
| In the showroom, or by phone, straight after a salesperson approached you away from the showroom | At least 14 days (off-premises contract) | Regulation 5 |
| Online, by email or by phone, with no home visit | At least 14 days (distance contract) | Regulations 5 and 30 |
| In the showroom or office | None (on-premises contract) | Regulation 5, Which?, Citizens Advice |
| A salesperson visited your home, and you agreed some time later | None (on-premises contract) | Regulation 5, Which? |
Can you cancel made-to-measure windows?
Made-to-measure windows may carry no statutory right to cancel. Regulation 28(1)(b) takes "the supply of goods that are made to the consumer's specifications or are clearly personalised" out of the cancellation rules. Trading Standards guidance on Business Companion says this may apply to double glazed windows made to the measurements of your home, but not to a standard-sized unit bought from a trade supplier.
Citizens Advice gives made-to-measure windows and conservatories as examples where you do not automatically get a cooling off period. Which? goes further and says custom-made windows carry no right to cancel. DGCOS has said most replacement windows are made to measure, so ask three questions before you sign:
- Are these windows made to measure for my home, or stock sizes?
- Does the contract give me a cooling off period anyway, and for how long?
- On what date does the factory start making the windows?
Trading Standards guidance says the exclusion "may" apply, so it is not automatic for every supply-and-fit contract. Read the contract wording and get the installer's answer in writing.
Does the installer offer its own cooling off period?
Some installers offer their own contractual cooling off period, even on made-to-measure windows. Citizens Advice notes that some traders voluntarily offer 7 days on these products, but they do not have to. Which? notes that firms are free to offer more than the legal minimum. The period in your contract is the one you rely on, so find it before you sign.
What if you were never told about your right to cancel?
Your cooling off period extends by up to 12 months when the installer never gives you the cancellation information. Under regulation 31, the period ends 14 days after you receive the information if it arrives within 12 months of the start of the normal 14 days. The period ends 12 months after the normal period would have ended when the information never arrives.
The extension only applies to a contract that carries a right to cancel in the first place. Failing to give notice of the right to cancel on a contract signed at home is a criminal offence under regulation 19. You also pay nothing for work done in the cancellation period when the information was not given (regulation 36). Nottingham Trading Standards lists "not giving cancellation notices out" among common doorstep crimes, as our page on double glazing quotes in Nottingham notes.
What if work starts during the cooling off period?
The installer must not start work during the cooling off period unless you expressly ask it to (regulation 36). On a contract signed at home, that request has to be on a durable medium, such as a letter or email. Cancel after asking for an early start, and you pay a proportionate amount for the work already done. Cancel after work the installer started without your request, and you pay nothing for it.
Fitting can also end the right to cancel. Regulation 28(3)(c) ends it once goods become mixed inseparably with other items after delivery, and Citizens Advice warns that an installer could argue this for items that cannot be removed without damage.
How to cancel a double glazing contract
Cancel a double glazing contract by telling the installer clearly, in writing, inside the cancellation period. Follow these five steps:
- Find the contract date, the delivery date of any windows, and the cancellation period stated in the contract. Our double glazing contract checklist shows where these sit.
- Write to the installer by email or letter. Use the model cancellation form below, or any other clear statement that you are cancelling (regulation 32).
- Send it before the period ends, and keep proof of when you sent it. A cancellation sent inside the period counts even if it arrives later (regulation 32(5)).
- Ask for every payment back, including the deposit. With no windows delivered, the refund is due within 14 days of the day you tell the installer (regulation 34).
- Arrange the return of any windows already delivered. The installer collects them if it offered to, or if they were delivered to your home when you signed and cannot normally go back by post (regulation 35).
Model cancellation form
This is the model cancellation form from Part B of Schedule 3 to the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, copied word for word. Fill in the square brackets and delete what does not apply. Using it is optional: any clear statement works.
B. Model cancellation form
To [here the trader's name, geographical address and, where available, fax number and e-mail address are to be inserted by the trader]:
I/We [*] hereby give notice that I/We [*] cancel my/our [*] contract of sale of the following goods [*]/for the supply of the following service [*],
Ordered on [*]/received on [*],
Name of consumer(s),
Address of consumer(s),
Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper),
Date
[*] Delete as appropriate.
If the installer refuses to cancel
An installer that refuses a valid cancellation still owes you the refund, so put your cancellation and the refund request in writing and keep copies. Then take these three steps:
- Call the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133. Advisers pass complaints to Trading Standards.
- Ask whether the installer belongs to a dispute resolution scheme. DGCOS offers its members' customers alternative dispute resolution and free access to an ombudsman, and Which? lists GGF conciliation and the FENSA complaints process as other routes. Before you sign the next contract, choose a double glazing installer that belongs to one.
- Check whether you were given the cancellation information. Without it, your period runs for up to 12 months longer (regulation 31). If the installer has stopped trading instead, see our guide on a double glazing company gone bust.
Cancelling after the cooling off period
Cancelling after the cooling off period breaks the contract, unless you agreed terms for cancelling, the installer has failed its own obligations, or you were misled or pressured into signing. Citizens Advice says the installer can then ask for a cancellation fee and any profit lost because of your cancellation, and may keep some or all of the deposit to cover its loss.
Ask the installer to explain any charge in writing, including whether the windows have gone into manufacture. Citizens Advice advises negotiating when the amount withheld or the fee looks unreasonable, and trying an alternative dispute resolution scheme if that fails.
What happens to the finance if you cancel?
Cancelling inside the cooling off period automatically ends any finance the installer arranged with the window contract (regulation 38). You pay nothing for ending it, beyond any proportionate payment for work you asked to start early, and the installer must tell the lender. Section 66A of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 sets a separate right to withdraw from a credit agreement itself. Our sister site covers it in its guide to double glazing finance.
Before you sign: compare quotes
The safest cooling off period is the time you take before signing. A written quote from three installers lets you decide without a deadline. Compare double glazing quotes from local installers who cover your postcode, then use our guide on how to compare double glazing quotes and the questions to ask a double glazing salesman.
Questions people ask
Is there a cooling off period on double glazing?
Double glazing signed at home with a salesperson carries a cooling off period of at least 14 days under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. Windows made to measure for your home may carry no statutory right, and a showroom contract carries none.
Does a 14-day cooling-off period include weekends?
A 14-day cooling-off period includes weekends and bank holidays, because regulation 30 counts 14 days, not working days. The count starts the day after you sign, or the day after the windows arrive on a supply-and-fit contract, and a cancellation sent on day 14 is in time.
Can you cancel a contract after signing it?
A double glazing contract can be cancelled after signing, without a reason, inside the cooling off period where one applies. After that period, cancelling breaks the contract and the installer can ask for a cancellation fee or its lost profit, as set out in cancelling after the cooling off period.
Can I cancel made-to-measure windows?
Made-to-measure windows may carry no statutory right to cancel, because regulation 28(1)(b) excludes goods made to your specifications. Check the contract: some installers offer their own cooling off period anyway.
Can I cancel double glazing signed in the showroom?
A contract signed in the showroom carries no statutory cooling off period. The exception is a showroom contract signed straight after a salesperson approached you away from the showroom, which counts as an off-premises contract (regulation 5).
Do I get my double glazing deposit back if I cancel?
You get every payment back, including the deposit, when you cancel inside the cooling off period. With no windows delivered, the refund is due within 14 days of the day you tell the installer, less a proportionate amount for work you asked it to start early. Our guide to the double glazing deposit covers how much to pay and how to protect it.
