Pest control contracts are often agreed in the home, at the moment a technician has found a problem, and the customer may want to change their mind afterwards. In the UK, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 govern cancellation rights for contracts made at a distance or off the trader’s premises, and legislation.gov.uk shows their extent as the whole United Kingdom. This article walks through the provisions that matter most for a pest control booking: the 14-day cancellation period, the exception for urgent repairs, what happens if work has started, and what a consumer must do to cancel. It is general information, not legal advice, and it does not replace the wording of the Regulations or a consumer adviser.
Which contracts the cancellation right covers
Regulation 29 says a consumer may cancel a distance or off-premises contract at any time in the cancellation period without giving a reason and without liability, except in limited cases such as where the consumer asked for early supply of the service. Regulation 5 defines an off-premises contract to include a contract concluded with the trader and consumer physically present in a place that is not the trader’s business premises, such as the consumer’s home, and a contract for which the consumer made the offer in the physical presence of the trader away from business premises. A distance contract is one made under an organised distance sales or service scheme, without the trader and consumer physically together, using only means of distance communication up to the moment of contracting, for example a booking made entirely by phone or online.
The 14-day period
For a service contract, regulation 30 says the cancellation period ends at the end of 14 days after the day on which the contract is entered into. If the trader has not given the consumer the required information on the right to cancel, regulation 31 extends the period. If the trader supplies that information within 12 months, the period ends 14 days after the consumer receives it. Otherwise, it ends at the end of 12 months after the day it would have ended under regulation 30.
The urgent-repairs exception
Regulation 28 lists circumstances where the cancellation rules do not apply. Paragraph (1)(e) covers contracts where the consumer has specifically requested a visit from the trader for the purpose of carrying out urgent repairs or maintenance. So if a household calls a company because of an urgent problem and asks it to attend, that contract is not subject to the cancellation period. The site’s article on describing an urgent pest situation covers how to record what was asked for.
Regulation 28(2) narrows the exception. It says the exception does not stop the cancellation rules applying to a contract for services in addition to the urgent repairs or maintenance requested, or for goods other than replacement parts necessarily used in the repairs, if the trader supplies them on the occasion of such a visit. In a pest control context, an extra service sold during the visit, such as an annual contract added on top of an urgent callout, is therefore treated differently from the urgent treatment requested.
If work starts inside the cancellation period
Regulation 36 covers services supplied during the period. A trader must not begin the service before the end of the cancellation period unless the consumer has made an express request, and for an off-premises contract, has made it on a durable medium such as paper or email. If the consumer then cancels after a service has begun in response to that request, regulation 36(4) says they must pay an amount for the service supplied up to the time the trader is told of the cancellation, in proportion to what has been supplied compared with the full contract. It is calculated on the total price agreed, or on the market value of the service supplied if the total price is excessive.
The consumer bears no cost, under regulation 36(6), if the trader failed to give the required information about the right to cancel or about payment of that cost, or if the service was not supplied in response to a proper request. Regulation 36(2) also says the right to cancel is lost if the service has been fully performed, provided performance began after such a request and with an acknowledgement that the right would be lost once the contract was fully performed. A one-off treatment completed in a single visit could therefore end the right to cancel, but only if these conditions were met.
How to cancel
Regulation 32 says the consumer must inform the trader of the decision to cancel. They may use the model cancellation form in the Regulations or make any other clear statement of the decision. It says a consumer who sends a communication is treated as having cancelled in the period if it is sent before the period ends, and that in a dispute it is for the consumer to show the contract was cancelled in time. Keeping a dated copy of an email or letter is therefore sensible.
Common questions
Does the 14 days apply to every pest control booking?
The cancellation right applies to distance and off-premises contracts. A contract made entirely on the trader’s own premises falls outside these provisions, and the urgent-repairs exception in regulation 28(1)(e) can apply to a visit the consumer specifically requested.
Where do quality complaints fit?
Cancellation is separate from complaints about the standard of work. The site’s guide to the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and pest control contracts covers that route.
The bottom line
Under the 2013 Regulations, which extend across the UK, a consumer has 14 days after agreeing a distance or off-premises pest control service to cancel without giving a reason, but there is an exception where the consumer specifically requested an urgent visit. If work has begun in the cancellation period on a proper request, the consumer pays a proportionate amount. Cancelling clearly and in writing, and keeping a copy, is the safest course. Compare quotes first through the site’s guide to choosing a pest controller.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, regulation 5 (definitions)
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 28 (circumstances excluding cancellation)
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 (normal cancellation period)
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 31 (cancellation period extended for breach of information requirement)
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 29 (right to cancel)
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 36 (supply of service in cancellation period)
- legislation.gov.uk, Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 32 (exercise of the right to cancel)