Skip to main content

EU/EEA Withdrawal

Let buyers in the EU and EEA withdraw from a recent purchase and get a full refund, as EU consumer law requires

EU consumer law gives buyers in the EU and EEA the right to withdraw from an online purchase within 14 days. When you turn on EU/EEA withdrawal, Uscreen adds a Withdraw from contract link to your Storefront footer. Eligible buyers use it to withdraw from a subscription, a one-time purchase, or a rental. Uscreen refunds the payment and ends their access for you.

ℹ️ INFO: EU/EEA withdrawal is in early access. If you don't see the EU/EEA withdrawal card in your Checkout settings, contact our Support team.

📝 NOTE: This feature helps you meet the withdrawal requirement. It is not legal advice. Talk to your own legal advisor about your obligations under EU consumer law.

Enable EU/EEA Withdrawal

  1. Go to Settings > Checkout.

  2. Find the EU/EEA withdrawal card.

  3. Click Get started.

  4. Read the summary of how withdrawal works.

  5. Click Enable.

Uscreen adds the Withdraw from contract link to your footer. This works on both themed and themeless Storefronts. You don't need to add the link yourself.

To turn the feature off, disable the card in the same place. Buyers in the EU and EEA stop seeing the link. You can turn it back on at any time.

Who Can Withdraw

A buyer can withdraw from a purchase when all of the following are true:

  • The buyer visits your Storefront from an EU or EEA country. Visitors from other countries don't see the footer link.

  • Uscreen can place the original purchase in the EU or EEA. Uscreen checks the purchase location, the billing country, the card's issuing country, and the country at sign-up.

  • The purchase is no more than 14 days old.

  • The purchase has not already been refunded or withdrawn.

The EU and EEA cover 30 countries: the 27 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway. The United Kingdom and Switzerland are not included.

The 14-Day Window

The window starts on the date of the original purchase and ends at the end of the 14th day after it (UTC). Renewals don't restart the window. A free trial that converts to a paid subscription doesn't restart it either. The window always counts from the day the buyer first signed up.

Purchases Buyers Can Withdraw From

  • Subscriptions

  • One-time purchases (TVOD)

  • Rentals

Purchases Buyers Can't Withdraw From (for now)

  • Purchases made through an app store, such as in-app purchases on iOS, Android, Roku, Apple TV, or Fire TV Must be handled via the app stores.

  • Gifts

  • Donations

  • Bookings

What Buyers See

Buyers can withdraw whether they are signed in or not.

  • Signed in: The buyer opens Account > Purchases or clicks the footer link. Each eligible purchase shows a Withdraw from contract option.

  • Signed out: The buyer clicks the footer link and enters their full name, their email address, and the invoice number from their receipt.

In both cases, Uscreen emails the buyer a link to confirm the withdrawal. The link expires after 12 hours. The buyer can request a new link after 5 minutes. A request made inside the 14-day window stays valid, even when the buyer confirms from a new link after day 14.

When the buyer confirms, Uscreen:

  1. Refunds the latest payment in full, to the payment method that paid it. The buyer's current payment method doesn't matter.

  2. Ends the buyer's access immediately. For a subscription, this also stops future renewals.

  3. Emails the buyer a confirmation with the refund amount.

If the purchase was a free trial with no payment, the buyer's access ends and there is nothing to refund.

📝 NOTE: Uscreen refunds the payment for the current billing period, not the whole history. For example, a buyer on day 10 of a monthly plan gets back their one payment.

Track Withdrawals

When a buyer withdraws, the admins on your team get an email. Only admins who have the Cancelled subscription notification turned on receive it. Admins manage this in their Account settings.

In Sales > Invoices, a withdrawn invoice has the status Withdrawn. Use the status filter to list all withdrawn invoices. The invoice history shows the entry "Contract withdrawn. Payment returned to the buyer."

FAQs

Can I edit the withdrawal emails?

No. The three withdrawal emails don't appear in your email templates. The legal wording and the confirmation link must stay intact, so Uscreen keeps the text the same for every Storefront.

Can I refund a buyer myself instead?

Yes. You can refund an invoice as usual. If you refund a purchase first, the buyer can't withdraw from it later, because the money has already been returned.

Does withdrawal work in the mobile and TV apps?

Buyers withdraw on your Storefront in a web browser. Purchases made through an app store must be handled through the same app store.

What if Uscreen can't tell where the purchase was made?

The buyer sees a message asking them to contact support. Your team can check the purchase and refund it manually if it qualifies.

Did this answer your question?

Related Articles