Deposit, same-day cancel, and 14-day cooling-off on a domestic quote
A householder says yes. Then they don’t. Same day, no-show, or they want the deposit back.
UK law is not “keep half up front”. And the 14-day cooling-off is not on every domestic quote. It depends how they agreed.
Citizens Advice and the Consumer Contracts Regulations are the source. This is not legal advice. Big or messy job: get proper advice.
How much deposit is fair
There is no legal set percentage.
Do not ask for the whole job up front. Citizens Advice tells householders not to pay everything before you start. If you want a deposit for materials, they are told they can buy the materials themselves.
On a long job they are told to push the deposit down, and not agree to more than 25%. That is advice to the customer. It is not a cap in the statute. Ask for more and expect a no.
GOV.UK (CMA) says a non-refundable deposit is more likely to be fair if it is a small percentage of the price, you say exactly when it would not be refunded, and it matches what you will actually lose.
The principle: enough to cover materials you must order. Not the whole job.
- Put the amount, and what it is for, on the quote
- Give a receipt
- Do not call a large deposit “non-refundable” just because you wrote it
If cooling-off applies (below) and you have not started, they get the deposit back.
Can I bill a no-show or same-day cancel?
No official source sets a call-out or no-show fee. Do not invent one after they cancel.
You can only charge what you agreed in writing, and only a genuine estimate of what the cancel actually cost you.
Citizens Advice says that once there is a contract (they accepted the quote, paid a deposit, fixed a start date, or told you to go ahead) you may ask for a cancellation charge, or for loss if you set the day aside and cannot fill it.
GOV.UK is stricter than “whatever is on the quote”:
- The term has to be fair
- You keep only actual, direct loss
- You must try to reduce that loss (another job in the slot)
- You must not charge twice for the same loss
- A blanket “non-refundable, no matter why” is likely unfair
If you never wrote a cancel term, do not add a call-out later.
If the 14-day cooling-off applies and they cancel before you start, Business Companion is clear: no cancellation or restocking fees. Refund what they paid.
When the 14 days applies
14 days is the legal minimum for most distance and off-premises contracts. Not for every quote they sign at the house.
It usually applies when they agree:
- On the phone
- Online or by email, as the way you take the job
- By post
- There and then at their house, workplace, or in the street (not at your office or yard)
Citizens Advice: the 14 days start the day after they give the go-ahead. They can cancel for any reason. If you have not started, they get their money back.
It does not automatically apply when:
- They agree at your premises (office, yard, shop)
- You visit, leave a quote, and they accept later in their own time. Business Companion treats that as an on-premises contract. No 14-day right. If they say yes while you are still there, that is off-premises. Different rule.
- They asked you in for urgent repairs or maintenance (burst pipe, unsafe boiler). Extra non-urgent work on the same visit can still have a cooling-off
- The goods are made to their specification (made-to-measure windows, curtains, a conservatory). Combining stock parts does not kill the right
- They asked you, in writing, to start during the 14 days, you told them they would pay for what you did, and the job is fully finished. They lose the right to cancel that service
On-premises: there is still a contract once they accept. Cancelling is a breach unless your quote says otherwise. Then you are back to genuine loss, not a made-up fee.
If they want you to start inside the 14 days
Do not start during cooling-off unless they expressly ask. Off-premises: that request has to be on paper or email, not a nod in the kitchen.
Tell them they will pay a fair share of the price for what you have done if they later cancel.
If you start without that request, Citizens Advice: they can cancel and you refund everything.
If they asked, you told them, and they cancel mid-job: they pay for the proportion done. Not the rest of the job.
What you must tell them
If a right to cancel exists, tell them the conditions, time limits, and how to cancel before they are bound. Give them a cancellation form.
Business Companion (the official model form) says it must be in this form:
To [your name, address, and email]:
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
They do not have to use the form. Any clear statement will do.
Also tell them: if they ask you to start inside the 14 days, they pay for the work done up to the cancel.
If you skip the cancellation information, Citizens Advice: the 14 days is extended from the day they get it, up to a year. Business Companion: failing to give that information can be a criminal offence.
Put it on the quote
Before anyone books a day or orders materials, write down:
- The deposit, what it covers, and when (if ever) it would not be refunded
- What happens if they cancel or do not show (only a genuine pre-estimate of your loss)
- Whether the 14-day cooling-off applies to this job, and how they cancel
- That you will not start inside cooling-off unless they ask in writing
The bit that fails is writing it down before anyone books a day. Your assistant can send the quote with the deposit and the cancel terms already on it.
A job quote or job estimate is a way to put deposit and cancel terms in writing.
What tends to break it is time. The quote goes out without the cancel line. That is why the assistant exists.
