Cancellation of a Black Friday or Cyber Monday purchase: 14 days, misleading sales and pricing errors

Service page: Class actions and consumer claims lawyer.

Can an online purchase made in a sale be canceled?

Yes. In a distance sale, such as a purchase on a website or in an app, the consumer may cancel the transaction (section 14C(c)(1) of the Consumer Protection Law, 5741-1981). The period runs from the day the transaction was made until 14 days from receiving the product or from receiving the document with the transaction details, whichever is later. The list of transactions this right does not apply to, in section 14C(d), does not include products bought on sale.

The list includes perishable goods; accommodation, travel, vacation or leisure services, when the cancellation is made within seven days that are not rest days before the date of the service; information as defined in the Computers Law, 5755-1995; goods made specially for the consumer; and goods that can be recorded, reproduced or copied whose original packaging the consumer has opened. A person with a disability, a senior citizen (aged 65 or over) and a new immigrant may cancel a distance sale within four months, if the contract involved a conversation between them and the dealer (section 14C1(c)).

How much money comes back, and what about the shipping charges?

When you cancel for a reason other than a defect or a breach, the dealer returns what was paid within 14 days of receiving the cancellation notice. The dealer may charge a cancellation fee of up to 5% of the product price or NIS 100, whichever is lower (section 14E(b)(1)). Shipping and packaging costs are included in the definition of the cancellation fee (section 14E(d)), so they cannot be charged above this ceiling. You return the product to the dealer at its place of business (section 14E(b)(2)).

When you cancel because of a defect in the product, non-conformity with the details given, failure to deliver on the date set in the contract or another breach by the dealer, there is no cancellation fee at all. The consumer makes the product available to the dealer at the place where it was delivered to them (section 14E(a)).

You bought in a store during a sale: when can you return items?

In a store, the right to cancel under the Consumer Protection Regulations (Cancellation of Transaction), 5771-2010, applies only to the types of goods and services in the Schedule to the Regulations. For goods, it applies only when the price paid for them is more than NIS 50 (regulation 1). For furniture, home and garden equipment (except unpackaged tableware), electrical and electronic appliances, watches, and a product in its original unopened packaging, you can cancel within 14 days of receiving the product. For clothing and footwear, you can cancel until the end of two days that are not rest days after the day of purchase, provided the price tag has not been removed. In all cases the product must go back to the dealer without a defect and unused (regulation 2).

The dealer may deduct a cancellation fee of 5% of the price or NIS 100, whichever is lower (regulation 5(a)). If the transaction was made by credit card and the dealer proves that it was charged for clearing the canceled transaction, it may also deduct that charge (regulation 5(b)). The money is returned to a consumer who shows an invoice, a till receipt, an exchange slip or other proof of the transaction (regulation 3(a)). It is returned in the same way it was paid, and no later than seven business days (regulation 4(a)). Among other things, the right does not apply to food products, underwear and swimwear, goods made specially for the consumer to measurements or special requirements, and perishable goods (regulation 6(a)). It also does not apply to a transaction paid with shopping vouchers, a gift voucher or a rechargeable magnetic card (regulation 6(c)).

The list of exceptions in regulation 6 does not include products bought on sale. A dealer that announces that the consumer has no right to cancel a transaction or to get their money back, for example on sale items, must qualify the announcement. It must make clear that the announcement does not apply in the cases set by law (section 2(b2) of the Consumer Protection Law).

Credit vouchers and holiday gifts: what are the rules?

When a consumer cancels a purchase and is not entitled to a refund by law, and the dealer gives them a credit voucher, the voucher must be for the amount paid in the transaction. It must be valid for at least two years from the day it is given, and its use cannot depend on showing the invoice. A condition that limits the use of the voucher, including in a special sale, is not valid, subject to exceptions the Minister may set (section 14G(a) of the Consumer Protection Law). These provisions also apply to a gift voucher (section 14G(d)).

The Cancellation Regulations also apply to goods and services that a consumer received as a gift from someone other than the dealer. The condition is that the consumer shows an exchange slip or other proof of the transaction, its date, the amount paid and the means of payment (regulation 8(a)).

What the law requires of a sale: the previous price, stock and quantity limits

A dealer that announced a special sale to the public or at its place of business must make clear (section 15(a) of the Consumer Protection Law): which goods or services are included in it and which are not; what their price was at that dealer before the sale; what the discount rate or the price after it is; and what the terms of the sale are. A change in these details requires notice in the same way the first notice was published (section 15(b)).

In a public announcement that is not at the place of business, the dealer must state the minimum number of items offered in the sale and the minimum number of items offered at the maximum discount. This duty does not apply to goods or services whose sale price is not more than NIS 50 (section 15(b1)). The dealer must keep reasonable stock of the goods on sale, unless it stated otherwise in the announcement (section 15(b2)). When the stock runs out, the dealer may not go on advertising the sale. If only some of the items ran out, it may go on advertising only at the place of business, together with a notice about the items that ran out (section 15(b3)).

The price “before the discount” is inflated: what can you do?

The Consumer Protection Law prohibits a dealer from doing anything that could mislead a consumer on any material matter in a transaction. It states expressly that the regular or usual price, or the price asked in the past, is a material matter (section 2(a)(13)). The quantity of goods in stock is also a material matter (section 2(a)(18)). The prohibition also applies to advertising (section 2(c)). When an advertisement misleads, both the party on whose behalf it was made and the party who brought it to publication are treated as breaching the Law (section 7(a)).

If a transaction was made and it turns out that it involved misleading on a material matter in the circumstances, the consumer may cancel it within a reasonable time from when they learned of the misleading (section 32(a)). The dealer returns the payment within seven days of receiving the cancellation notice, in the same way the consumer paid. The consumer makes the product available to the dealer at the place where it was delivered to them (section 32(b)). Under section 31(a) of the Law, misleading in breach of the Law is also a civil wrong (tort) under the Torts Ordinance [New Version].

On enforcement powers and remedies for misleading advertising: Misleading advertising: what the law says. On the price shown on the shelf versus the price at the checkout: Price transparency: duties of businesses.

A pricing mistake: must the seller honor the order?

In a store, the binding price of goods is the price displayed on them, even if their price at the checkout is higher (section 17B(d) of the Consumer Protection Law). A dealer that refused a consumer’s request to charge the price displayed on the goods is exposed to exemplary damages that do not depend on damage (section 31A(a)(5)). Such a claim is filed only after the consumer has sent or given the dealer a written request (section 31A(b)).

When a seller wants to cancel an online order, claiming the price shown was wrong, the question is examined under the Contracts (General Part) Law, 5733-1973. An approach to the public can be an offer, if it shows the offeror’s intention to be bound and is definite enough for the contract to be made by accepting it (section 2). A person who entered into a contract because of a mistake, when it can be assumed that they would not have entered into it without the mistake, and the other party knew or should have known this, may cancel the contract (section 14(a)). When the other party did not know and should not have known, only the court may cancel the contract, if it finds it just to do so. The court may also order the party who made the mistake to pay compensation (section 14(b)).

A mistake that is only about whether the deal is worthwhile is not a mistake for this purpose (section 14(d)). A clerical error is not a ground for cancellation: the contract is corrected according to the parties’ intention (section 16). So the result depends on the circumstances, including what the buyer knew or should have known. If the contract was lawfully canceled, each party returns to the other what it received (section 21).

The delivery is delayed after the sale: can I cancel?

The delivery date is a material matter in a transaction (section 2(a)(3) of the Consumer Protection Law). When a distance sale is canceled because the product was not delivered on the date set in the contract, the dealer returns what was paid within 14 days of receiving the cancellation notice, with no cancellation fee (section 14E(a)(1)).

You can notify the credit card company if three conditions are met. First, you paid with a means of payment where your payment service provider, for example the credit card company, undertook to transfer the funds as part of the payment transaction regardless of actually receiving them from you. (This is how section 1 of the Payment Services Law, 5779-2019, defines the transaction that section 17 applies to.) Second, the product was not delivered although the agreed delivery date has passed. Third, you notified the seller of the cancellation of the transaction, as far as this was possible. The company will then stop charging you for the transaction from the date of your notice (section 17(a)). If it turns out that the conditions were not met, it may charge you again, with a written notice giving reasons at least 15 days before the charge (section 17(b)).

How do you actually cancel?

In a distance transaction, you can give the cancellation notice orally by phone or at the place of business, by registered mail, by email, by fax if the dealer has one, and, in a transaction that can be made online, also online (section 14I(a) of the Consumer Protection Law). A dealer that sells online must create on the website’s home page a dedicated, prominent link for sending a cancellation notice (section 14I(b)). In the notice, give your name and ID number (section 14I(c)).

It is worth canceling in a way that leaves a record. Keep the order confirmation, the date you received the product and the sale advertisement as it appeared on the day of purchase.

The full guide to the cancellation period, including service transactions and continuing transactions: The cancellation period: when and how. When the same breach is repeated against many customers, there may be grounds for a class action.