About this service
Online purchasing is the most ordinary consumer experience, yet legally it falls under a special regime: the consumer and the trader do not see each other, the contract is concluded at a distance, and the law accordingly imposes strict information requirements and a special right of withdrawal. This framework is defined by the Georgian law on consumer rights protection, and it applies equally to webshops, applications and online services — and is equally useful to the consumer who needs to defend a right. This service helps both sides: traders in building compliance, consumers in restoring violated rights.
Information before the contract — complete and comprehensible
Article 5 of the law establishes the basic information duty: before concluding a contract the trader must provide the consumer, in the state language, clearly and comprehensibly, with reliable and complete information: the name of the goods or services, the manufacturer and their essential characteristics; the trader's identity and address, and the means of rapid communication; the price indicating main and additional charges; the conditions of payment, delivery and performance; the legal guarantee; the functional characteristics and compatibility of digital content. For distance contracts this requirement becomes more concrete: the information must be supplied by a means of distance communication, clearly and comprehensibly, and in electronic ordering the consumer must unambiguously be aware that placing an order creates an obligation to pay — where the trader has not ensured this, no payment obligation arises for the consumer.
The right of withdrawal — 14 calendar days
Withdrawal from a distance contract is the consumer's principal instrument. Under the law, the consumer has the right, without stating any ground, to withdraw from a distance contract within 14 calendar days. The period runs, for a services contract, from its conclusion, and for a sale from the consumer's taking possession of the goods; for split orders from the last item, and for regular deliveries from the first item received. On withdrawal the consumer bears no costs — except where they chose a delivery more expensive than the trader's standard one. Withdrawal automatically terminates the related contract and restores the original position. An important detail is the burden of proof: substantiating that the withdrawal was exercised within the period lies on the consumer — which is why the notice must be sent in writing, in a confirmable form.
When non-provision of information extends the period
Where the trader does not provide the consumer with information about the right of return, the goods or services may be returned within 12 months of the expiry of the period. And where the trader supplies the information within that time, the 7-day return period runs from receipt of that information. For a trader this rule is a clear warning: hiding information does not shorten the period — on the contrary, it extends it many times over.
Exceptions — when withdrawal does not apply
The law defines exceptions too. The right of withdrawal does not extend to separately regulated financial and insurance contracts. The consumer has no right of withdrawal where: the trader fully performed the service with the consumer's prior consent and the consumer knew of the loss of the right; the goods were made to individual order or clearly tailored to personal needs; the goods are perishable or have a short shelf life; hermetically sealed goods were supplied and the seal was broken after delivery; the goods were inseparably mixed with other goods; sealed audio or video recordings or software were supplied and the seal was broken; the contract was concluded as a result of a public auction; and in other established cases, including the supply of alcoholic beverages under defined conditions. For digital content the exception relates to immediate performance with prior consent.
Nullity of unfair standard terms
The terms of online commerce are often standard — and it is here that the nullity institution engages. Under Article 22 of the law, an unfair standard term of a contract is void, despite its presence in the contract, where it contradicts the principles of good faith and fair dealing and causes an unjustified imbalance of rights and obligations to the consumer's detriment, including through its ambiguity. The law explicitly names void terms: clauses excluding the trader's liability for damage to health; clauses unfairly restricting the consumer's claims; a unilateral right of withdrawal reserved only to the trader; clauses imposing payment exceeding the damage; and others. Online-shop terms that fall under this list simply do not work against the consumer.
For the consumer, the chief discipline is documentation: keep a screenshot of the offer, the order confirmation, the delivery document and the correspondence with the trader. It is exactly this material that decides whether the withdrawal period stands in your favour. For the trader, the key is communication: the right of withdrawal must be visible on the website, not buried in a fourth-level link, and the refund procedure must be arranged so that a consumer's notice receives a timely and formally correct response. That is precisely where our assistance engages — turning statutory requirements into working procedures that protect both the buyer and the seller.
How we can help
For consumers: we assess your situation — whether the withdrawal period stands, which exception applies, whether a term is void — and prepare the notice, the claim or the application. For traders: we audit the website and offers against the information requirements, define the withdrawal procedure and identify the risk of void standard terms. Contact us for a concrete plan for your case.