Your Right to Cancel a Purchase in New York

Under the Door-to-Door Sales Protection Act, a buyer in a door-to-door sale (a sale, lease or rental of consumer goods or services personally solicited by the seller, with the buyer's offer made somewhere other than the seller's place of business) may cancel any time before midnight of the third business day after the transaction, by mailing or delivering a signed and dated cancellation notice or other written notice. If the seller does not provide the required disclosures, the buyer may cancel in any manner, and the cancellation period does not start until the seller complies. Exclusions include purchases of $25 or less that can be delivered at one time, sales negotiated at a retail store, sales made entirely by mail or phone, buyer-requested home repairs, certain emergencies, real property, insurance and securities. Home improvement contracts and credit repair contracts also carry three-day cancellation rights.

Retail stores and online retailers must conspicuously post their refund policy—on the item, at each register, visible from the register, or at each store entrance (online, near the item or before billing information is requested). The policy must say whether refunds are given and under what conditions, including for sale or "as is" items, items without proof of purchase, and fees such as restocking fees, and must tell consumers they can ask for a written copy. A retailer that violates the law must give a buyer, for up to 30 days after purchase, a cash refund or credit at the buyer's option, if the item is unused and undamaged and the purchase date can be verified.