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Consumer rights: withdrawal from distance sales, defects and unfair terms

Last verified: 2026-10-28 · Status: Changing

Returns are not at the seller's discretion: consumers who buy off premises or online can cancel without cost within five business days, rising to ten calendar days with a mandatory online 'Botón de arrepentimiento' (withdrawal button) from 1 January 2027. Consumers can claim for apparent defects within 30 or 90 days and for hidden defects that appear within six months, and clauses limiting the supplier's liability for defects are abusive. A company buying as a final user is also a consumer, so B2B purchases outside the buyer's production chain can be covered.

USD figures use UYU 40.210 per US dollar, the BCU quotation for DLS. USA BILLETE on 27 October 2026; UI amounts use UYU 6.6803 per UI (BCU, 28 October 2026), except cash limits, which the law converts at the first day of the month: UYU 6.6516 per UI on 1 October 2026 (BCU). Retrieved from the BCU quotations service on 2026-10-28; conversions are for orientation only.

Key facts

Consumer withdrawal period for distance and off premises sales	5 business daysLey 17.250 art. 16, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Consumer withdrawal period from 1 January 2027	10 calendar daysLey 20.531 art. 108, as of 2027-01-01 · pending
Claim window for apparent defects in durable goods	90 daysLey 17.250 art. 37, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Claim window for apparent defects in services and non durable goods	30 daysLey 17.250 art. 37, as of 2026-10-28 · in force
Period within which hidden defects must appear	6 monthsLey 17.250 art. 37, as of 2026-10-28 · in force

The rule

1. Withdrawal from distance and off premises sales. When products or services are offered outside the business premises by post, phone, TV, internet or similar, the consumer may cancel within five business days from the contract or delivery, at its option and without liability, notifying by any reliable means. The consumer returns the product unused; the supplier refunds everything immediately, with adjustment for delay; each party bears its own return costs; deferred card payments fall away. The supplier must state the right in writing in the contract; if it does not, the consumer may cancel at any time.
Cost to do it: Refund of the full price on cancellation; the supplier bears its own costs of taking the product back.
Example: A customer who buys a UYU 30,000 appliance online on Tuesday 10 November 2026 can cancel until Tuesday 17 November 2026 (five business days, with no holidays in between). / About US$746 refunded.Ley Nº 17.250 (consumer relations), with Ley Nº 19.355 art. 248, art. 16, 2000-08-11 official text · verified 2026-10-28

2. From 1 January 2027: ten calendar days and a withdrawal button. The period becomes ten calendar days from the contract, delivery or start of the service. Online sellers must display, visibly, prominently and on first access, a link called 'Botón de arrepentimiento' through which the consumer can exercise the right, and that counts as reliable notice. The supplier itself must arrange with card issuers the refund or cancellation of payments.
Cost to do it: Website change before 1 January 2027; longer refund exposure.
Example: A customer who buys a UYU 30,000 appliance online on 4 January 2027 can cancel until 14 January 2027 through the button. / About US$746 refunded in full.Ley Nº 20.531 (Rendición de Cuentas 2025, promulgated 1 October 2026, published 16 October 2026), art. 108 (substitutes Ley 17.250 art. 16) and art. 2 (in force 1 January 2027), 2026-10-01 official text · verified 2026-10-28 · changed: Ley Nº 20.531 art. 108, in force from 1 January 2027 under art. 2, replaces five business days with ten calendar days, adds the service start trigger and requires the online withdrawal button.

3. Defect claims: 30 days, 90 days and six months. The right to claim for apparent or easily detectable defects lapses 30 days after delivery for services or non durable products and 90 days for durable ones, interrupted by a documented claim until the supplier clearly rejects it. Hidden defects must appear within six months and the claim lapses three months after they appear, without prejudice to special rules for certain goods. Personal injury claims prescribe in four years from knowledge and are extinguished ten years after the product was put on the market.
Cost to do it: Repair, replacement or refund within these windows.
Example: A washing machine bought on 1 March 2027 with a visible dent must be claimed by 30 May 2027 (90 days); a motor fault that appears in August 2027 can be claimed until November 2027. / Applies equally to a US$500 or US$5,000 durable good.Ley Nº 17.250, art. 37 and 38, 2000-08-11 official text · verified 2026-10-28

4. Unfair terms and remedies. A clause is abusive if it creates clear and unjustified imbalance against the consumer or breaches good faith; abusive clauses include those excluding or limiting the supplier's liability for defects, waiving consumer rights, letting the supplier change terms unilaterally, or giving only the supplier a termination right. On any breach the consumer may choose specific performance, an equivalent product or repair, or termination with an updated refund, plus damages.
Cost to do it: Standard terms imported from abroad may need redrafting.
Example: A 'no returns, no warranty' clause in an online store's terms is abusive and unenforceable against consumers. / Not applicable.Ley Nº 17.250, art. 30, 31 and 33, 2000-08-11 official text · verified 2026-10-28

5. Who is a consumer. Any individual or legal entity that acquires or uses products or services as final user in a consumer relationship is a consumer; one that buys to integrate them into production, transformation or commercialisation is not. A supplier is anyone, local or foreign, who professionally produces, imports, distributes or sells products or services in a consumer relationship.
Cost to do it: None.
Example: A law firm buying laptops for its own staff is a consumer of the laptop seller; a retailer buying laptops for resale is not. / Not applicable.Ley Nº 17.250, art. 2 and 3, 2000-08-11 official text · verified 2026-10-28

Right	Deadline	Rule
Withdrawal from distance or off premises sale	5 business days (10 calendar days from 1 Jan 2027)	Ley 17.250 art. 16; Ley 20.531 art. 108
Withdrawal when the right was not disclosed in writing	Any time	Ley 17.250 art. 16
Apparent defect, non durable product or service	30 days	Ley 17.250 art. 37
Apparent defect, durable product	90 days	Ley 17.250 art. 37
Hidden defect	Must appear within 6 months; claim within 3 months of appearing	Ley 17.250 art. 37
Personal injury	4 years from knowledge, 10 year long stop	Ley 17.250 art. 38

Consumer deadlines

Worked example

A foreign e commerce brand selling to Uruguayan consumers must, before 1 January 2027, add a visible 'Botón de arrepentimiento' on its site, update its terms to ten calendar days and set up a process to reverse card charges itself. A UYU 30,000 (US$746) order cancelled within the period is refunded in full, and the customer bears only its own return shipping.

Step by step

State the withdrawal right clearly in writing in every distance or off premises contract; without it the right never expires.
Before 1 January 2027, add the withdrawal button and switch to ten calendar days.
Set refund workflows that return payments immediately and arrange card cancellations with issuers.
Review standard terms for clauses limiting liability for defects or allowing unilateral changes.
Track defect claim windows (30 days, 90 days, six months for hidden defects) in after sales processes.

Common traps

Omitting the written disclosure of the withdrawal right: the consumer can cancel at any time (Ley 17.250 art. 16).
Keeping five business days after 1 January 2027 (Ley 20.531 art. 108).
Importing 'as is' or 'no warranty' clauses from abroad, which are abusive (Ley 17.250 art. 31).
Treating every business customer as outside consumer law: companies buying as final users are consumers (Ley 17.250 art. 2).

Sources

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