Paid in advance but the goods or service never came
Consumer Protection Act · sources read 2 Oct 2026
If you paid for something to be delivered or done later and the supplier does not deliver or start within 30 days of the agreed date, you can cancel before it arrives. If no date was set, the 30 days run from the day you made the agreement, and on cancelling you are entitled to a refund.
- Deadline
- You can cancel once 30 days have passed after the agreed delivery or start date, as long as it has not been delivered or started.
- Deadline
- If no date was set, the 30 days count from the day you made the agreement.
- Deadline
- If you never got a proper written copy of the agreement, you can cancel within one year of making it.
- Where
- The supplier first; then the appropriate court
Steps
- Count 30 days from the agreed delivery or start date. If nothing has been delivered or started by then, you can cancel before it is delivered.
- Cancel by giving the supplier notice, spoken or written, by any means. A written message is easier to prove.
- Ask for your money back: after cancellation the supplier must refund any payment you made under the agreement.
- If you are not refunded, you can take the claim to the appropriate court.
Watch out
- If you agree to accept delivery or let the work start after the 30 days, you lose this right to cancel.
- If the supplier tried to deliver with reasonable notice and you refused or nobody was there to receive it, it counts as delivered.
- Such agreements must be in writing and a copy given to you; keep it.
Who this covers
- Consumers in an agreement where delivery, performance or full payment is not made at the time you agree, such as paying a deposit or paying upfront for later delivery.
- These rules apply only where the total you must pay, excluding borrowing costs, is above an amount set in regulations.
Official sources (1)
- Consumer Protection Act (Cap. 501, No. 46 of 2012) new.kenyalaw.org · read 2 Oct 2026