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Withdrawal and return shipping costs as a point of dispute in distance selling
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In distance selling, the withdrawal from a purchase contract regularly leads to follow-up questions about who bears the costs for the return shipment. The Local Court (Amtsgericht) of Rottweil addressed the situation in which consumers seek reimbursement of return shipping costs even though, according to the entrepreneur’s account, they are said not to have received the goods. The following article reproduces the content of the decision of the Local Court of Rottweil of 27/03/2025 (case no. 2 C 285/24) as reported on urteile.news, in substance.
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Facts of the case: Disputed receipt of goods and withdrawal
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Order, alleged delivery, and subsequent withdrawal
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The starting point was a purchase contract concluded in distance selling. According to the events described in the source, the customer side ordered goods, later declared withdrawal, and subsequently demanded, among other things, reimbursement of return shipping costs. The dispute centered on whether the goods had actually been received by the customer side.
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Return shipping costs without possession of the goods
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According to the account in the source, the customer side is said to have asserted return shipping costs even though receipt and/or obtaining the goods was disputed or could not be determined. The court therefore had to decide on the requirements for a claim for reimbursement of such costs.
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Decision of the Local Court of Rottweil: A claim requires receipt of the goods
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Core statement on the requirement for the claim
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According to the decision as reproduced, the Local Court of Rottweil made a claim for reimbursement of return shipping costs contingent on the goods actually having been received by the customer. Return shipping costs can therefore arise and be claimed only if a return shipment from the customer’s sphere of control was possible at all, meaning that the customer previously had possession of the goods.
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Consequences of lack of receipt
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If the customer did not receive the goods, then, according to the considerations described in the source, there is no factual basis for return shipping costs. A withdrawal that is merely declared does not, by itself, lead to positions being reimbursable that are tied to an actually carried out or possible return shipment.
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Classification: Withdrawal, unwinding, and cost items
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Separation between the right of withdrawal and reimbursement of costs
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The decision makes clear in the reasoning as reported that withdrawal, as a formative right, triggers the unwinding of the transaction, but claims for reimbursement of costs have independent requirements. Return shipping costs are not an automatic reflex; rather, they are tied to the specific course of events—especially receipt of the goods.
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Practical relevance for handling distance selling contracts
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According to the reported content, a key point arising from the decision is that the question of whether the goods were received can be of central importance for the treatment of return shipping costs. Where receipt is not established, this can rule out the reimbursability of such costs.
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Note on source and presentation
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The above content is based on the reporting by the platform urteile.news on the judgment of the Local Court of Rottweil of 27/03/2025, case no. 2 C 285/24: https://urteile.news/Amtsgericht-Rottweil_2-C-28524_Anspruch-auf-Ruecksendekosten-nach-Widerruf-des-Kaufvertrags-setzt-Erhalt-der-Ware-durch-Kunde-voraus~N34919. The article is not a verbatim reproduction of the reasons for the decision, but a summarizing presentation based on the stated source.
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Outlook: Need for clarification regarding unwinding and costs
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The decision illustrates that the legal assessment of unwinding processes in distance selling can depend materially on the ascertainable course of events, in particular on receipt of the goods and the allocation of individual cost items. Anyone who needs a classification for their own circumstances can find information on how to get in touch with MTR Legal under the keyword Legal advice in contract law.
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