Is there a 'right of withdrawal' for online purchases in Peru? What the law actually says

There is no automatic “right of withdrawal” in Peru

It’s common to hear that Peru, like Spain or Colombia, has a “right of withdrawal” that lets you return any online purchase within a fixed period, no explanation needed. This isn’t accurate. The Consumer Protection Code (Law N.° 29571) doesn’t use that term and doesn’t recognize an unconditional right to back out of a distance purchase.

What does exist is the right to restitution under Article 59, and its scope is narrower: it only kicks in when the provider used, to make the sale, one of the aggressive or deceptive commercial methods the law prohibits in Article 58. Article 56 — coercive methods — is a separate prohibition with a different route for complaining, and the two are worth keeping apart.

Coercive commercial methods (Article 56)

Article 56.1 protects every consumer against coercive commercial methods, listing, on a non-exhaustive basis, several prohibitions for providers: conditioning the sale of a product on buying another one, forcing you to accept obligations or payments you didn’t request, changing the terms of what you contracted without your express consent, among others.

Numeral 56.2 clarifies something key for online purchases: “these limits apply to every offer of products or services, whether made inside or outside commercial establishments or through distance-contracting methods, whatever the means of communication used.” In other words, these protections expressly cover e-commerce.

The new 2026 ground: manipulative digital interfaces

Legislative Decree N.° 1729, published on February 12, 2026, added literal h) to numeral 56.1, aimed specifically at e-commerce. It is now also a prohibited coercive commercial method to “employ commercial practices or strategies, particularly through platforms, applications or other digital e-commerce channels, that, through the design, configuration or operation of online user interfaces, limit, distort or manipulate the consumer’s free will or freedom of choice, inducing or forcing them to make unwanted consumption decisions that cause them harm as a result.” This targets what are usually called “dark patterns”: buttons or purchase flows designed to confuse or pressure you.

What Article 56 gives you — and what it doesn’t

A practice fitting Article 56 does not by itself open the 7-day refund. Article 59 names one article, and this isn’t it. An Article 56 breach — literal h) on dark patterns included — is reported to Indecopi, which can sanction the provider and order corrective remedial measures: Article 115.1 lists, among others, repairing or replacing the product, performing the agreed obligation and, in literal f), refunding the price paid plus statutory interest when repair, replacement or performance isn’t possible or reasonable. Same fight, different road: a decision by the authority, not a right you exercise unilaterally within seven days.

Aggressive or deceptive commercial methods (Article 58)

Article 58.1 also protects against practices that significantly reduce your freedom of choice through harassment, coercion, undue influence, or fraud — for example, creating the false impression that you won a prize, or changing the terms of the product or service without your informed consent before the contract is finalized.

Numeral 58.2 confirms the scope: “this provision covers every type of contracting of products or services, whether made inside or outside the provider’s establishment, telephone sales, door-to-door sales, catalog sales, sales through agents, distance contracts, and e-commerce or similar methods.”

The right to restitution: 7 days, but conditioned

When the provider engaged in one of the practices under Article 58, Article 59 gives you the right to immediate restitution of what was exchanged under the contract. The text is explicit about the trigger: restitution applies “in those cases in which the provider has engaged in one of the practices indicated in Article 58, whatever the form of contracting used.” It does not mention Article 56, and Legislative Decree N.° 1729 of 2026 did not amend it either. The deadline is seven (7) calendar days, counted from when the contract was made or from receipt of the product or the start of the service, whichever occurs later.

To validly exercise this right, you must notify the provider in a verifiable way and return the product received or request that the service be stopped. If you used the product normally, nothing can be deducted from the amount to be refunded, unless there is clear deterioration or loss of value. The last paragraph of Article 59 puts the burden on you: it is for the consumer to prove the ground that supports the right to restitution.

This right is also non-waivable: Article 60 declares any advance waiver void, even if you accepted it in the platform’s terms and conditions.

Complaints on e-commerce platforms

The same Legislative Decree N.° 1729 added numerals 24.4 and 24.5 to Article 24, requiring providers who sell through digital platforms to maintain accessible, permanently operating mechanisms for handling complaints, and requiring providers not domiciled in Peru who sell to Peruvian consumers to keep, at minimum, an email address available for questions, complaints, suggestions, exchanges, and returns.

In practice

Before asking for a refund on an online purchase, clearly identify which of the provider’s practices fits Article 58 — simply changing your mind isn’t enough, and neither is the store having breached Article 56. If your case fits Article 58, act within the 7 calendar days and keep verifiable proof of your complaint. If what happened was a coercive method under Article 56, or the store doesn’t respond, your road is the complaints book and a report to Indecopi, where you can ask for the corrective measures in Article 115.