Consumer · Right to Cancel
Right to Cancel a Purchase in South Carolina
How long you have to cancel a door-to-door purchase in South Carolina, the longer windows for timeshares and other categories, and why there is no general three-day right to return a car. Cited to the statute.
When the cooling-off right applies in South Carolina
The door-to-door window, the categories with their own clocks, and the purchases that are not covered.
| When it applies | What it means |
|---|---|
| Three business days after signing | The buyer may cancel until midnight of the third business day after signing a compliant agreement, under S.C. Code Ann. § 37-2-502(1). Until the seller complies with the notice rule, you may cancel by any means. |
| Only credit sales at a residence | The right reaches only a consumer credit sale solicited at your residence, under § 37-2-501. A cash door-to-door purchase gets no state cooling-off right. |
| You can assert it against the lender | Section 37-2-501 pushes the cancellation right through a credit card issuer or lender subject to seller-related defenses, so you can assert it against the financier, not just the salesperson. |
| Keep the goods after 40 days | The seller must refund within ten days, under § 37-2-504. If it does not demand the goods within a reasonable time, they become yours, with forty days presumed reasonable, and it gets no compensation for services. |
| When there is no right | What it means |
|---|---|
| Cash sales | A cash door-to-door purchase is outside the statute, because it reaches only consumer credit sales. The federal FTC rule is then the only floor. |
| Store and mail sales | Sales under a preexisting revolving charge account, sales after prior negotiations at a fixed location, and transactions conducted entirely by mail or telephone are excluded. |
| Emergency with a substantial start | A buyer-requested emergency purchase is excluded where you sign a statement describing the emergency, the seller substantially began, and the goods cannot be returned in substantially as good condition. |
What you can do right now
Concrete, neutral steps to cancel a covered purchase in South Carolina. This is consumer information, not legal advice.
- Check whether you financed the purchase
South Carolina's three-day right reaches only credit sales. If you paid cash or by check, use the federal FTC rule, which gives three business days for a sale of 25 dollars or more at your home.
- Cancel in writing within the window
Mail written cancellation to the seller before midnight of the third business day. If you got no "BUYER'S RIGHT TO CANCEL" form, you can cancel any time until the seller complies.
- Consider asserting it against the lender
The right runs through a credit card issuer or lender, under § 37-2-501, so you can raise it against the financier as well as the seller.
- Complain if a valid cancellation is refused
File a complaint with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs.
If a seller refuses a timely, valid cancellation, a state consumer-protection office can take your complaint and enforce the cooling-off rules.
→ South Carolina Department of Consumer AffairsThis is general consumer information, not legal advice. The category, the notice, and the deadline all matter, so confirm your right against the statute and use the complaint route if a valid cancellation is refused.
What South Carolina buyers get wrong about cancelling
South Carolina's door-to-door cooling-off right is credit-only, which is the fact that trips up most cash buyers. Under S.C. Code Ann. § 37-2-502 you can cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day, but § 37-2-501 defines it as a consumer credit sale solicited at your residence. Pay the roofer cash at the door and the state statute does nothing for you, so the federal FTC rule is your only protection. The state does something most states do not, though. Section 37-2-501 pushes the cancellation right through the credit card issuer or lender, so you can assert it against the financier, not just the salesperson. Where the statute applies, South Carolina is generous on the back end. Its abandoned-goods rule is unusually long: if the seller never comes back for the merchandise within forty days, you own it free. And the seller gets no compensation for any services performed before cancellation. If the salesperson never gave you the boxed notice, the clock never starts and you can cancel by any means. South Carolina also lets a seller satisfy the state rule by complying with the federal notice form.
Common questions
I paid the door-to-door salesman by check, not on credit. Do I still get three days?
No under § 37-2-501, which reaches only consumer credit sales. But the federal FTC rule still gives you three business days if the sale was 25 dollars or more at your home.
The salesman never gave me a Buyer's Right to Cancel form. Am I out of time?
No. Under § 37-2-503(3), the three days never started, so you can cancel in any manner and by any means.
The company will not come pick up the equipment they installed. How long do I keep it?
Forty days. Under § 37-2-505(1), if the seller does not demand its goods back within a reasonable time, presumed forty days, they become yours with no obligation to pay.
Is a gym contract the same three days as a door-to-door sale?
Yes on length, but § 44-79-30 only covers contracts over three months or over 200 dollars, demands certified mail, and gives the club thirty days to refund.
Not legal advicePlainStatute provides plain-language summaries of public law for general information only. This is not legal advice. Statutes change; always confirm current requirements with the official source linked above before acting.