Understand German statutory withdrawal exclusions
Use this article for the KORONA Event workflow that implements German statutory withdrawal rules. It is separate from an ordinary cancellation, rebooking, or discretionary refund.
What the withdrawal flow checks
When a customer submits a withdrawal, KORONA Event evaluates each order item. These conditions exclude an item or change how it is handled:
| Condition | Effect |
|---|---|
| Outside the 14-day period | Statements submitted after the 14-day withdrawal period are not eligible. |
| Already withdrawn | An item that was already withdrawn cannot be withdrawn again. |
| Dated leisure service | Tickets for a specific date or time are excluded, unless the product is marked Third-party resale. |
| Product without a withdrawal right | Products with the Withdrawal category set to No withdrawal right are excluded. |
| Redeemed voucher | A redeemed voucher is excluded. A redeemed value voucher stays eligible but always goes to manual review. |
| Service already used | Used tickets or a service the customer started early can extinguish the right, when Collect early-start consent during checkout captured the customer's consent. |
| Manual review flag | Products with Always require manual withdrawal review stay eligible but route to the review queue instead of automatic handling. |
Unexcluded items, vouchers, and merchandise remain eligible; merchandise always goes to manual review.
Where withdrawal settings appear
- Per product: open the offer and review its Withdrawal settings — Withdrawal category, Collect early-start consent during checkout, Always require manual withdrawal review, and Third-party resale.
- Per shop: open Shops > shop > Checkout and review Show withdrawal flow. Hiding the flow requires the opt-out attestation. When the flow is shown, customers reach the withdrawal page from the shop footer.
- Submitted statements: open Sales > Withdrawals to review statutory withdrawal statements and follow up on cancellation or refund work.
Staff checks before answering
| Check | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Offer type | Dated services, vouchers, and merchandise have different treatment, as listed above. |
| Submission date | The 14-day period and the event date affect eligibility and operational options. |
| Product settings | The product's Withdrawal category and consent settings decide the exclusion. |
| Order state | Canceled, paid, refunded, and expired orders need different handling. |
| Payment state | Refund path depends on how the customer paid. |
| Legal text | Customer-facing wording must match the organization's policy. |
Expected result
Staff can point to the configured customer flow and escalate policy questions instead of making legal decisions from the order screen.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | What to check |
|---|---|
| Customer cannot find withdrawal link | Shop footer, checkout configuration, published legal documents, and correct shop domain. |
| Withdrawal button should be hidden | Account policy, checkout configuration, and required attestation where applicable. |
| Withdrawal statement language differs from the browser language | Current online shop language and Admin > Account > Language & Time. The statement follows the selected supported shop language. Regional variants use their supported base language (for example, `de-DE` uses German); unsupported languages fall back to the organization's main language when it is supported, or English otherwise. |
| Customer submits withdrawal for excluded item | The exclusion conditions above, then follow approved policy and document the decision in Sales > Withdrawals. |
