Harmonisation of the different rights of withdrawal, enshrined in legislation on doorstep selling, distance selling, timesharing, and in the near future consumer credit, is amongst the top issues of the EC agenda on European private law. Germany, following its tradition of a well-organised system of private law rules, has tried for some time to establish a harmonised system at the national level. At the same time, Germany appears to have created one of the most detailed set of rules on the right of withdrawal in Europe, in particular with a view to the consequences of the withdrawal from a contract, and it has tried to find the right balance between the interests of consumers and traders, a challenge that will also come up at EC level.