Please note that what follows is a summary of legislation applying to selling goods on the internet in the UK. It should not be relied on as a complete statement of the law; to understand their rights and obligations fully, traders are advised to study the relevant law or consult a solicitor.
Selling goods over the internet, like any other form of selling, is covered by legislation regarding Sale of Goods and Misleading Advertising. In addition, Internet sales in the UK are covered by the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000. These regulations also apply to other forms of distance selling such as digital TV, mail order (including catalogues), phone and fax.
The Distance Selling Regulations do not apply to financial services, sales of land, products bought from vending machines and contracts for goods or services concluded at auctions. Nor do they apply to business to business transactions
As an online trader you must provide clear, understandable information before the customer decides to buy about:
your name and postal address
a description of the goods or services
the price including all taxes
delivery costs where they apply
arrangements for payment
arrangements and date for delivery
the right to cancel the order
how long the offer or the price remains valid
When a customer places an order you must provide confirmation of the above information in a form that is durable eg writing, e-mail, fax (verbal confirmation is not sufficient).
This should include information on how the right to cancel can be exercised and any details of after sales service and guarantees.
If you are selling goods, this must be provided at the latest by the time the goods are delivered.
If you are selling a service, it must be provided before or in “good time” during the performance of the service. Where the service is open-ended, e.g a mobile phone contract, the customer must be provided with details about how and when they can terminate the contract.
If you do not provide this information, the customer’s right to cancel the order can be extended by 3 months
Fortunately, most e-commerce packages come with the ability to send automatic confirmation emails on reciept of an order – however, you should make sure that this feature is enabled. Bear in mind that much e-commerce software originates in, or is aimed at the US market, so you will need to be able to configure the confirmation emails to meet the legal requirements in the UK.
No Contracting Out
You cannot insert into the contract any terms which attempt to remove the customers right under the regulations, e.g. a term like “you must return the goods within 7 days in order to obtain a refund” would have no legal standing.
Cooling off period – the customers right to cancel
Because the customer has not had the chance to physically examine the goods before the sale is made, the distance selling regulations allow a cooling off period of 7 days in which the customer has the unconditional right to cancel the contract. Note this is 7 working days, so excludes Saturdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays (even though your e-commerce site is working 24x7!)
In the case of services, the 7 days begins as soon as the order is made; in the case of sale of goods, it begins when the customer receives the goods.
If you delay in providing the required written confirmation of the order including details of the right to cancel and how to exercise that right, the cooling off period is extended by up to 3 months, and ends 7 days after the customer receives the confirmation. If you fail to provide the information at all, the cooling off period is extended to the full 3 months, plus the 7 days.
If the customer decides to cancel the contract, they must notify you in writing, including fax or email; a telephone call will not do. The date of the cancellation is the date when the notice was sent to you, not when you receive it, so a customer could decide to cancel on the 7th day, even though you may not receive the notice until a day or two later.
Some goods and services are excluded from the right to cancel. These include:
Food, drinks or other goods for everyday consumption delivered to the consumer’s home or workplace by regular roundsmen. Deliveries by supermarkets of orders made over the internet are not excluded from the right to cancel.
Accommodation, transport, catering or leisure services where the supplier agrees to provide the service on a specific date or within a specific period.
Goods or services whose price depends on fluctuations in the financial market which cannot be controlled by the supplier.
Goods made to the customer’s specifications or clearly personalized.
Goods which by reason of their nature cannot be returned or are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly, such as perishable foods.
Audio or video recordings or computer software if they are unsealed by the consumer.
Newspapers, periodicals or magazines.
Gaming, betting or lottery services.
When a consumer cancels the order all money paid must be returned within 30 days of the date the notice of cancellation is given. Normally this will mean re-crediting the consumer’s credit card (or other payment card) account if that was the method of payment used.
If the customer has paid a delivery charge, you must also refund that, unless it is the subject of a separate contract.
Remember - ignorance of the law is no excuse - if you are selling goods on the internet in the UK, check out the full text of the Distance Selling Regulations and/or take legal advice. Don't get caught out!
