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The Consumer Protection Distance Selling Regulations
The following advice is adapted and abridged from the DTI website distance selling regulations page. For full up-to-date information we always recommend you go there. This is a summary of the regulations and you should not rely on it for an authoritative statement of your legal position. We have not covered all the ins-and-outs of the regulations, just the main points. However, we hope the following summary may be of help to you. You should also be aware of the EU Ecommerce Regulations too if you are conducting business online.
There are many exceptions to the Distance Selling Regulations depending on the kinds of goods and services you are supplying and to whom. However, as we indicated on our page on how to write terms and conditions of sale, we always recommend, wherever practicable, that you aim to exceed the requirements of the regulations, even when you are not strictly covered by them, as this gives the consumer confidence in you. Therfore, as a general rule, when selling goods at a distance:
- The consumer must be given clear and comprehensible information about the goods or services offered to enable them to decide whether to buy. This information can be given by any method appropriate to the form of communication you are using to conclude the contract, providing it is clear and comprehensible. If you provide the information in a form that does not allow it to be stored or reproduced by the consumer (e.g. you give it over the phone), you must confirm in writing or in another durable medium such as email. The information must include:
- the seller's name / supplier’s identity and, if payment is required in advance, his/her postal address.
- a description of main characteristics 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, including how to excerise this right, such as how to return any goods, the geographical address of the business to which the consumer may address complaints, and the conditions for exercising any contractual right to cancel, if the contract lasts more than a year or is open-ended.
- details of any guarantees or after-sales services
- the cost of communication (e.g. phone) if different from the standard rate
- how long the offer or the price remains valid - the period for which the offer or price is valid; and the minimum duration of the contract if it is to run over a period of time.
- after making a purchase the consumer must be sent confirmation.
- the consumer must be given a cooling-off period of 7 working days. The aim of the cooling-off period is to give consumers an opportunity to examine the goods or services being offered, as they would have when buying in a shop. The right to cancel is fundamental; however this is balanced in the Distance Selling Regulations by the consumer's responsibility to take care of the goods before returning them. Please note that as of April 2005, there have been changes to these regulations which affect in particular this aspect.
If your business uses cold-calling by telephone to sell to consumers, you must clearly identify the business you represent and the commercial purpose of the call at the beginning of the conversation.
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NEW BROOM SOFTWARE LTD
Sea View, Dundonnell, Ross-shire, IV23 2QZ
Tel: 01854 333833 Fax: 0871 264 2067
Registered in Scotland. Company Number: SC245658
Registered VAT Number: 814 0949 33
Contact / Enquiry Form
TOPS SOFTWARE LTD is the registered trading name for an order processing software programme provided by New Broom Software Ltd. Registered in Scotland. Company Number: SC 271869. Registered VAT Number: 845 5391 06
Simone Nelson is a member of the following trade and professional associations:
Federation of Small Businesses - 1228089, Inverness Chamber of Commerce - 1406, Ullapool Tourism & Business Association, Highland Business Women's Club, SCDI, Fusion
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S m a l l B u s i n e s s A d v i c e
Owing to the popularity of our small business advice section, we decided to amalgamate all the information there to create a new ebook Making It With Mail Order. We have also added a lot of new information. It covers such topics as dispatch & packaging & carriers, how to take and process credit card and other forms of payment, how to avoid credit card fraud, writing terms and conditions of sale, producing your website, choosing a web host, updating your website, search engine optimisation, website advertising, building your shopping cart, choosing your software, customer relationship management, The Consumer Protection Distance Selling Regulations, Data Protection Act registration, and many other topics ... It is free in return for registering your details with us.
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