Website Legal Requirements 4 – Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations

The fourth blog of my Website Legal Requirements series, explains how the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations affects your E-Commerce site and what you should do in order to comply.

Distance Selling Regulations give protection to consumers who shop by phone, mail order, via the Internet or digital TV. The protection includes:

  • The right to receive clear information about goods and services before deciding to buy;
  • Confirmation of this information in writing;
  • A cooling off period of seven working days in which the consumer can withdraw from the contract;
  • Protection from credit card fraud.

How Does This Affect My Website?

The following information must be shown on your website, and this is commonly done via pages such as Terms & Conditions, Delivery Details, Returns Policy etc.

  1. Identity of the supplier and address whereby payment is upfront.
  2. A description of the service
  3. The contract price inclusive of taxes
  4. Delivery Cost (if applicable)
  5. Payment and delivery arrangement
  6. Notification of the right of cancellation (reg 13 of these Regulations)
  7. The cost of the means of communication by which the contract is to be concluded (e.g. premium rate phone numbers)
  8. The period for which the terms are available
  9. Minimum duration of the contract, where it is not of one-off performance

Sources & More Info:
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/department-for-business-energy-and-industrial-strategy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_Protection_%28Distance_Selling%29_Regulations