Distance Selling

Trading Online – Understanding E-commerce Contracts

Complying with the Distance Selling Regulation

To comply with the Distance Selling Regulations you must provide consumers with the following information before they enter the contract:

• Supplier name and, where payment is required in advance, the supplier's address
• A description of the main characteristics of the goods or services
• The price – including all taxes
• Delivery costs, where applicable
• Arrangements for payment, delivery and performance
• The right to cancel within a certain time period
• How long the offer or price remains valid
• The minimum duration of the contract, whether the contract is to be performed permanently or recurrently
• Whether the supplier will provide substitute goods and services if the ordered goods are unavailable, and if the consumer then cancels, whether the supplier will pay for the return of the substitute goods.

Regulation 8 of the Distance Selling Regulations also requires certain information to be provided to the customer either before the conclusion of the contract or, "thereafter, in good time and in any event - (i) during the performance of the contract in the case of services and (ii) at the latest at the time of delivery where goods not for delivery to third parties are concerned."

The customer must also be provided with:

• Information about the conditions and procedures for cancelling
• The address of the supplier to whom the customer may address complaints
• Information about any after-sales service and guarantees
• The conditions for exercising the contractual right to cancel a contract when the contract is indefinite or lasts for longer than one year
• This information must be provided in writing, or in another durable medium which is available and accessible to the consumer.

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