Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 Totally Explained

Everything about Consumer Protection Distance Selling Regulations 2000 totally explained

The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000, SI 2000/2334, incorporates Directive 97/7/EC into law of the United Kingdom. They apply to contracts "concluded between a supplier and a consumer under an organised distance sales or services provision scheme run by the supplier who, for the purposes of the contract, makes use of one or more means of distance communication" up to and including the moment of contract formation. This subordinate legislation provides for rights of the consumer and provisions for which the seller is obliged to fulfill. Examples may include ordering services by telephone or ordering goods via the internet.

Definition of a consumer

A Consumer is a "natural person who is acting for the purposes other than those of his trade, business or profession. The definition is slightly broader than that for the purposes of the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 as the subjective requirement of the person not regarding herself as acting in the course of a business, therefore one may be a consumer if using a company account or using business details for tax purposes.

Obligations imposed upon the supplier

Information to be Communicated before Contract formation. reg 7(1)(a) -

(i) Identity of the supplier and address whereby payment is upfront.
(ii) A description of the service
(iii) The contract price inclusive of taxes
(iv) Delivery Cost (if applicable)
(v) Payment and delivery arrangement
(vi) Notification of the right of cancellation (reg 13 of these Regulations)
(vii) The cost of the means of communication by which the contract is to be concluded (for example premium rate phonenumbers)
(viii) The period for which the terms are available
(ix) Minimum duration of the contract, where it isn't of one-off performance This information must be clear and comprehensable. Under reg 8 all this information must also be given in a durable or storable medium along with all terms and conditions, a geographical address and the conditions of taking contractual action where the contract is capable of remaining one year after formation.

Performance of the Contract. The seller must perform the contract within 30 days of formation. If this isn't possible, the supplier must reimburse monies or property securing the transaction already transferred (within an additional 30 days) and inform the consumer.

Rights of the Consumer

Cancellation. The consumer has an automatic right to cancel and rescind the contract at any time from formation of the contract until seven working days after the goods are delivered; or for service contracts, seven working days after the contract was formed (this may be before the service has been performed).
Where the supplier hasn't provided the consumer with all the required information, the consumer has an automatic right to rescind the contract within three months and seven days of delivery of the goods, or of formation of the contract (service contracts). The automatic right doesn't apply to contracts for:

products of fluctuating price.

audio or video recordings or computer software if they're unsealed by the consumer

supply of periodicals or newspapers

Gambling purposes.

Customised products. Effects of Cancellation. reg 14 provides that the supplier shall reimburse the consumer within thirty days of the notice of cancellation being given (including delivery costs). reg 17 provides that the consumer is expected to take reasonable care of goods and deliver them to their door upon collection by the supplier. If the supplier hasn't tendered the goods within 21 days after notice of cancellation was given, the consumer can treat them as unsolicited goods. Fraudulent use of a Payment card. reg 21 provides that where a consumer's card is charged fraudulently, those monies are to be reimbursed by the card issuer (bank, etc.). Unsolicited Goods. Where goods are sent to a consumer (this requirement is redundant here) with no contract stipulating delivery, the "recipient may [...] use, deal with, or dispose of the goods as if they were an unconditional gift to him" and "[t]he rights of the sender to the goods are extinguished". This is to prevent companies purporting to be entitled to monies whereby an individual receives goods and uses them. Note: that this provision merely ammends the Unsolicited Goods Act which provided that to be unsolicited goods, they'd to be deliberately sent to the recipient with the intention that they used them. Goods sent in error are thus not unsolicited, but remain the property of the sender unless they're actually used. Title passes if the sender fails to recover them within 3 months. Extinction of Consumer Rights. No term can limit or exclude the liability of a supplier for the provisions of this act where the term is inconsistent with consumer protection.

Exempt contracts

These Regulations don't apply to contracts:

involving the sale or other disposition of land.

concluded by automated vending machine.

concluded with a telephone operator by public payphone.

via auction. The majority (and more onerous upon the supplier) of the regulations don't apply to contracts:

for the supply of food, drink or over similar everyday consumables.

Providing accommodation or transport on a specific date for a specific period.

Package Holidays (these are regulated by other legislation)

Enforcement of regulations

These Regulation are enforced by the Director-General of Fair Trade and The Office of Fair Trade. Complaints are made directly to the Director-General and The Office of Fair Trade investigates infringments, issues injunctions and litigates on behalf of consumers.

Further Information

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