The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has announced that
the Consumer Protection (Contracts Concluded by Means of Distance
Communication) Regulations 2000, better known as the Distance
Selling Regulations, will not be in force until a number of
important issues are resolved.
The Regulations, which implement an EU Directive on Distance Selling, place new obligations on any business trading with consumers by means such as the internet, e-mail or telephone.
For example, suppliers must provide information to the consumer before the contract is made; written confirmation of this information must be given by the supplier; and consumers have a 7 day cooling-off period after a sale during which the consumer can change his or her mind and withdraw from the transaction.
The DTI has given the following reasons for the delay in introducing the Regulations:
- The impact of e-commerce on business to consumer sales, which was in its infancy when the European Directive was concluded in 1997;
- The appropriate sanctions to ensure compliance by suppliers;
- The proposal for the consumer to hold the goods until a refund is made; and
- An effective approach to tackle spam (i.e., unsolicited commercial e-mail).
The DTI said in its statement that the government plans to phase in the Regulations with a transitional period, “to ensure that business has time to adapt its documentation and procedures and that consumers will be provided with clear information about their rights – in particular the legal right to cancel.”
For more information, see our article (which is based on the draft of the Regulations), The Distance Selling Regulations - A Practical Overview.
