Traders obligations

The Office of Fair Trading recently published a useful guide for consumers which is transcribed below and is essential reading for all ecommerce traders:

Cooling-off period

One of the main rights you have when shopping online is a cooling-off period - at least seven days after receiving the goods. This means you have the unconditional right to cancel your order if you change your mind unless the goods you have ordered are made to a personal specification or you have removed the packaging from CDs, DVDs, videos and software.

Refunds

If you do change your mind for whatever reason within the cooling-off period you are entitled to a full refund - including any delivery charges (although you may have to pay the cost of returning the goods). The seller must refund all money within 30 days.

Credit card protection

If your credit or debit card is used fraudulently to shop online, you can cancel the payment and the card issuer must refund any money to your account. In addition if you use your credit card to buy an item that costs more than £100 both the supplier and the credit card provider have the same liability to you. This means that if the supplier goes bust before you receive the goods or the contract is broken, you can make a claim against the credit card provider that you would have made against the supplier.

What about delivery?

Unless otherwise stated delivery should be within 30 days. If the order is not delivered within this time, you can cancel the order.

Before you buy

Before you buy online you are entitled to certain information including:

a description of the goods or services
the price including any taxes
arrangements for payment
delivery costs
delivery arrangements
name of the company (and address if payment is in advance).

After you buy

After you have placed an order you should receive written confirmation of the order. You should also be given written confirmation of how you can cancel the order, a complaints address and details of any after-sales services/guarantees.

General shoppers' rights

When you shop online you still have the same protection under the Sale of Goods Act that you have when you shop on the high street. So goods should be of satisfactory quality, fit for their purpose (eg a kettle shouldn't leak the first time you use it), and as described (if the label says 100 per cent wool it should be 100 per cent wool). If goods are faulty or misdescribed you are entitled to a refund provided you return the goods within a reasonable time. Some high street shops offer a goodwill policy which allows you to return goods if you change your mind or have bought the wrong size. However this is not a statutory right. Online shoppers have the statutory right to a seven-day cooling-off period as they have not had a chance to see the goods before purchase.

What about sale items?

You have the same rights even if the goods you buy are in a sale. However be careful of items in the sale that have slight defects. The seller is not obliged to give you your money back if you complain about defects that were pointed out prior to purchase.

For more information visit The Office of Fair Trading

Traders obligations to online shoppers - good advice from The Office of Fair Trading

Without doubt, people are increasingly using the Internet as a covenient form of shopping. Whilst this is good news for the ecommerce industry, it is essential that traders are aware of their obligations to their online customers.