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How does this resource help me?. Distance Selling In Session is an invaluable two-part staff training resource intended for retail businesses selling goods and services to consumers at a distance.
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How does this resource help me? • Distance Selling In Session is an invaluable two-part staff training resource intended for retail businesses selling goods and services to consumers at a distance. • This session, Part 1, gives a broad overview of the regulations relating to buying and selling goods and services via the internet, video and picture messaging, telephone, mail order, email, interactive TV, text and various other media. It will explain relevant aspects of consumer law, when the regulations apply and the information you are required to provide to customers. • The aim of the session is to bring your staff up to speed with the various legal and practical aspects of distance selling, help them to understand consumer rights and also to offer useful advice and raise awareness of your company's legal obligations both pre - contract and after any purchase has been made. In so doing, it will save your business time and money and protect your company's reputation by helping you to check your legal responsibilities and ensure your customer service policy is clear and accurate. • However, it is by no means exhaustive and there are exemptions and other regulations to keep in mind when selling at a distance.
How is the session presented? • This training session can be used for either team-learning or self-learning and the document can either be printed or viewed online during training. • It can be used independently or together with Distance Selling in Session Part Two, to create a complete picture of Distance Selling regulations and how they relate to your company. • First, you'll see an agenda detailing the topics to be covered. Each topic is explored under a number of headings focused on when the regulations apply and the information required by customers pre-contract and after every sale. • For trainers who wish to encourage interactive learning, there are suggested points for discussion (discuss-points) within selected sections covering various topics, where applicable. These are designed to engage the audience, encourage positive debate and keep your presentation as fresh and stimulating as possible. Trainers using these will need to manage discussion to ensure the session is completed within the designated time. We suggest you allow 45 minutes for the session. • At the end of the session, there is also a page headed 'Our Distance Selling' where you can add any specific points you wish to make, for instance if you offer customers additional terms and conditions specific to your company or line of business, this will present you with the ideal opportunity to highlight them.
Distance Selling Training Session Part 1 Agenda • When the regulations apply • Information we are required to provide to customers pre-contract • Information we are required to provide to customers after the sale • Our Distance Selling
When the regulations apply • Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs) apply to any business that sells goods or services to customers without face-to-face contact. Businesses that sell electronically (i.e. via the internet/mobile texts) also need to know about: • E-Commerce Regulations (ECRs) apply to the provision of information society services (i.e. services normally provided on request for payment, at a distance, by means of electronic equipment, such as via the internet, email, interactive TV, phone texting) (Please note that: mail order catalogues where orders are placed by telephone fall within DSRs but not ECRs.) • Provision of Services Regulations (PSRs) Businesses that supply services to consumers or businesses (with or without face to face contact) also need to be aware of the Provision of Services Regulations (PSRs). • These apply to: Services provided to both businesses & consumers, (e.g. financial advisors), consumer services (e.g. driving instructors) and business services (e.g. waste management). • Note: PSRs do not affect the manufacture or sale of goods but do apply to services related to the sale of goods (e.g. where after-sales service or customer advice related to the sale is provided).
When the regulations apply • Privacy and Electronic Communication Regulations (PECRs) These apply where there is direct marketing activity by phone, fax, automated calling systems and electronic mail (text/video/picture messaging/email). • See www.ico.gov.uk for detailed guidance. • Note: Where multiple sets of regulations cover the product or service we're selling, we must comply with all of them. • See the end of this PowerPoint presentation for a link to further information.
Discuss point What happens if our company seems to be covered by all the regulations? Do we focus on one set of regulations more than another?
Discuss point No, all the regulations are of equal importance. If all the regulations apply, we have to supply all the information required under each. The requirements of the DSRs, ECRs and PSRs do overlap in places (e.g. that information be clear and comprehensible), however we must still comply with any particular requirements which only appear in one set of regulations (e.g. the requirement in the DSRs to provide information in a durable medium).
When the regulations apply When the DSRs do not apply to a business • Sales by private individuals • Selling to other businesses • Selling from vending machines or automated photo booths • Financial services to consumers* • Contracts for the sale of land • Contracts for the construction of a building (where the contract also includes the transfer of land on which the building is constructed) • Conditional sales and contacts for hire purchase (which are covered by the FSDMR & the CCA)* • Auction sales (online and interactive TV) (but the DSRs do apply to fixed price “buy it now” sales) *See the end of this PowerPoint presentation for a link to further information
Discuss point If a company doesn't usually sell by distance means – but normally does business face to face, do the DSRs apply to orders they sometimes get by email, phone or fax?
Discuss point The DSRs are unlikely to apply to an occasional order that you take by distance means, because they only apply to organised distance sales and service provision schemes. DSRs are likely to apply to contracts concluded by distance means if: • standard procedures are used for processing orders • standard form contracts for distance sales are used • standard correspondence is sent out • a company routinely sells at a distance.
Taxation, lotteries and other exemptions:When the ECRs do not apply to a business • The field of taxation • The activities of a public notary • The representation of a client and their defence in court • Betting, gaming or lotteries When the ECRs do not apply to goods and services that are only supplied off-line But if they are advertised online or other 'information society' services (such as emails, texts) relating to those goods and services are supplied online or electronically then the ECRs do apply. e.g. The ECRs apply to the online advertising of a plumber who has a website advertising his services but makes all contact by phone and then supplies the goods/services in person.
From flights to financial services:When the PSRs do not apply to a business • Financial • Electronic communications and network providers • Transport (e.g. flights/rail travel) • Temporary work agencies • Healthcare • Audiovisual • Gambling • Social services provided by the State • Private Security • Notaries and bailiffs
When only parts of the DSRs apply to a business Businesses entering into certain contracts do not have to provide pre-contractual, written or additional information. The right to cancel or the obligation to carry out the contract within a maximum of 30 days also does not apply in the following instances: • Contracts for the supply of food, drinks or other consumables to the doorstep or workplace by a regular roundsman (e.g. milkman) • Contracts to provide accommodation, transport, catering or leisure services on a specific date or within a specific period (e.g. hotel accommodation, travel tickets, concert tickets) • Contracts regulated under the Timeshare, Holiday Products, Resale and Exchange Regulations 2010.* *See the end of this PowerPoint presentation for a link to further information
Discuss point Would DSRs apply if a customer views goods in a shop, then orders the same goods via distance means?
Discuss point The DSRs may not apply where the customer has inspected the goods at your premises and subsequently orders them via distance means. The DSRs are intended to cover situations where the whole process is completed at a distance, and allow consumers to return goods which they have not had an opportunity to inspect. However, in practice it may be difficult for you to know whether a customer has inspected the goods which they have ordered.
Information we are required to provide to customers pre-contract under DSRs We must give customers certain information, clearly and concisely before they agree to buy so they can make an informed choice about whether to purchase. (See DSRs hand-out checklist for more details) How we must supply the pre-contract information under the DSRs The pre-contractual information can be given by any method appropriate to the form of distance communication we use to agree the contract, provided it is clear and comprehensible. This information can be: • Provided on a website if goods or services are sold over the internet • Sent via email • Appear in a catalogue for goods and services by mail order • Sent via fax • Provided by phone if selling goods and services that way
Discuss point If someone running a small business doesn't want to reveal information such as their homeaddress, where do they stand?
Discuss point As part of the information which must be supplied pre-contract, all businesses must provide a geographical address. A geographical address means a real address - a PO Box will do. If the business is operated from home, this is likely to be the geographical address at which it is established and you must give this address.
Information we are required to provide to customers pre-contract under ECRs ECRs - when providing an information society service • Any business providing an information society service (e.g. marketing/selling goods /services via the internet, email, text or interactive TV), must supply certain information* about the business/prices. • It must be easily, directly and permanently accessible (e.g. on a website) and available at the time of concluding the contract. • Some of this overlaps with information that we must supply under the DSRs. But while under the DSRs it can be supplied orally, under the ECRs the information must be permanently accessible.* *See ECR hand-out checklist for further details
Information we are required to provide to customers pre-contract under ECRs/DCRs ECRs - for contracts concluded by electronic means • Certain information* must be supplied when contracts are concluded by electronic means such as on a website or interactive TV, but not by emails or other individual communication. • It must be clear, comprehensible and unambiguous and provided before orders are placed, (e.g. displayed on our website) ECRs - when sending electronic commercial communications • When promoting goods, services or our business we must clearly identify certain key points* before customers decide to buy. Pre-contract information required under the ECRs* • Where we provide Terms and Conditions, they must be available in format which can be stored or reproduced. (These must conform to the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.) The material must also actually be provided to the consumer. It is not enough simply to provide a link to the information. *See ECR hand-out checklist for further details.
Calculated to help: Information we are required to provide to customers Pre-contract information required under the PSRs • Service providers must comply with the PSRs. These require information which can overlap with DSR/ECR requirements. • The information must be clear, unambiguous and provided in good time before the contract is concluded or before the service is provided, if there is no written contract. (See the hand out checklist for further details.) • Information we must supply under the PSRs if the customer asks • If we don’t set the price then we must state what the price will be, or if it is not possible to give an exact price: a) Give the method for calculating it so it can be checked or b) provide a detailed estimate. • In regulated professions, there must be a reference to the professional rules applicable in the EEA state of establishment and how to access them • We must provide information on any other activities directly linked to the service in question. • Any codes of conduct governing our business and the websites from which these codes are available.
Information we are required to provide to customers after the sale How we can make the required information available under the PSRs • Supply it to the customer ourselves • Make it easily accessible for customers where the service is provided (e.g. at our premises) • Make it available electronically (e.g. on our website) • Include it in literature detailing the service
Put it in writing - or put it in a durable medium... Written/additional information required under the DSRs once the customer decides to buy If the pre-contract information was not provided in writing or other durable medium such as a fax, brochure or printable email, then it must be provided, together with certain additional information, in a durable medium when the customer decides to buy. *See the hand-out checklist for further details
Put it in writing - or put it in a durable medium... How and when we must supply written and additional Information We must supply written/additional information in a durable medium before the contract is concluded or in 'good time' afterwards during performance of a services contract or at the latest, on delivery. • To enable customers to exercise their right to cancel, they must be given sufficient time to act on the information when they receive it • A durable medium is one in which the information can be retained and reproduced but cannot be edited (e.g. an email that can be printed or a letter, fax or brochure that can be kept for future reference). Information given over the phone or on a website is not durable as it cannot be retained and can be changed at any time after the consumer has accessed it. • We do not need to send the additional information if we've already supplied it in a catalogue or print ad *See the hand-out checklist for further details
Easy ECRs Requirements for ordering under the ECRs Customers ordering via websites/electronic means require certainty about their order, so under ECRs we must: • Acknowledge receipt of the order electronically without delay • Provide effective and accessible technical means for them to identify and correct input errors before the order is placed. If we do not, and the ECRs apply, the customer can rescind the contract.
