A Review Of The Distance Selling Regulation 2000

The Regulation The law applying to all B2C transactions over the Internet has been beefed up with the passing of the UK Consumer Protection (Distance) Selling Regulation 2000 SI 2334 ('the Regulations'), which implements the European Directive 97/7/EC on the protection of consumers in respect of distance contracts and came into effect on 31 October 2000.

The consequences to those involved in e-commerce are many and it would be the foolhardy who would not give careful attention to the demands of the Regulations. A failure to comply would not only result in being imposed with unfavourable terms in respect of transactions but also lead to the appearance that e-commerce is not credible and indeed dubious. However, compliance would create an air of credibility, confidence and trust: all important ingredients in ensuring that transactions over the Internet grow larger and larger.

Its Application The Regulations apply to all e-commerce sale of goods or services contracts with consumers and indeed go beyond the Internet to include fax, telephone, television and conventional mail order transactions. To be precise the Regulations apply to "distance communications" which are defined as 'any means which, without the simultaneous physical presence of the supplier and the consumer, may be used for the conclusion of a contract between those parties'.

However, they do not apply to contracts relating to the supply of financial services, the sale of land, vending machines and auctions. Furthermore, there is only limited application to contracts for the supply of groceries by regular delivery and contracts for the provision of accommodation, transport, catering and leisure services.

Prior Information & The 'Cooling-Off' Period At the nub of the Regulations - which apply only to B2C and not B2B distance contracts - is the introduction of a 'cooling off' period within which consumers are given the right to pull out of a distance contract. The purpose of this 'cooling off' period is ostensibly to give consumers the opportunity to examine the goods or services in the same way as they would have had they purchased it over the counter in a shop.

Regulation 8 obliges the supplier to provide certain 'prior' specific information to the consumer in writing before the transaction is entered. These include informing the consumer that he has the right to pull out of the contract within seven (7) working days from the date after the date of the contract in the case of services or seven (7) working days from the date after the date of the receipt of goods. Where the consumer exercises this right within the 'cooling off' period, the contract is avoided altogether: as if the contract had never been made (or in technical jargon void ab initio). The notice must be provided at the...