Complying with the distance selling directive
Howard Lake | 1 December 1998 | News
Tips on how to comply with the EU Directive on distance selling with regard to trading online.
The EU Directive designed to protect consumers in respect of contracts engaged in by “means of distance communication” – in other words, where the customer is not physically present – is expected to be enacted in the UK by Parliament in 2000. It will almost certainly apply to charities and their trading arms with regard to how they sell goods and services online.
What should charities be doing now in order to comply?
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- Create a separate Web page which gives full details on all terms and conditions of trade. This isn’t essential but could prove the easiest method of highlighting this element of the contract with a consumer.
- Create a system whereby the terms of the sale agreement are brought to the attention of the purchaser before they commit to buying.
- State the conditions and methods by which consumers might cancel their purchase or sercure a refund.
- State the price of goods or services, including all taxes.
- Detail arrangements for payment, delivery or performance.
- List the physical address of the place of business. Include any contacts to whom complaints and queries might be sent.
- Make sure that the period for which a price or offer is valid is stated for each item.
- List information on any guarantees which might exist, and the type and level of after-sales service.
- List details of how the contact might be cancelled, if it exceeds one year or is of an unspecified duration.
The above information is not intended as legal advice, not least because the practical implementation of the Directive in the UK two years’ hence has not yet been formalised. Nevertheless, trading charities should be aware of some of the requirements that they will face.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.