Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2000/2334 |
2000 No. 2334
CONSUMER PROTECTION
The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000
Made 31th August 2000
Laid before Parliament 1st September 2000
Coming into force 31th October 2000
The Secretary of State, being a Minister designated1for the purposes of section 2(2) of the European Communities Act 19722in relation to matters relating to consumer protection, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 2(2) of that Act, hereby makes the following Regulations:—
Title, commencement and extent
1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 and shall come into force on 31st October 2000.
(2) These Regulations extend to Northern Ireland.
Revocation
2. The Mail Order Transactions (Information) Order 19763is hereby revoked.
Interpretation
3.—(1) In these Regulations—
“breach” means contravention by a supplier of a prohibition in, or failure to comply with a requirement of, these Regulations;
“business” includes a trade or profession;
“consumer” means any natural person who, in contracts to which these Regulations apply, is acting for purposes which are outside his business;
“court” in relation to England and Wales and Northern Ireland means a county court or the High Court, and in relation to Scotland means the Sheriff Court or the Court of Session;
“credit” includes a cash loan and any other form of financial accommodation, and for this purpose “cash” includes money in any form;
“Director” means the Director General of Fair Trading;
“distance contract” means any contract concerning goods or services concluded between a supplier and a consumer under an organised distance sales or service provision scheme run by the supplier who, for the purpose of the contract, makes exclusive use of one or more means of distance communication up to and including the moment at which the contract is concluded;
“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992 as adjusted by the Protocol signed at Brussels on 17 March 19934;
“enactment” includes an enactment comprised in, or in an instrument made under, an Act of the Scottish Parliament;
“enforcement authority” means the Director, every weights and measures authority in Great Britain, and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment in Northern Ireland;
“excepted contract” means a contract such as is mentioned in regulation 5(1);
“means of distance communication” means 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; and an indicative list of such means is contained in Schedule 1;
“Member State” means a State which is a contracting party to the EEA Agreement;
“operator of a means of communication” means any public or private person whose business involves making one or more means of distance communication available to suppliers;
“period for performance” has the meaning given by regulation 19(2);
“personal credit agreement” has the meaning given by regulation 14(8);
“related credit agreement” has the meaning given by regulation 15(5);
“supplier” means any person who, in contracts to which these Regulations apply, is acting in his commercial or professional capacity; and
“working days” means all days other than Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays.
(2) In the application of these Regulations to Scotland, for references to an “injunction” or an “interim injunction” there shall be substituted references to an “interdict” or an “interim interdict” respectively.
Contracts to which these Regulations apply
4. These Regulations apply, subject to regulation 6, to distance contracts other than excepted contracts.
Excepted contracts
5.—(1) The following are excepted contracts, namely any contract—
(a)
(a) for the sale or other disposition of an interest in land except for a rental agreement;
(b)
(b) for the construction of a building where the contract also provides for a sale or other disposition of an interest in land on which the building is constructed, except for a rental agreement;
(c)
(c) relating to financial services, a non-exhaustive list of which is contained in Schedule 2;
(d)
(d) concluded by means of an automated vending machine or automated commercial premises;
(e)
(e) concluded with a telecommunications operator through the use of a public pay-phone;
(f)
(f) concluded at an auction.
(2) References in paragraph (1) to a rental agreement—
(a)
(a) if the land is situated in England and Wales, are references to any agreement which does not have to be made in writing (whether or not in fact made in writing) because of section 2(5)(a) of the Law of Property (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 19895;
(b)
(b) if the land is situated in Scotland, are references to any agreement for the creation, transfer, variation or extinction of an interest in land, which does not have to be made in writing (whether or not in fact made in writing) as provided for in section 1(2) and (7) of the Requirements of Writing (Scotland) Act 19956; and
(c)
(c) if the land is situated in Northern Ireland, are references to any agreement which is not one to which section II of the Statute of Frauds, (Ireland) 16957applies.
(3) Paragraph (2) shall not be taken to mean that a rental agreement in respect of land situated outside the United Kingdom is not capable of being a distance contract to which these Regulations apply.
Contracts to which only part of these Regulations apply
6.—(1) Regulations 7 to 20 shall not apply to a contract which is a “timeshare agreement” within the meaning of the Timeshare Act 19928and to which that Act applies.
(2) Regulations 7 to 19(1) shall not apply to—
(a)
(a) contracts for the supply of food, beverages or other goods intended for everyday consumption supplied to the consumer’s residence or to his workplace by regular roundsmen; or
(b)
(b) contracts for the provision of accommodation, transport, catering or leisure services, where the supplier undertakes, when the contract is concluded, to provide these services on a specific date or within a specific period.
(3) Regulations 19(2) to (8) and 20 do not apply to a contract for a “package” within the meaning of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 19929which is sold or offered for sale in the territory of the Member States.
Information required prior to the conclusion of the contract
7.—(1) Subject to paragraph (4), in good time prior to the conclusion of the contract the supplier shall—
(a)
(a) provide to the consumer the following information—
(i) the identity of the supplier and, where the contract requires payment in advance, the supplier’s address;
(ii) a description of the main characteristics of the goods or services;
(iii) the price of the goods or services including all taxes;
(iv) delivery costs where appropriate;
(v) the arrangements for payment, delivery or performance;
(vi) the existence of a right of cancellation except in the cases referred to in regulation 13;
(vii) the cost of using the means of distance communication where it is calculated other than at the basic rate;
(viii) the period for which the offer or the price remains valid; and
(ix) where appropriate, the minimum duration of the contract, in the case of contracts for the supply of goods or services to be performed permanently or recurrently;
(b)
(b) inform the consumer if he proposes, in the event of the goods or services ordered by the consumer being unavailable, to provide substitute goods or services (as the case may be) of equivalent quality and price; and
(c)
(c) inform the consumer that the cost of returning any such substitute goods to the supplier in the event of cancellation by the consumer would be met by the supplier.
(2) The supplier shall ensure that the information required by paragraph (1) is provided in a clear and comprehensible manner appropriate to the means of distance communication used, with due regard in particular to the principles of good faith in commercial transactions and the principles governing the protection of those who are unable to give their consent such as minors.
(3) Subject to paragraph (4), the supplier shall ensure that his commercial purpose is made clear when providing the information required by paragraph (1).
(4) In the case of a telephone communication, the identity of the supplier and the commercial purpose of the call shall be made clear at the beginning of the conversation with the consumer.
Written and additional information
8.—(1) Subject to regulation 9, the supplier shall provide to the consumer in writing, or in another durable medium which is available and accessible to the consumer, the information referred to in paragraph (2), either—
(a)
(a) prior to the conclusion of the contract, or
(b)
(b) thereafter, in good time and in any event—
(i) during the performance of the contract, in the case of services; and
(ii) at the latest at the time of delivery where goods not for delivery to third parties are concerned.
(2) The information required to be provided by paragraph (1) is—
(a)
(a) the information set out in paragraphs (i) to (vi) of Regulation 7(1)(a);
(b)
(b) information about the conditions and procedures for exercising the right to cancel under regulation 10, including—
(i) where a term of the contract requires (or the supplier intends that it will require) that the consumer shall return the goods to the supplier in the event of cancellation, notification of that requirement; and
(ii) information as to whether the consumer or the supplier would be responsible under these Regulations for the cost of returning any goods to the...
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