The UK’s Office of Fair Trading and Department of Trade and Industry have today launched a consultation on joint draft guidance that will update and inform e-tailers and other traders of their duties under the Distance Selling Regulations.
The draft guidance helps to clarify some ambiguities that were created when the Regulations came into force on 31st October 2000, including practical advice on when refunds can and – more often – cannot be lawfully refused. But there are still some areas of confusion.

Background to the Regulations

Under the Regulations, consumers shopping for goods and services by telephone, mail order, fax, interactive TV, the internet and other types of distance communication are given rights to receive
certain information, a cancellation period of seven working days, and protection against fraudulent use of a credit card.Reasons for the new guidance The rules were tweaked in April this year to address a practical problem that some suppliers faced in getting written nformation to customers. While the OFT and DTI offer separate existing guidance on the Regulations, these publications do not take account of the recent amendments. The two departments have therefore published new proposals to update the guidelines and combine them into one publication.The draft guidance, A guide for businesses on home shopping, is more comprehensive than its predecessors – running to 66 pages. It contains answers to many more of the questions businesses frequently ask. According to the OFT and DTI, it is intended to be a handy reference tool for businesses of all sizes, but the departments need feedback from businesses, particularly small businesses, to ensure that the guidance is as effective as possible.The consultation period will run until 11th November.

Key points in the new guidance For eBay traders:

The Regulations provide certain exemptions for auction sales; but the draft guidance clarifies that “buy it now” slots on internet auction sites are not exempt because the sale is not concluded by a process of auction.

Posted: 08|23|05 at 8:32 am. Filed under: UK News.