E-Commerce on the World Wide Web - Essay Example

E – Commerce is business conducted on the World Wide Web. Any potential can order goods or services from a vendor’s Web site and can pay forthe same by a variety of methods some of which are credit cards, Pay Pal, E-Gold, etc. The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000(SI 2000 No. 2334) implement the Directive 97/7/ECi in order to protect the consumers involved in distance contracts. Both goods and services come under the ambit of this directive. Distance contracts are defined in the Regulations as “any contract concerning goods or services concluded between a supplier and a consumer under an organized 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”. Schedule I of the Regulations gives a list of acceptable distance communication methods, these are letters, telephone calls, facsimiles, digital television, mail order, catalogue shopping, advertisements on the television, radio, in newspapers and e – mails. It is important to note that the customer has the right to cancel the order for goods within seven working days of having received the goods and in respect of services within seven working days from the date of contract. This is known as the cooling off period. The purpose of providing this cooling off period is to provide the consumer with sufficient time to examine and decide about the goods or services ordered and this emulates the more conventional method of shopping. The Regulations are inapplicable in respect of distance contracts excluded by regulation 5(1), some of these contracts are those relating to the supply of financial services. There is limited applicability, according to regulation 6, with regard to supply of groceries, contracts which aim to provide accommodation, transport, catering and the like. A comparison of the applicability of the regulations to goods and services will be made in the sequel. First, the supplier is bound to inform the customer as per the provisions contained in regulation 7, regarding the right to cancel the contract and also the main characteristics of the goods or services and the applicable delivery costs. Secondly, in cases where these regulations apply, they provide a cooling off period to the consumers so that they can cancel the contract by informing the supplier of the same. The effect of such a notice is that the contract is deemed to have never been made. Thirdly, if the supplier fails to comply with the information requirements, then the cooling off period will be extended by a period of three months. Fourthly, in case the supplier at a later date complies with these requirements, then the cooling off period will commence from this date. Fifthly, regulation 19 states that contracts have to be performed within a period of thirty days, subject to the specific agreement between the parties. If the supplier is unable to comply with the terms of the contract, then substitution is permitted subject to certain conditions being met. Sixthly, it is prohibited to supply unsolicited goods and services to consumers. Next, a discussion regarding the contrast in the applicability of these regulations to goods and services will be made. First, regulation 8(3) requires the supplier to inform the consumer before the conclusion of a contract, in respect of services, that the contract cannot be cancelled if the service commences; whereas, in the case of goods supplied, no such condition exists. Secondly, if the supplier intimates the consumer in time, then in respect of services the cooling off period is seven days after the date of the contract. In case of goods this seven day period commences from the day after the date of delivery of goods. Thirdly, contracts involving goods made to the specifications of the consumer are excluded from the right to cancellation, unless agreed upon by the parties. This does not apply to services. Finally, regulation 17 provides that in respect of goods, if the contract is cancelled, then the consumer has to restore the goods to the supplier if he collects them at the same time the consumer has to take reasonable care till the goods are taken back by the supplier. This is inapplicable to services. On the 6th of April 2005, The Distance Selling Amendment Regulations 2005 came into force. These regulations have changed the law in respect of purchase of goods or services over the telephone, mail order or the internet. The purpose of these regulations is to make the applicable law easier to follow and at the same time to reduce compliance costs. These changes are the culmination of consultations between the department of Trade and Industry and business. The aim of these amended regulations is to address the concerns that arose in respect of some of the elements of the Distance selling regulations being unwieldy and commercially impracticalii.These changes affect regulations 8, 12 and 13 of the Distance selling Regulations. They have a profound effect on the information to be submitted in writing by the seller, after the acceptance of the contract and the relationship between the cooling off period and the timing of the provision of this information. The effect of these amended regulations concerning the consumer’s right to cancel the contracts and services begin on the day the contract is entered into and terminates by: 1. The cancellation period will exceed seven working days if not specified by the business, if it does not inform the customer about the right to cancellation. 2. The customer has to take proper and reasonable precautions to keep the goods in a good condition and either return them or keep them in readiness for being collected by the seller. 3. In case the customer has made advance payment, then the seller has to make a refund of this amount within thirty days. 4. If the seller has arranged credit to the customer, in order to enable to purchase the goods or services, then the credit arrangement also stands cancellediii. In case of failure on the part of the supplier to provide the written or durable information, the right to cancel the contract will end after three months and seven days from the day after the day that the contract was agreed upon. The effect of these amended regulations is most marked in cases where services start immediately after the contract is concluded. This is in contrast to what had been obtaining previously, when the supplier had to provide information concerning the consumer’s right to cancel in a written or durable form, prior to the conclusion of the contract, which had created drastic and major legal problems for suppliers. This permits the supplier to furnish the consumer with relevant information concerning their right to cancel during the performance of the contract, provided the consumer has assented to the commencement of the service prior to the expiry of the cancellation period. The requirement connotes that such information should be made available to the consumer to be of use to him. A propos Distance contracts, the right to cancel begins on the day the contract is completed and ends on the seventh day after the day following delivery, if the supplier furnishes the written or durable information on or before the time of delivery. These provisions remain unaffected by the amendment regulations and the suppliers affected by the above changes have to provide to the consumers, as soon as possible, the information required to be given by the Distance Selling regulations. Further, these amendment regulations will help the supplier to reduce the compliance costs. The seller is legally bound to inform the purchaser, before he makes a purchase, concerning the full name of the business, the full postal address of the business, the total price of the goods including VAT(Value Added Tax), the cost of delivery, details of how payment should be made, arrangements for delivery, such delivery to be made within 30 days of the order unless specified otherwise, the customer’s right in respect of cancellation of the order, at whose cost goods are to be returned, the validity period for the price quoted and for specification of the minimum time of the contract in respect of services provided over a period of time. These Regulations do not apply to auctions, contracts for the sale of land, financial services, pay phones and vending machines. The Right to cancel does not apply to goods or services, within the 7 days cooling-off period, after commencement of the same. However, the seller has to give written notice to the customer that the customer does not have the right to cancel. In the absence of such intimation, the customer is eligible for the cooling-off period. Additionally, customized and personalized goods are excluded. Goods of a perishable nature, audio recordings, video recordings or software whose packing seals are broken and have been opened, magazines, newspapers or periodicals, betting, gaming or lottery services are all excludediv. Further, regulation 8 is inapplicable to contracts involving the supply of services performed by means of distance communication and services supplied on only one occasion. In the case Easy Car (UK) Ltd v. Office of Fair Trading, the European Court of Justice confirmed that self driven car hire services are exempted from the cancellation provisions of the EU’s Distance Selling Directive. This ECJ decision validates that this exemption for transport services has applicability to the travel services sectorv. The effect of this decision is that it has limited the customers’ right to cancel bookings and has supported the feasibility of that type of distance selling in which by placing an order at a much earlier date the customer obtains a substantial reduction. These types of sales are very popular among suppliers using the Internetvi. In conclusion it can be stated that, the UK Government has taken steps to ensure that consumers shop on line with confidence. In addition, to introducing the Distance Selling Regulations, it has also promoted codes of practice for internet retailers and in this context has encouraged development of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) schemes. Since, the people are increasingly purchasing from traders in other countries; the Government has adopted a proactive role in the European and in the international market to afford protection to consumers engaging in on line purchases. It has been the sincere endeavour of the Government to ensure cooperation between national enforcement authorities in the consumer field in order to benefit and protect such consumers. References. Read More