The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 (totally repealed in June 2014 by The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 which in many respects are however similar regulations), Statutory Instrument 2000/2334, implements European Directive 97/7/EC as UK law. They apply to contracts "concluded between a supplier and a consumer under an organised distance sales or services provision scheme run by the supplier who, for the purposes of the contract, makes use of one or more means of distance communication" up to and including the moment the contract is agreed. The legislation provides rights to the consumer and obligations which the seller must fulfill.
Typical cases where the Regulations apply include goods or services ordered by telephone or over the Internet.
Definition of a consumer
A consumer is a "natural person who is acting for the purposes other than those of his trade, business or profession". The definition is slightly broader than that in the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, where the subjective requirement of the person not regarding himself as acting in the course of a business is not present. So, under the Regulations, someone who uses a company account or business details for tax obligations is still considered a consumer if the transaction is not one done for or on behalf of the business. A customer is a person who actually buys the product but this does not mean they have to use the product. The person who uses the product is called a consumer.
Obligations imposed upon the supplier
The supplier's obligations are mostly covered by Regulation 7, although other obligations are made by other regulations.
Information to be communicated before contract formation
Who the supplier is, and their address (if payment is made up front) A description of the goods or service The cost, inclusive of any tax Any delivery charge How payment should be made and how the goods or services will be delivered Notification of the right of cancellation (Regulations 10, 11 12 and 13) Communication costs for forming the contract (for example, the cost of a premium-rate telephone number) How long the contract offer is valid for How long the contract will last, if it is not a one-off performance This information must be clear and comprehensible. Under Regulation 8 all this information must also be given to the consumer in a durable or storable medium along with all terms and conditions, a geographical address and, if the contract could last over a year, the conditions for taking contractual action.
Performance of the contract
The seller must perform the contract within thirty days of its being made. If a supplier cannot meet the contract, he must within another thirty days pay back any money and return any other property that the consumer used to secure the contract, and tell the consumer that he has done so.
Rights of the consumer
Cancellation
If the supplier has provided all the information to be communicated before contract formation, the consumer has an automatic right to cancel and rescind a contract at any time from its formation until seven working days after the goods are delivered; or for service contracts, seven working days after the contract is formed (which might be before the service was to have been performed). From 13 June 2014 The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 replaced the 2000 Regulations and in particular incorporate now a 14-day cancellation period, not seven days.
Where the supplier has not provided the consumer with all the required information, the consumer has an automatic right to rescind the contract within three months and seven days of delivery of the goods, or of formation of the contract (service contracts). The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 replacing the 2000 regulations changed such 3-month period to 12 months
Effects of cancellation
Regulation 14 obliges the supplier to reimburse the consumer within thirty days of the consumer giving notice of cancellation (and to reimburse any delivery costs). Regulation 17 obliges the consumer to take reasonable care of goods and deliver them when the supplier comes to collect them.
Where there is an agreement that the consumer will return the goods by post, it is at the consumer's cost except if the goods are faulty or not as described as per the Sale of Goods Act 1979 in which case the supplier reimburses both the delivery and return costs