E-Terms.co.uk have just released a new FREE guide to ‘ e-commerce terms and conditions ‘ for companies selling services online in the EU. Is it worth reading? Find out more now.
If you’re about to launch (or already own) a website then it’s very important that you understand and comply with the local regulations that apply to online trading in the EU. There are a number of regulations that should be considered:
- The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002
- The Privacy and Electronic Communications (EC Directive) Regulations 2003
- Distance Selling Regulations
- Provision of Services Regulations.
According to the E-Terms team, different sections of the regulations apply to different companies . For example, a company that is selling products to consumers may have different regulations to those selling products to businesses . They also point out that in addition to the main regulations there are as many as 10 EU and UK regulations that may need to be considered.
To comply with EU regulations there are some steps which should be applied to all websites, usually within a Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy documents:
- Ensure you include the company name, a geographic address and an email address where people can contact you
- Ensure that you include clear pricing information on individual product pages and during the checkout phase.
- Indicate whether your prices include local taxes and delivery charges
- If import or customs duty is payable, clearly state whether you or (usually) the customer is responsible.
- Allow customers to go back and correct mistakes in their order before the order is placed
- Acknowledge all orders with a receipt without undue delay.
- If collecting a persons email address, you are encouraged to make it an ‘Opt-in’ rather than ‘Opt-out’ selection.
- Ensure all emails include reference to a method for people to opt-out or unsubscribe from a mailing list.
- Customers in the UK have a cooling off period of seven working days in which to cancel a contract, starting from when the goods are received.
There are some exceptions to the cooling off period, and these are explained in the free guide.
The 14 page free guide is jargon-free. It contains valuable website checklists for your business. You’ll be guided through consumer law with step-by-step guides on which part of your websites are affected by the distance selling rules.
Click here for the free E-Terms guide: e-commerce terms and conditions








