Fact Sheets
Setting Up a Distance Selling Business
We are happy to offer personal information to you but must emphasise that you seek the advice of your solicitor and accountant before proceeding.
These are some of the things you should consider:
- Trading Law
All distance selling businesses must ensure that they trade in compliance with applicable law, which include legislation about:
- Trades Descriptions
- Product Safety and Labelling
- Price Marking
- Sale of Goods
- Unfair Contract Terms
- Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts
- Business Names
- Brand Protection You should ensure that business names, products and services names and domain names do not infringe the rights of others and apply for appropriate protection where this is available (e.g. registering trade marks and domain names)
- Premises You should have planning permission for the premises from which you are going to conduct the business.
- Credit If you are selling goods on credit then you will require a credit licence from the Office of Fair Trading, London. Any documentation, which you use in connection with any credit sales, must comply with the Consumer Credit Act, in particular the Regulations, which have been issued under the Act.
- Data Protection The law controls the way in which Personal Data is managed and used; if you are going to collect personal data (something as simple as a name and address can be personal data) you must notify the Information Commissioner of this and comply with the data protection principles. Your site or printed publication should contain suitable data protection notices.
- Publications You may be contemplating advertising in a newspaper or magazine, or both. If such publications support on the Mail Order Protection Schemes (MOPS), and most do, you may be asked detailed questions about your business, etc. by the Advertising Department of the publication before it accepts any advertisement.
- Delivery of goods and returns Presumably you will be considering the manner in which goods and merchandise is despatched to customers. In so far as any "monopoly" mailings are concerned, obviously you will be dealing with Royal Mail, and it may be here that if your outward, and indeed, inward volumes are of sufficient size, you will be able to negotiate special terms with Royal Mail. Further, if your postings are in the shape of packets and parcels which exceed in weight the monopoly service, then you might well consider entering into bulk contract negotiations with Royal Mail, and any other carriers. We suggest that you initially discuss the position with your local head postmaster. The Distance Selling Regulations require customers to be given certain information (Supplier Name, price of goods, services and other details) and confirmation of this information when an order is placed. It also gives customers a cancellation period for most goods and services.
- Terms and conditions
You should prepare the terms and conditions on which you will trade with customers to:
- help avoid disputes and clarify any problems that could otherwise arise between you and customers
- obtain appropriate contractual protection
- e-Commerce Regulations
Many of the legal requirements apply just as much to traditional distance selling as to e-commerce but there are some additional obligations for e-commerce. The e-Commerce Regulations apply to virtually all commercial websites but are more complex for business to consumer transactional sites. They contain provisions relating to:
- compliance with the laws of other countries for consumer sales
- information to be provided
- on-line contract information
- liability of intermediaries
- Accessibility Websites, catalogues and premises which customers can visit should be useable/accessible to disabled people. For example, consider ensuring that websites can accommodate the use of screen readers and speech synthesizers.
For more detailed legal advice you may wish to contact Gary Jones at Mace & Jones, Solicitors www.maceandjones.co.uk