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Meeting The Uk Ecommerce Regulations
Meeting The Uk Ecommerce Regulations
By James Saunders, Sat Dec 10th
/p> Many UK small businesses with web sites are failing tomeet the legal requirements of the following acts anddirectives: - Ecommerce Directive2002
- Data Protection Act 1998
Distance Selling Act 2000 This is often due to misunderstanding their responsibilities orsimply lack of resources. However, failing to comply with theselegal requirements may seriously damage your web site and yourbusiness.
By promoting compliance with these legal obligations, your website will gain more credibility and increase customer'sconfidence. Useful Resources The following links provide essential information related to theUK regulations. - The Data Protection Act1998 - http://www.dataprotection.gov.uk/
- The Consumer Protection(Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 - http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/pdf1/bus_guide.pdf
- The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002 -http://www2.dti.gov.uk/industry_files/pdf/smallbusinessguidance.pdf
Data Protection (a) You must register under the Data Protection Act if youcollect information about people (for example, employees,customers and visitors). This information can include names,addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses. (b) You must state what you do with your subject's data and notdeviate from that statement. (c) The Act is applicable to businesses of any size. (d) You must not export the personal data outside the EC(European Community) without permission from the people you arecollecting data on. (e) You must ensure that all information is held securely andmust be revealed or deleted upon request from the subjects ofthe information. (f) You must only record pertinent data to your prime businessneeds. Consumer Protection (Distance Selling)Regulations The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000apply to many sites. However, they are not applicableto ‘business-to-business’ transactions. (a) You must provide clear information about your products andservices before purchase. (b) You must be clear about postage and packing costs andwhether VAT is included
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in the prices shown on your website. (c) You must provide a written confirmation of order followingpurchase, e.g., via email. (d) You must allow a "cooling off" period of 7 workingdays for most goods. Certain exclusions do apply and includeperishable and digital goods. (e) You must inform your customers of their right to canceltheir order with no loss other than return postage andpacking. Ecommerce Directive (a) You must display the name of your business, the companyregistration number (or proprietor's name), geographical address(not PO Box number), contact information e.g., telephone numberand email address, VAT registration number (if registered). (b) You may refer to trade or professional schemes ifapplicable. (c) You must provide clear information on price, tax anddelivery to buyers. (d) You must clearly display your site’s Terms andConditions. (e) You must acknowledge all orders. (f) In commercial communication with your customers, you mustclearly identify any electronic communication designed topromote your goods or services. (g) You must clearly identify the sender of all electroniccommunication. (h) You must clearly define any promotional offers and thequalifying conditions regarding these offers. (i) If you send unsolicited emails, you must clearly identifythem as unsolicited. Other means of increasing EcommerceCredibility In addition to ensuring that you satisfy the ecommerceregulations, you can gain extra credibility by: - (a)Including verifiable testimonials.
- (b) Allowing paymentvia other means than online, e.g. via telephone or mailorder.
- (c) Ensuring that all transactions that involvethe transfer of personal and payment details are secure (viaSSL).
- (d) Ensuring that your shopping cart does notmake the following common mistakes:
- Call ashopping cart something else!
- Use a ‘BuyNow’ button instead of a ‘Add to Cart’button
- Give no feedback that an item has been added tothe cart
- Force the user to view the cart after eachadded item
- Make the user register before adding itemsto a cart
- Not provide a ‘Remove Item’button
About the author:James Saunders is the Managing Director of Site-Report.comLimited (http://www.site-report.com), a UK internet consultancyoffering holistic advice to UK SMEs on all aspects of websitedevelopment and promotion including usability, accessibility,ecommerce regulations, internet marketing and search engineoptimisation.
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