In August 2024, I provided a whole series of Q&As on LinkedIn relating to consumer and online retail law. You can find the entire series here in this blog - a mini guide to some of the most commonly asked questions relating to retailer compliance.
Q. Do I need terms and conditions for my online shop? 🤔
A. Terms and conditions, or terms of sale, are not required by UK law specifically. However, they are advisable as a vehicle for ensuring clarity and compliance with other legislation. This includes The Consumer Rights Act 2015, which requires you to provide certain information to consumers before they make a purchase, such as details about the goods or services, the total price, payment terms, delivery arrangements, and the consumer's right to cancel. 📜💼
Well-drafted T&Cs make clear your obligations to the customer and confirm their agreement with you. In entering into this agreement, you establish terms of sale that help to protect both your business and uphold the rights of your customers. 🤝🛡️
A professional online retailer should have terms and conditions, or terms of sale, in place that would be able to stand up to scrutiny should a claim be made against you. 💼⚖️
For help in drafting your terms and conditions, please get in touch here. 📩
Q. How do I ensure my online store complies with the General Data Protection Regulation? 🔐🛒 A. GDPR represents the do’s and don’ts when it comes to dealing with people’s personal data in a business context. This refers to customers, employees, suppliers, and clients, and compliance is a legal requirement. 🛡️
To ensure compliance you'll likely need to:
✅ Register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)
✅ Have a general understanding of GDPR
✅ Assess what data you collect and how it is processed/used
✅ Ensure you are obtaining consent to collect personal data
✅ Make your privacy policy accessible on your website
✅ Display a cookie consent banner on your website
As an online retailer, you will likely be collecting personal data, so you will need to ensure you are handling and protecting this information responsibly and in accordance with GDPR. I advise using your privacy policy as a method of outlining and confirming your data protection practices. As this is a particularly important document, it would also be sensible to have a solicitor to consult with and draft this for you. 📜
For more information, please refer to my article on Data Privacy and GDPR - Data Privacy and Data Protection Must-Knows 🔗
Q. When can I refuse a return? 🎥
A. Customers in the UK have a cooling-off period of 14 days where they can return items and be refunded without needing to give a reason. However, consumers are entitled to a refund up to 30 days from the date they receive the goods if items are faulty or not as described. Should this be the case, consumers have the right to a repair, replacement, or refund. 🔧
Online retailers can refuse a return if the item was sold as faulty, if it was custom-made, perishable, or if there is a hygiene issue, for example - earrings or underwear. 🚫👗
This is in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015. 📜
Returns policies should also consider the business reputation. Even if you suspect a customer is being unreasonable or dishonest, it may be worth swallowing the cost of a refund or replacement rather than risk damage to your reputation. Negative online reviews, in particular, can be harmful to businesses, so you may consider this in your approach to returns. ⚖️
Q. What are the rules around selling products to minors online? 👶💻
A. You may sell products to children online as long as they are not age-restricted items.
With age-restricted items, you must do everything in your power to verify the purchaser’s age. This usually involves obtaining confirmation from them that they are over the minimum age. ✔️
Of course, this is often not a foolproof system, so you may consider whether online selling is right for some items. You might also ask for proof of age upon delivery. 🔞📦
If you are selling restricted items online, it is probably worth conducting a risk analysis to pinpoint any weak points and ensure all possible preventative action is being taken to ensure business compliance and the safety of consumers. 🔍
Q. How do I ensure my website is accessible and complies with the Equality Act 2010? 🌐♿
A. Businesses in the UK should do all possible to make their products and services easily accessible for disabled and neurodiverse users - this includes making websites accessible.
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) provide useful guidelines for implementing this - WCAG Guidelines
Consider the user journey on your website, analyzing ease of navigation, readability, image descriptions (alt tag), and captions. Some other things you can do would be:
Test with assistive technologies, such as screen readers 🖥️
Make sure your website is navigable using a keyboard ⌨️
Include an accessibility statement on your website detailing your compliance efforts 📝
Include contact information for accessibility support 📞
Keep your website updated regularly to maintain compliance 🔄
For more information on how you can ensure compliance with the Equality Act 2010, check out my blog post on this subject here.
Q. What steps should I take to protect my intellectual property when selling online? 🛡️💻
A. As the creator of your website and products, you have automatic copyright assignment in the UK, so there is no need to register your intellectual property. ✅
Some websites choose to display the copyright symbol - © - but this serves as a reminder and deterrent, it does not enforce copyright if it already belongs to you. Similarly, on social media, you may opt to add a statement of belonging to posts that showcase your work, products, or branding, but again, this isn’t necessary, though it may help to show that you know your rights. 📜
However, if you have had somebody else create your website, photograph your products, or design your branding, you should ensure that the agreement you entered into assigns copyright to you. ✍️📷🎨
To further protect your business, you may consider registering your logo as a trademark or patenting your products if they meet the requirements. ™️
For further assistance with registering your logo as a trademark, or patenting your products, feel free to reach out to me here.
Q. What consumer rights do I need to uphold when selling products on my website? 🛒
A. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, products and services must reach the quality standards as described by the business. This means that product descriptions and claims must match the product or service that is delivered. 📦
You must also provide key details including price, taxes, delivery costs, cancellation rights, and any age restrictions or product limitations. 📋
The cooling off period for purchases made online in the UK is 14 days without cause and 30 days if the product is faulty or not as described. 🔄
You will also need to comply with UK data protection and GDPR as you’ll be collecting and processing personal data. 🔒📝
For more details, please refer to the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
Q. How do I comply with data protection as an online retailer? 🛡️💻
A. In the UK, you will need to comply with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations) when handling personal data.
This means you will have to educate yourself on these regulations and create a privacy policy which must be displayed on your website. Key points to consider and address should be:
What data you're requesting and why 📊
How this data will be used 🔍
How it will be protected 🔒
How long it will be stored for and how it will, when necessary, be destroyed 🗑️
In addition, you must display a cookie consent banner or pop-up on your website so that your site visitors can be informed about and give their consent to cookie collection.
Lastly, you may need to register with the ICO (Information Commissioner’s Office) and pay a fee. See more here - ICO Registration
Q. What do I need to know about working with product influencers? 💁♀️
A. Working with influencers can help bring new buyers to your products and services. However, there are 5 legal considerations when working with influencers:
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) Compliance - You must remain compliant with the ASA and so should your influencers. ✔️
Setting Expectations - Ensure both you and the influencer have had open communication and understand what you are able to achieve together, realistically. 🤝
How You Will Measure Campaign Success - Put in place methods for measuring success. 📊
Payment Terms - Agree on payment and the terms of payment, whether flat fee or commission-based. 📝
Exclusivity Clauses - Will your influencer be free to work with competitors or are you putting a clause in place contractually to prevent them from promoting rival businesses? 🚫
One essential rule that must be complied with is transparency in advertisements. You must make it clear that any endorsements of your products or services online are paid promotions. You may do this by including #Ad or adding a disclaimer to any promos. 📢
For more on this, please refer to my 5 Considerations When Working With Influencers - 5 Legal Considerations When Working With Influencers 📖🔗
Q. Can I add buyers on my retail website to my email mailing list? 🛒
A. Yes. In the UK, you can add people who have made purchases through your website to your mailing list because of something known as soft opt-in. 📧
This is an exception set out in Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) relating to former customers. This permits you to send marketing communications to customers who have shared their details with you during the process of a sale.
However, the soft opt-in rule applies only if:
You have obtained the data subject’s contact details in the course of the sale or negotiations for the sale of a product or service to that data subject. 🛍️
The email marketing you are sending relates to similar products and services only.
The opportunity to opt out is included in every communication. 📬
Most importantly, you must include an unsubscribe link in every communication. This should be visible and actioned immediately so that those who have opted out receive no more marketing communications from you. 🚫
Q. What insurance does my online retail business need? 🛡️🛒
A. Online retailers and e-commerce businesses should probably consider public liability insurance, even if they don’t have physical premises. Public liability protects you from claims of personal injury or property damage against you. This would cover you for pop-up shops, meetings, accidents at storage facilities, etc. ⚠️
Retailers will also need product liability insurance. Even if they’re not the manufacturer, the fault may still land on the retailer and you’ll need insurance to cover legal costs and compensation. Product businesses might also consider property and stock insurance in case of damage to stock. 📦
Lastly, if you are employing anyone in your business you will need to have employer’s liability insurance. This is compulsory in the UK. 🧑💼✅
Q. How do I ensure secure payment for my online customers? 💳🔒
A. Online retailers should use reputable and secure payment processors that adhere to Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) requirements. This means:
Secure Payment Gateways - Use payment processors that provide secure gateways, encrypt cardholder data, and regularly monitor and test networks and access control. 🔐
Compliance with UK Data Protection and GDPR - Implement robust systems for securing data, conduct risk assessments, and regularly review and test measures to ensure ongoing effectiveness. 📊
Educate Customers - Direct customers to your privacy policy to help them understand how their details are protected. Encourage the use of strong passwords and caution against phishing attempts. 📝
Consistency - Maintain consistent branding, formatting, website domains, and outgoing email addresses to make it more difficult for fraudsters to impersonate your business and help customers spot suspicious activity. 🔑
Engagement and Awareness: Stay informed and engaged in protecting customer data, even when using external systems for secure payments, to build trust with your consumers. 🛡️
Although external systems are likely to be used for secure payment, online retailers will still need to be informed and engaged to protect customer data and build trust with their consumers. 🤝
Are you a small business or freelancer needing to know more about common legal queries? Follow me and benefit from my Lightbulb Series on LinkedIn - regular snippets of legal advice (just like above).
💡Still confused about retail and consumer law? Contact me with any queries you have.
コメント