Complying with the distance selling laws
Under UK law, all ecommerce stores must comply with the distance selling laws. Yet there remains a lot of confusion about returns policies. Many ecommerce stores have unenforceable returns policies that flout these laws.
I've lost count of the amount of customers who have asked us to write their returns policy for them, or those that have come to us with a returns policy copied from another website (sometimes even with the links still in!). So I thought it was time for a post about it.
Having a good, clear returns policy can even boost your sales by enhancing customer confidence.
Civil, not criminal law
If you fail to meet with these laws, the police won't come knocking at your door. Generally, trading standards will only advise you, not enforce. They do however have the powers to seek court orders and may do so if you do not comply and deny consmers their rights. Failure to comply with an order can result in contempt of court and imprisonment.
In the case of any problems between you and the consumer, it would be classed as an individual dispute under civil law. It is up to the consumer to take you to court, but it is best to avoid that by ensuring that you meet with the regulations.
The same rights as buying from a shop
The first thing is to remember is that the distance selling laws were created to try to give consumers buying online the same rights as those in a shop. An ecommerce store that sells barbecues asked us about what rights their consumers had. Could they build the barbecues, for example? Could they try them out by having a barbecue? The answer is that the consumer and you have the same rights as if they were to walk into your shop. They can build the barbecue as if it was displayed in a shop, but not use it. You wouldn't take your sausages to B&Q and fire up one of their barbecues!
How should you give this information to the consumer?
It is also important that you supply this information to the consumer. Just having it in your online returns policy is not enough. You should supply it to the consumer once they've made their purchase, for example in the confirmation email, or on the invoice.
So what must be in your returns policy to cover yourself?
7 working days to make their choice
Once a consumer have purchased from you, they have 7 working days from the day they receive the goods to cancel. It is very important that you state this in your returns policy. Failure to do so means that the consumer gets an extra 3 months to cancel - 3 months and 7 days.
You can give a longer period if you wish, but 7 days is the minimum. Having a longer, clear return policy can help with your business. zappos.com, a billion dollar US company started in 1999 and well known for customer service offers a 365 day return policy, with free shipping both ways.
Opening the packaging
The consumer can open all the packaging to look at the goods, except in certain cases such as CDs and computer software. A box that a CD comes in is OK to open, but the seal around the CD is not. Yet you can state that goods must be returned in their original packaging, especially for items such as shoes where the shoebox is almost a part of the product. You must expect though that the packaging won't be returned to you in perfect condition. You can't expect the consumer to glue back down the Sellotape!
Trying the products - duty of 'reasonable care'
The consumer has a duty to take 'reasonable care' of the goods if they are going to return them. As this is something of a grey area in the law, you must make it clear what's reasonable within your returns policy, for example by stating that 'shoes must only be tried on indoors' or that 'care labels must not be removed'. Remember though that this must be within the law. You must be reasonable!
Costs, charges and refunds
You can charge the consumer for the return shipping costs but again, only if you have made this clear in your returns policy. If you do not include these details in your returns policy then you cannot charge them anything. Of course, most consumers will pay themselves, but you must make it clear in your policy to cover yourself.
You are not allowed to charge the customer a restocking or handling fee of any kind.
You must also refund the full amount including the delivery costs as soon as possible after the consumer cancels, and within 30 days at the latest. You cannot insist on the goods being received by you before you make a refund.
If the consumer then fails to return the goods, or sends them at your expense, you can charge them the direct cost to you of the return, even if you have already refunded the consumer's money.
Exemptions
Several types of goods are exempt from the distance selling laws, for example perishable goods such as food and flowers, or newspapers or magazines, or CDs, games and computer software that have been opened.
If in doubt contact your local trading standards office
Hopefully, you should now be well on your way to writing a good returns policy.
If you're still not sure about any part of it, you should always contact your local trading standards office or try the office of fair trading. Some trading standards offices such as Kent offer specific business advice for selling on the net.
Remember, don't just copy it from Amazon!.