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Meeting_the_UK_Ecommerce_Regulations
| Meeting the UK Ecommerce Regulations
Many UK small businesses with ecommerce web sites are failing to
meet the legal requirements of the following acts and
directives: Ecommerce Directive
2002 Data Protection Act 1998 Distance Selling Act 2000
This is often due to misunderstanding their responsibilities or
simply lack of resources. However, failing to comply with these
legal requirements may seriously damage your web site and your
business.
By promoting compliance with these legal obligations, your web
site will gain more credibility and increase customer's
confidence.
Useful Resources
The following links provide essential information related to the
UK ecommerce regulations. The Data Protection Act
1998 - http://www.datap
rotection.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/smallbusiness
guidance.pdf Data Protection
(a) You must register under the Data Protection Act if you
collect 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 not
deviate 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 are
collecting data on.
(e) You must ensure that all information is held securely and
must be revealed or deleted upon request from the subjects of
the information.
(f) You must only record pertinent data to your prime business
needs. Consumer Protection (Distance Selling)
Regulations
The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000
apply to many ecommerce sites. However, they are not applicable
to ‘business-to-business’ transactions.
(a) You must provide clear information about your products and
services before purchase.
(b) You must be clear about postage and packing costs and
whether VAT is included in the prices shown on your website.
(c) You must provide a written confirmation of order following
purchase, e.g., via email.
(d) You must allow a "cooling off" period of 7 working
days for most goods. Certain exclusions do apply and include
perishable and digital goods.
(e) You must inform your customers of their right to cancel
their order with no loss other than return postage and
packing. Ecommerce Directive
(a) You must display the name of your business, the company
registration number (or proprietor's name), geographical address
(not PO Box number), contact information e.g., telephone number
and email address, VAT registration number (if registered).
(b) You may refer to trade or professional schemes if
applicable.
(c) You must provide clear information on price, tax and
delivery to buyers.
(d) You must clearly display your site’s Terms and
Conditions.
(e) You must acknowledge all orders.
(f) In commercial communication with your customers, you must
clearly identify any electronic communication designed to
promote your goods or services.
(g) You must clearly identify the sender of all electronic
communication.
(h) You must clearly define any promotional offers and the
qualifying conditions regarding these offers.
(i) If you send unsolicited emails, you must clearly identify
them as unsolicited. Other means of increasing Ecommerce
Credibility
In addition to ensuring that you satisfy the ecommerce
regulations, you can gain extra credibility by: (a)
Including verifiable testimonials. (b) Allowing payment
via other means than online, e.g. via telephone or mail
order. (c) Ensuring that all transactions that involve
the transfer of personal and payment details are secure (via
SSL). (d) Ensuring that your shopping cart does not
make the following common mistakes: Call a
shopping cart something else! Use a ‘Buy
Now’ button instead of a ‘Add to Cart’
button Give no feedback that an item has been added to
the cart Force the user to view the cart after each
added item Make the user register before adding items
to a cart Not provide a ‘Remove Item’
button
About the author:
James Saunders is the Managing Director of Site-Report.com
Limited (http://www.site-report.com), a UK internet consultancy
offering holistic advice to UK SMEs on all aspects of website
development and promotion including usability, accessibility,
ecommerce regulations, internet marketing and search engine
optimisation.
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