Ecommerce Information

If you have spent a considerable amount of time and money developing a good website it makes sense to ensure that it complies with relevant regulations. There are two reasons for this:

• It's the law
• Your customers are more likely to buy

There are three items of regulation that are particularly relevant to UK businesses trading online:

• The Data Protection Act 1998
• The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 as amended by the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) (Amendment) Regulations 2005
• The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002.

To comply with the above is not too onerous: the regulations are generally sensible and practical, you just need to read through the information and apply it. There are some modest costs, but these are small in relation to the likely scale of business, and the grief that could conceivably follow non-compliance. These regulations are descibed below in more detail.

The Data Protection Act 1998

If you collect information about people (employees, customers, visitors etc), such as names, addresses, phone numbers etc then this applies to you. Clearly, this includes any business of any size.

Key points to note:

• You must state what you do with the data (and stick to it).
• You must register with the Information Commissioner, a government official that oversees Data Protection.
• You should not export the data outside the EC without the subject's permission.
• You must keep the data secure, reveal it and delete it if requested by the subjects.

These obligations are straightforward, mandatory and the cost of registration is £35 per year.

For further information about the Data Protection Act and the role of the Information Commissioner visit the website at Information Commissioner.

To register with the Information Commissioner go to Data Protection Register.

If you are collecting your information from your customers and you are registered, then it may help you to make this point clear on your publicity material or web sites. See our model document: Privacy Statement

The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 amended by the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) (Amendment) Regulations 2005

If you sell online, by mail order or by telephone to consumers, then this applies to your business. These regulations do not apply to business to business transactions.

Key points to note:

• You should provide clear information about your offering before purchase (no extras like tax and freight after the consumer has decided to purchase). It is helpful to be very clear what your freight charges are and whether prices include VAT to avoid doubt.
• You should provide a written confirmation of order following purchase.
• There is a "cooling off" period of 7 working days for most goods (exclusions could include perishable or digital goods). You should inform the customers of their right to cancel (without charge, other than return freight).

We recommend you read and act on the fact sheet published by the Department of Trade and Industry at: Distance Selling Fact Sheet.

You can read the full text of the regulations on the Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website at: The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 and The Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) (Amendment) Regulations 2005.

The Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002

Commonly refered to as the Ecommerce Directive. If your business operates online using the web or your business communicates using email, this applies to you. The Directive applies to both business to business (B2B) and business to consumer (B2C) relationships.

Key points to note:

• You should display the name of your business.
• We recommend you display your company registration number or proprietor's name (as you would in a letter).
• You should show your geographic address (street number etc, not just a PO box).
• You should show your contact information such as phone number and email address.
• You should show your VAT number if you are VAT registered.
• Refer to trade or professional recognition schemes, with registration number, if applicable.
• Provide clear information on price, tax and delivery.
• Show clear Terms and Conditions and acknowledge orders.

We recommend you read and act on the guidance notes published by the Department of Trade and Industry, available in PDF format at: Ecommerce Directive Guide. (Use the link at bottom of this page if you need Adobe Acrobat reader).

You can read the full text of the directive on the OPSI website at: Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002.

Our Web Sales Agreement and Website Terms of Use documents have been prepared to help small businesses meet some of the above obligations.

Further Information

The information above and documents (listed on this page and elsewhere on the website) should help a large number of businesses develop and improve their online capability. If you are looking for further information you may wish to consult these resources:

DTI - background information about eCommunications from the Department of Trade and Industry
British Chambers of Commerce - your local chamber can provide advice or connect you with people that can help
Business Link - the Government entrerprise agency dispenses information and advice from a network of UK offices and has an ecommerce section on its website.

If you're looking for a broadband supplier, website hosting and/or design services to support your e-business then you may find the following suppliers useful:

BT Business Broadband - a range of broadband packages for small to medium sized businesses
Easily Limited - cost effective domain names, email and website solutions for home and business users
UKOnline -  business broadband with speeds up to 16Mb and unlimited usage
UK2.net - domain names, web hosting, e-mail and more from one of the UK's largest web hosting companies
WebFusion -  feature rich, customer focused and competitively priced web hosting
123-reg - a range of web design and hosting packages including email, hosting and technical tools