We have had several members contact us recently regarding The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 which regulate distance sales, to query whether the regulations are no longer applicable due to covid restrictions being lifted for over a year and a half.
Whilst covid restrictions regarding the closure of non-essential businesses remain a thing of the distant past, the above regulations remain in force.
As a reminder, The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 came into effect in June 2014. The regulations became more prevalent during covid restrictions in 2020-2021 and required businesses to conduct “click & collect” or “click & deliver” services which gave rise to cancellation rights under the regulations.
The regulations only apply to consumer contracts, not business-to-business sales, and only apply to sales conducted at a distance, meaning those where the consumer has not been to your premises or payment to conclude the sale is made anywhere other than at your premises.
The regulations permit a consumer to cancel the sale for a full refund within 14 days, without the need for a fault to be present.
If, however, the correct paperwork regarding the cancellation rights is not given in writing before a sale, the consumer will be entitled to cancel the sale for any reason within one year and 14 days of the sale. Further, in the absence of the correct paperwork, there is no right for the dealer to charge for deductions and they will be liable to collect the vehicle. Essentially, a consumer could have free use of a vehicle for over a year, and the dealer would be obliged to take back the vehicle and provide a refund.
It remains imperative that members provide the correct paperwork when conducting distance sales to avoid falling foul of the regulations.
Fortunately, for Lawgistics Ltd members, on HR Manager, the distance sales terms & conditions can be automatically included when you create a sales invoice. The paperwork can be saved as a pdf and emailed to your customer for their signature.
For those without HR Manager, we have included our less superior downloads below:
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