Does you know your T&Cs from your cookie policy?
Wax Noor, a senior solicitor at Brilliant Law, details three steps to avoid pitfalls when it comes to online compliance and setting up your own digital shop front.
Terms and conditions (Ts & Cs)
T’s & C’s inform your website customer the important facts on how you envisage trading with them, including; delivery or handling, security, VAT, Returns Policy, Unwanted Faulty Goods to name but a few.
If you are selling items on credit, your Ts & Cs of sale must specify that payment must be made within a defined timescale. This is important to prevent a customer from stating their own payment terms (for example, ‘I’ll pay you in six months’) – which you can’t dispute!
Selling online is defined as ‘distance selling’ and therefore your T’s & C’s must include a ‘cooling-off’ period for customers – this is time for a customer to change their mind once they have taken delivery of the goods.
Privacy policy
Your privacy policy covers data protection. By taking orders online, you are gathering the personal data of your shoppers. You must clearly state how long you will keep this data and what you plan to do with it and whether you will use it for any marketing or commercial purpose.
The Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) issues licences authorising companies to operate under the Data Protection Act – these cost just £35 or £500 annually, depending on the size of the business, and you will find them here – http://ico.org.uk/.
Even if you are just trading on eBay as a company you are still acquiring customer data, email and postal addresses and using them commercially. Therefore, without a license from the ICO, you are in breach of the Data Protection Act. The penalty for this is up to an eye-watering £500,000.
Cookie compliance
This European Union directive is a recent legal requirement and requires a message to flash up as soon as visitors land on your homepage to notify them of your use of cookies. This is a passive requirement, which means it is assumed that visitors to your site will agree with the use of cookies and need take no action to continue navigating around the site.
Companies must show a willingness to comply with this new directive; otherwise they will fall foul of the Information Commissioners’ Office. The ICO’s guide to cookies is available here: http://www.ico.org.uk/for_organisations/privacy_and_electronic_communications/the_guide/cookies.
But remember… bespoke is best
Although these three actions are required by every company setting up online, they provide a general overview – it is vital to talk to your solicitor to make sure that your policies are bespoke to you. If you are providing gardening services, selling shoes, or hiring helicopters it is imperative to get the terms right for you and your needs. Your solicitor will talk through how you intend to operate and make sure your Ts & Cs are absolutely water-tight.
Wax Noor is a senior solicitor at Brilliant Law, www.brilliantlaw.com, which offers fixed price packages for SMEs.
