The
Electronic Commerce (EC Directive) Regulations 2002,
SI 2000/2013, incorporates
Directive 2000/31/EC into the
law of the
United Kingdom.
[Enacted pursuant to European Communities Act 1972] They apply to
contracts concluded by electronic means over distance whereby the buyer is a consumer. This
subordinate legislation provides for rights of the consumer and provisions for which the seller is obliged to fulfill.
Definition of a Consumer
A Consumer is a "natural person who is acting for the purposes other than those of his trade, business or profession."
[reg 2(1).] The definition is slightly broader than that for the purposes of the
Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 as the subjective requirement of
the person not regarding herself as acting in the course of a business, therefore one may be a consumer if using a company account or using business details for
tax purposes.
Obligations Imposed Upon the Seller
Before the contract is formed, the seller must state in a "clear, comprehensible and unambiguous manner" the technical step involved to place an order (contractual
offer).
[reg 9(1)(a).] Terms and conditions under which the contract is concluded must be made available to the consumer in a means capable of reproduction and storage.
[reg 9(3).] This does not apply to
email, although the
Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 may apply.
These rights can be expressly exempted,
[reg 9(1).] although ironically these regulations would apply to the exemption clause, as would the
Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the
Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.
Information that must be provided to the consumer.
- Acknowledgement of the order by electronic means without undue delay,
[reg 11(1)(a).] and information of how to amend any input errors made.[reg 11(1)(b).]
More information must be given under the
Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000.
Rights of the Consumer
Liability of breach of these conditions gives rise to an action for
Breach of statutory duty.
[reg 13.]A court order may be given for access to terms and conditions of which the
consumer has already consented.
Where the
consumer has not been informed in the correct manner of the procedure to amend errors in orders and she has made errors, the
contract can be
rescinded.
[reg 15.]Contractual Construction
reg 12 provides that a
contractual offer occurs when the order is sent. Richards
[Richards, P, The Law of Contract, ed7 (2006, London: Pearsons) at 42] construes reg 11(2) as providing that the acknowledgement screen will constitute a
contractual acceptance.
Instantaneous Communication here is in line with that discussed by Lord
Denning in
Entores v Miles Far East Corporation[[1955] 2 QB 327.] and so communication is effect when received or when it can reasonably be deemed to have been received.
See also
