There are currently four consumer protection directives covering unfair contract terms, sales and guarantees, distance selling and doorstep selling. However these only set minimum requirements and over the years member states have developed their own different consumer legislation.

In 2008, a new Consumer Rights Directive was proposed that would encompass the best of the existing four directives and include additional protection for internet sales.

The new Directive sets out what are called fully harmonised requirements, ie they apply in all member states, and the original intention was to include all aspects of businesses selling to citizens.  But standardised remedies and contract terms proved too difficult to agree so these are not included in the final text adopted by the European Parliament in June.

If approved by the Council of Ministers in September, this will be transposed into national legislation by 2013.

New rules for online retailers

Under the new Consumer Rights Directive, hidden charges and pre-ticked boxes will be banned. Consumers will have to know the total cost before they pay. 

Retailers will have to inform customers that they have 14 days in which to change their mind, starting from when the goods are received (at present it is seven days from the contract being agreed). 

Customers who invite a sales person to visit will still have the right to cancel.  And goods sold in online auctions by professional sellers will also be covered.

A model contract withdrawal form will be available and retailers will have to issue refunds within 14 days of cancellation, including delivery costs.

Retailers will not be able to charge more for paying by credit card than it costs them to process that payment. It will also be illegal to charge extra for telephone hotlines, though there may be some exceptions. 

If retailers want customers to pay postage on goods returned within 14 days, they will have to tell them this beforehand and provide an estimated cost for bulky items.

Digital products will have to have clear information about their compatibility and any limits on copying.

Your statutory rights are not affected

For face-to-face sales, it is assumed that the consumer is able to make a fully informed decision and would only return a product that is faulty.

However many high street retailers do allow customers to change their mind and bring items back for a full refund.  Others may give credit vouchers instead but if the product is not faulty they are not obliged to do any of this.

In the UK, if a consumer returns a faulty product within six months of purchase the retailer will have to offer a repair or even a replacement. After six months the retailer is entitled to demand a proof of a fault before they are obliged to offer redress and this applies up to six years (five in Scotland) from when the item was purchased. 

A commercial guarantee or warranty covers repairs and, in certain circumstances, a replacement may be offered, but such guarantees, although covered by the unfair contract terms legislation, are not a statutory requirement.  Likewise an extended warranty offered by a manufacturer, retailer or insurance company is an additional safeguard that a consumer may choose.

UK consumer advice

At present, UK consumers can seek advice on consumer issues from their local authority’s Trading Standards Office; from various local voluntary agencies; or from consumer organisation websites.  There is also Consumer Focus, the body formed by the Consumers, Estate Agents and Redress (CEAR) Act 2007 (amalgamating several existing consumer bodies) which has a helpline and a website offering advice and information. They also have legislative powers including the right to investigate consumer complaints that they believe to be of wider interest.

In June this year, the government issued a consultation on proposals to abolish Consumer Focus and transfer consumer information provision and enforcement from central government.  It envisaged information being provided by Citizens Advice (a network of registered charities) with assistance from other consumer organisations, while consumer-related legislation would be enforced by Local Authority Trading Standards officers.  A new Competition and Markets Authority would have powers to investigate markets and to use competition or consumer law to resolve issues.

So the UK is proposing to ‘localise’ its consumer landscape just in time for new legislation offering EU-wide consumer protection.  Watch this space.