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Our E-commerce Terms & Conditions Service
E-commerce websites are one of the most accessed types of websites. However, it can be difficult to ensure that orders placed with your website create a contract for the supply of the particular goods, services or digital content on your supply terms.
When drafting such supply terms, our specialist solicitors take the time to understand how your business operates in conjunction with your e-commerce offering, including your order process and sales mechanics. We provide practical advice and guidance on the merits and risks of adopting supplier-friendly or customer-friendly terms.
We are experienced in advising businesses that supply goods, services and digital content to consumers and businesses. If you are supplying consumers, your supply terms must be clear, in plain English and compliant with consumer legislation (known as business-to-consumer or B2C). We are experienced in advising clients on the nuances and difficulties of contracting with consumers at a distance, including advising on enhanced termination rights, cooling off periods and refunds and returns.
Our detailed understanding of the e-commerce environment means we are able to assist businesses with the implementation and commercialisation of e-commerce platform offerings.
Our Experience with E-commerce Terms and Conditions
- Marketplace platform terms and conditions. We have acted for machinecompare.com, one of the largest online marketplace providers who specialise in the resale of industrial parts. We prepared marketplace terms and conditions to cover the listing of goods on the marketplace, the sale and supply of the goods and other platform services.
- Supply of Mystery Designer Boxed Items – we acted for a supplier of mixed boxes of designer items. We had a tight turn around to prepare terms and conditions for the supply of goods comprised in a “lucky dip” style of boxes, which contained a minimum value of designer goods and are created based on a customer’s shopping preferences. The terms needed to cater for the unique nature of the boxes, that items could not be individually returned be consumer law complainant.
- Supply of COVID-19 and wellness self-test kits. We have acted for a variety of lifestyle and wellness test providers, by preparing e-commerce terms and conditions for the supply of lateral flow and PCR tests and services, and other wellness and cancer testing kits and services, to consumers and businesses.
Why Work With Our IT/Technology Team
- Myerson Solicitors' IT lawyers can provide businesses with extensive legal advice and support on a wide range of IT-related matters.
- We are highly skilled in matters relating to data protection, ensuring that businesses comply with relevant legislation such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
- We can also provide expert guidance on software licensing, reselling, and development.
- Other areas of expertise include e-commerce, intellectual property, and technology-related disputes.
- Working with Myerson Solicitors means you'll have access to legal experts who can support and help your business stay ahead of the curve in today's ever-evolving digital landscape.
- An alternative to the major, regional, and national firms by offering high-quality Technology law advice from specialist solicitors, but on a much more cost-effective basis.
- By working closely with our IT clients, we can ensure we meet their expectations regarding business operations, providing clear and specialist expertise. We are easy to deal with and understand that a common-sense approach is often required.
- Extensive experience in dealing with a broad range of IT disputes, such as data protection and software development issues, giving businesses fast and helpful advice based on knowledge of your business, its history, and pressures.
- A partner-led service and a genuinely accessible team of experienced IT law solicitors due to our size, structure, and unique culture.
FAQs
What are the key things to include in supply terms and conditions?
As an e-commerce provider, you should ensure that your terms and conditions satisfy the following concerns:
- They are fit for purpose and minimise your potential liability to third parties as far as possible;
- They cover the nature of what is being supplied, whether that is goods, services, digital content or a mixture;
- They allow you to retain the title to your goods until you have been paid for them;
- They adequately deal with the cancellation rights of both parties; and
- They comply with consumer regulations where the supply of goods or services is B2C.
Do online businesses need different terms and conditions?
The method by which a business contracts with its customers (online, via the telephone or email, on a doorstep basis, or from a bricks and mortar shop) will determine how the contract with that customer comes into effect and what laws and regulations apply to the contract.
Businesses operating via a website only (e-commerce) should ensure that they have e-commerce terms and conditions in place. E-commerce terms and conditions contain terms which are unique to the online selling of goods, such as how an order is placed and accepted, how payment is made, and how and when the customer is entitled to cancel their order.
Online businesses selling goods to consumers should also consider implementing a privacy policy and cookies policy to aid compliance with data protection law. More information on these documents can be found on our Website Terms page.
What is the value of having standard terms and conditions for my business?
Having your own set of T&Cs on which you always do business provides you with:
- Certainty - you know the terms which you are trading on and the rights you have in regard to your customers;
- Security - you are not subject to someone else’s terms which may be onerous in their obligations and put you at risk of being liable for breach of contract;
- Flexibility - you can have a master set of terms providing structure for your business while dealing with customers on an order-by-order basis.
What is ‘Distance Selling’?
If you are a trader who sells or supplies goods or services to consumers over the internet, you need to ensure you comply with the rules on “distance contracts”. We can help you to identify whether your contracts fall within the scope of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. If your contract is within scope, we can assist in ensuring your website terms and conditions of sale or supply are compliant.
A contract concluded at distance is one which is between a trader and a consumer and does not involve the simultaneous physical presence of the trader and consumer, with the exclusive use of one or more means of distance communication up to and including the time at which the contract is concluded.
What are the key points to note for distance contracts?
Key provisions which are required for distance contracts include:
- Pre-contract information: the trader must provide the consumer with certain information prior to entering into a contract (for example, the identity of the trader, place of business, total price, and the complaint process). Such information will form part of the contract, and therefore it is logical for the required information to be included in the website terms and conditions of sale or supply, which are available prior to enter into the contract;
- Durable medium: the consumer must be provided with written confirmation of all the legally required pre-contract information on a durable medium (for instance, by email);
- Payment trigger: the trader must make it clear where proceeding with the transaction or passing to the next webpage will trigger payment (for example, by labelling the payment button “order with obligation to pay”);
- Additional payments: traders must seek the consumer’s express prior consent before taking any additional payments (pre-ticked boxes will not be permitted);
- Right to cancel: consumers must be given the right to cancel the contract within a cooling-off period of 14 days. This period may be extended by up to 12 months, where information about the right to cancel is not provided by the supplier. The right to cancel may, in certain circumstances, be waived by a consumer (where, for example, they request services to be provided before the expiry of the 14-day period);
- Delivery: an obligation on the trader to deliver goods within 30 days, unless agreed otherwise with the consumer. These rules determine when risk in goods will pass to the consumer;
- Helpline: a ban on making consumers use a premium rate telephone line to contact the supplier about the existing contract.
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