Court Orders Trader to Refund 100% of Fees After Overlooking Distance Selling Laws

Most traders who deal with consumers will be familiar with the Consumer Rights Act and the protections that it provides. However, as we are seeing, many traders appear less familiar with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. These regulations, often referred to as the “distance selling regulations” can be quite troublesome if they are overlooked, as a recent case proved.

The Dispute

Our team was contacted by a consumer who had instructed a trader to provide a service. The service was provided but there were some issues, and the trader tried to charge the customer more than they had agreed.

The customer stood their ground and the trader decided to pursue legal action.

Our client sought advice from the Roach Pittis Consumer Law team and was assisted by Lee Peckham and Paul Tilley. An assessment of the client’s case was carried out and it became clear very quickly that the contract in dispute was a distance contract, and the trader had failed to provide the customer with details of their right to cancel.

The Law on Distance Selling

The law is clear, when the contract is either a distance or off premises contract, the trader must provide the consumer with certain information including details of their right to cancel. A model cancelation form must be provided, and the trader must not start work within the cancellation period unless the consumer has expressly waived the right to cancel in accordance with the 2013 Regulations.

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Where the trader fails to give the consumer the information on the right to cancel, the cancellation period can be extended by up to 12 months.

The Court's Ruling

In this case, the client had paid a considerable sum to the trader for the services provided. The trader had failed to give the customer details of their right to cancel and had failed to provide the model cancellation form. The trader argued that the contract wasn't a distance contract, but on any analysis the trader was wrong. The Court fully agreed with our client and dismissed the traders claim and allowed our client’s counterclaim.

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The court ordered the trader to return all monies paid by the customer on the basis that they had failed to provide details of the right to cancel.

The court ordered the trader to return all monies paid by the customer on the basis that the customer had not been provided with details of their right to cancel. Therefore the trader was not entitled to be paid for any services provided during the extended cancellation period.

A Costly Lesson for Traders

Whilst this may seem a rather harsh outcome for the trader, the distance selling rules are very clear on what is required by a trader. If the trader provides the information required, then there will be no difficulty in the trader recovering any monies due. If the trader does not comply with the distance selling regulations however, then they may well be ordered to return monies paid by the consumer. Our client received a judgment in their favour for a substantial sum of money.

This isn't the first case of this kind our team have dealt with recently, and we are seeing more and more consumers not being provided with the information that the distance selling regulations require.

• Are you a business wanting to ensure you don’t fall foul of these regulations?

• Are you a consumer who wants to check if you were given the correct legal information?

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