Dear Mr. Garcia,

In our meeting last week you asked me for some advice on your plans to start selling your brushes directly to the public via a web-site.

Sales to end users of a product are of course subject to ordinary contract law just the same as business-to-business transactions. However, they are also covered by legislation on consumer protection: specifically, the Sale of Goods Act. As you are probably aware, this gives consumers the right to reimbursement where goods turn out to be not of “merchantable quality” for example, because they are dangerous or they are not fit for their intended purpose.

With regard to sales via your website, we should check that the site itself, and your business practices generally, also comply with the Distance Selling Regulations, 2000. These are designed to give customers some extra rights (in addition to the ones they have under the Sale of Goods Act) which they do not need when buying in a shop or dealing with a salesperson face to face.

The most important provision entitles buyers to a “cooling off period” during which they can examine the goods. During this period, which runs for seven days from receipt of the goods, they will be entitled to cancel their contract with your company and return the goods. It is vital that your website makes very clear who will be responsible for transport of goods being returned in these circumstances. If the customer, for whatever reason, fails to return one of your brushes he will still be obliged to take reasonable care of it, and hand it over if you send an employee to collect it. This is likely to give rise to an extra cost and your company would be entitled to charge this to the customer, thus reducing the money returned to them.

Customers who cancel in this way do not have to show any defects in the goods or other reason for returning them. They must receive reimbursement within 30 days of their cancellation otherwise you could face a Civil Claim in the County Court.

Another question which may arise in connection with your website is information you provide as advertising. Slogans or information on your website are regulated by a voluntary code of practice, but your competitors, or people offended by something on the site, could take legal action. It must be “legal, decent honest and truthful”. With regard to distance selling, the full price must be clearly indicated and, as I mentioned above, the conditions and mechanisms for return of the goods if the customer is not satisfied.

Yours sincerely,

Iain Robertson, LLB (Solicitor)

Civil Department