New rules for websites

[swirlyarts]

Hubby has just told me about a new rule that has come into force and will commence on Jan 1st. It's called the the UK's E-Commerce regulations. Here is an outline of what is needed on your website. If anyone needs the actual link then get in touch and I'll ask hubby.

Information that must be on your website

The following is the minimum information that must be on any company's website (from OUT-LAW's guide, The UK's Ecommerce Regulations).

• The name, geographic address and email address of the service provider. The name of the organisation with which the customer is contracting must be given. This might differ from the trading name. Any such difference should be explained – e.g. "XYZ.com is the trading name of XYZ Enterprises Limited."

It is not sufficient to include a 'contact us' form without also providing an email address and geographic address somewhere easily accessible on the site. A PO Box is unlikely to suffice as a geographic address; but a registered office address would. If the business is a company, the registered office address must be included.

• If a company, the company's registration number should be given and, under the Companies Act, the place of registation should be stated (e.g. "XYZ Enterprises Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 1234567")
• If the business is a member of a trade or professional association, membership details, including any registration number, should be provided.
• If the business has a VAT number, it should be stated – even if the website is not being used for e-commerce transactions.
• Prices on the website must be clear and unambiguous. Also, state whether prices are inclusive of tax and delivery costs.

[Peter]

Thanks for that Swirly - fortunately I've just deleted most of my website to start uploading new photos etc., it may be a good opportunity to do a full redesign!

[euston-74]

Ooh, yes, many thanks!
I often wonder how you are supposed to keep up with these things if you don't have friendly forum buddies to help out.
Mel

[beadsbydesign]

Ooh, yes, many thanks!
I often wonder how you are supposed to keep up with these things if you don't have friendly forum buddies to help out.
Mel

I don't know, but these forums prove amazingly helpful with this sort of thing.
To anyone worrying about putting their details on the sites, I can only speak from experience and say that I've not had any problems as a result of mine being displayed for two years (except for the spam!!... but that's a small price to pay... just check your emails on a regular basis and keep it up to date.....dreadful though when you come back from hols and have 600 emails to sift through!)

[liz15a]

Very informative - but I was under the impression this was law already! - I definitely read on HMGovernment website or somewhere that all this info was required on all business stationery etc etc, so I just assumed websites were no different! I had to add my name to my invoices and letterheads as proprietor because it is not legal to just put your trading name on if you are a sole trader.