Distance selling
Many people buy goods and services over the internet or by mail order. These are all examples of distance selling.
Businesses that normally sell by distance will have systems in place for trading this way. Examples include standard letters or emails sent to consumers.
If you sell at a distance you must comply with the
Distance Selling (Jersey) Law 2007.
The guide for businesses below explains the law and provides information on how you can comply. This is only a general guide and you should not regard it as a statement of how the law applies in every situation.
Guide for businesses on The Distance Selling (Jersey) Law 2007
If you're unsure about how the law applies to the circumstances of your particular business contact us for advice.
How Trading Standards can help
EU Consumer Rights Directive
The UK implemented the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, following the EU Consumer Rights Directive. These replaced the Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000 on which the Jersey law was based.
Although there are many similarities to the Jersey law, there are also important differences and the 2013 regulations consolidate controls regarding distance, on-premises and off-premises contracts into one place.
The Economic Development Minister is currently examining the details with a view to implementing changes.
In the meantime, we would advise businesses to look at the information available at the Chartered Trading Standards Institute Business Companion website.
View the ‘in-depth guides’ under ‘where you sell’.
Any changes you make to your terms and conditions and business processes to reflect changes to distance, on-premises and off-premises contracts would be considered best practice.
Business Companion website
gov.je