The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform is consulting on the Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer's Home or Place of Work Etc. Regulations 2008.
The Consumer Protection (Cancellation of Contracts Concluded Away from Business Premises) Regulations 1987 (SI 1987/2117) (1987 Regulations) implement the Doorstep Selling Directive (85/577/EEC) (the Directive) to protect consumers in respect of contracts concluded away from business premises.
For a consumer who enters into an agreement with a trader to buy goods or services during an unsolicited visit to his home, place of work or during an excursion organised by the trader, the Regulations provide a seven day cooling-off period.
The Directive is a minimum harmonisation directive so member states may introduce additional protection for consumers.
In 2004 the Office of Fair Trading published the results of its market study into doorstep selling. The draft regulations follow on from this and will introduce new, higher standards of protection. They will replace the 1987 Regulations and will extend consumers’ cancellation rights to agreements signed during solicited as well as unsolicited home visits by traders (subject to certain types of excepted contracts). Also, where there is a written contract, notice of the right to cancel must be given by the trader in the same document.
BERR is consulting on various aspects of the draft regulations including on:
· The appropriate scope of the list of excepted contracts, including whether sales of extensions, conservatories and patios should be within the scope of the draft regulations (currently they are not).
· Whether the cooling-off period should be longer than seven days.
· Whether consumers should be required to provide their written agreement to the commencement of contract performance before the end of the cooling-off period if they are then to be made liable to pay for any work carried out before a subsequent cancellation.
· The likely impact of the draft regulations on consumers, traders and enforcers.
The Directive is subject to ongoing review by the European Commission, which could decide to propose amendments to it. Before the draft regulations are brought into force, BERR needs to consider the burden on interested parties in having to adapt to changes to the doorstep selling regime on two occasions within a relatively short time.
In addition to the draft regulations, inappropriate sales techniques used by unscrupulous doorstep sellers will soon be regulated by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, due to come into force in April 2008. These implement the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive (2005/29/EC).
Source: Cancellation of contracts made in a consumer’s home or place of work etc Regulations 2008 - a consultation document, January 2008, www.berr.gov.uk/files/file44224.pdf. Responses are requested by 22 April 2008.
