Terms and Conditions

The name of the company selling goods should be inserted as indicated. Also, you must identify clearly the "Goods" which are being sold.

Clause 1.2 is designed to make it clear that the seller's terms and conditions will take precedence: online sellers do not have too much of a problem here but in other situations, a purchaser may confirm that he wishes to buy on his own terms and conditions and an argument can then develop as to whose terms and conditions actually apply to the contract – this is known as the "battle of the forms".

In clause 3.1 the customer is required to "warrant" that the information that he provides when he purchasing is accurate – this is intended to protect the seller against credit card fraud, although in practice this can be difficult.

Clause 3.2 attempts to deal with this problem in another way: when a credit or debit card payment is made online, it sometimes happens that the details provided to the company processing the payment do not fully match the details held by the customer's bank. In spite of this, the banks will sometimes allow the payment to proceed. A discrepancy will usually be highlighted by the company processing the payment and this will then enable the seller to make some further enquiries before dispatch of goods. Worldpay, for example, notifies the seller with a 'Caution' or a 'Warning' depending on the perceived level of risk.

There are, as mentioned, numerous regulations with regard to "distance selling" whereby a customer has the right to cancel an order within 14 days from the date he/she receives the goods and to receive a full refund from the trader within 14 days. This clause largely follows the wording recommended in the Regulations and it includes a reference to the Model Cancellation Form in Schedule 3 of the Regulations.