Website and Email Law

2. Contracts and E-commerce

2.1 An email, or your website, can have contractual significance.

• As a seller, you must make it clear what steps a buyer has to take to create a legally binding contract.
• The content of emails sent and received before a contract is concluded can form part of the contractual agreement.
• Digital signatures can be used to authenticate documents. Bear in mind that emails are technically digital signatures of sorts and can create legal obligations.
• The information on your website can form part of a contract.
• Make sure it is clear to your customers at what stage a contract will have been formed and the languages it is available in. You must also give customers a chance to check an order for errors (and allow them to correct them) before it is placed.
• On your website you must include your full company name, address (geographic and registered) and email address. The company's registration number and place of registration should also be given. You must also state any professional registration and authorisation scheme (eg the Law Society). If your company has a VAT number, this should be also be stated.

2.2 Take care with your terms and conditions.

• Ensure that your terms and conditions are agreed before you accept an order. Send an email to confirm this (provided you have enough stock to fulfil the order).
• Adapt your terms and conditions specifically for your website. For example, you might want to state that your website is only an invitation to the customer to consider buying from you. Add that the offer will only be confirmed when you email to accept the order.
• Put your terms of trade in a pop-up box that appears when a customer is about to make a purchase over the Internet. Make customers tick a box to confirm they agree to your terms.

2.3 Keep prices - and the rest of your website - up to date.

• Make sure you know where prices appear on your site, and check them on a regular basis. Also state whether prices include VAT, tax and delivery costs. If your website makes a direct offer, and this is accepted, you may be obliged to fulfil the contract, even if the price is wrong.
• You must clearly indicate taxes and delivery charges, if applicable.
• You must include the buyer's right to cancel the order, known as the cooling-off period. If the customer buys online, they have the right to change their mind and cancel an order for goods within seven working days of receiving the goods.
• Customers also have the right to a cooling-off period for any services or credit agreements they buy online.

2.4 The place where contracts and transactions occur can be difficult to determine.

• In some countries, local laws (eg consumer protection laws) will apply even if your terms and conditions state that any contract is governed by English law.
• If you have a presence in another country, and carry out business over the Internet with customers there, transactions may be subject to regulation and taxation in your customers' country.

2.5 Be careful who you are selling to.

• Selling to minors may be illegal depending on the country you are selling to and what you are selling. You will usually find that contracts with minors are unenforceable.

2.6 You must confirm receipt of an electronically placed order without any unnecessary delay.

2.7 If you make purchases over the Internet, the same considerations apply.

• Make sure you know who you are dealing with, in which jurisdiction.