The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (SI 2013/3134) will shortly come into force. The Regulations will apply (with some exceptions) to consumer contracts made on or after 13 June 2014. Anyone dealing with consumers will need to ensure they are aware of the changes and their terms and conditions are updated accordingly. A summary of the changes is set out in this article. Please contact us if you would like us to update your terms and conditions to comply with the changes.

Summary of key changes

All applicable consumer contracts:

• Traders must seek the consumer's express consent before taking any additional payments (for example, pre-ticked boxes will not be permitted);
• Traders must (unless the consumer agrees otherwise) deliver goods within 30 calendar days;
• Traders must not make the consumer use a premium rate telephone line to contact the trader about an existing contract;
• Traders must not impose excessive payment surcharges when consumers pay by certain means, such as credit or debit cards. (This change was in fact made under separate Regulations and has been in force since April 2013.)

The rules introduce a new list of pre-contract information that a trader must give or make available to a consumer under an on-premises contract. The information is not required for day to day transactions that are performed immediately and there is no requirement to provide it where it is already apparent from the context.

Distance and off-premises contracts:


• The list of pre-contract information that a trader must give to a consumer is extended (there are some differences between distance and off-premises contracts);
• New rules on the cancellation of contracts for the supply of digital content that is not on a tangible medium;
• The statutory cancellation period (sometimes known as the cooling-off period) is extended to 14 calendar days;
• Where a consumer has a right to cancel a contract, the trader must provide the consumer with a model cancellation form;
• The cancellation period is extended, broadly, to one year if the trader fails to provide certain pre-contract information;
• Online traders required to make it clear (for example by labeling the payment button with "Order with obligation to pay") where proceeding with the transaction will trigger a payment;
• Consumers must return goods within 14 calendar days of cancelling the contract;
• The trader will be able to withhold a refund until the goods are returned (or evidence of their return is provided);
• The trader may deduct an amount for the diminished value of the goods when refunding payments;
• The list of ancillary contracts which will be automatically terminated on termination of a distance or off-premises contract is extended.