Distance Selling
(Jersey) Law 2007
A LAW concerning the sale of goods
and services by mail, internet and other means of communication over distance.
Adopted by the
States 4th July 2007
Sanctioned by
Order of Her Majesty in Council 14th November 2007
Registered by the
Royal Court 30th
November 2007
THE STATES, subject to the sanction of Her Most Excellent Majesty in Council, have
adopted the following Law –
1 Interpretation
In this Law, unless the context otherwise
requires –
“Article 6(4) information”
means, in the context of a provision that refers to a distance contract, the
information that according to Article 6(4) is the information to be
provided in respect of the contract;
“business” includes
a trade or profession;
“consumer” means, in
relation to a distance contract, the person who, as a party to the contract, is
to be supplied with goods or services under the contract;
“credit” includes a
cash loan and any other form of financial accommodation, and for this purpose
cash includes money in any form;
“credit provider” is
a person who grants credit under a personal credit agreement or related credit
agreement;
“distance contract” has the meaning set
out in Article 2;
“fixed-sum credit”
means credit that is not running-account credit, (running-account credit being
credit that, under the terms of the agreement under which it is provided, is
available from time to time in the form of cash, goods or services, or a
combination of any of those things);
“means of distance communication”
means any means of communication that is effective without the simultaneous
physical presence of the parties to the communication, and includes the means specified
in the Schedule;
“Member State” means
a Member State of the European Union;
“Minister” means the
Minister for Economic Development;
“period for performance”
means the period that applies under Article 17(1);
“personal credit agreement”
means an agreement between a person who is a consumer under a distance contract
and any other person, being an agreement under which the latter provides the
consumer with credit of any amount;
“Regulation” means Regulation
made under this Law;
“related credit agreement”
means an agreement under which fixed-sum credit that fully or partly covers the
price under a distance contract is granted by the supplier under the contract (or
by another person, under an arrangement between that person and the supplier);
“supplier” means, in
relation to a distance contract, the person who, as a party to the contract, is
to supply goods or services under the contract;
“working day” means
a day other than Christmas Day or Good Friday, and other than a Saturday, Sunday
or bank holiday.
2 Distance
contract
(1) For
the purposes of this Law, a distance contract is a contract –
(a) for
the supply of goods or services –
(i) by a person
acting in his or her commercial or professional capacity in relation to that
supply, and
(ii) to a natural
person acting in relation to that supply for purposes that are not those of a
business of the person; and
(b) concluded
under an organized distance-sales scheme.
(2) For
the purposes of paragraph (1), an organized distance-sales scheme is a scheme –
(a) run
by a person who, in relation to the scheme, is acting in his or her commercial
or professional capacity; and
(b) that,
for the purposes of communication in order to conclude any contract for supply
under the scheme to a natural person acting in relation to that supply for
purposes that are not those of a business of the person, uses exclusively one
or more means of distance communication up to and including the moment at which
the contract is concluded.
3 Contracts
to which this Law does not apply
(1) This
Law does not apply to or in respect of a contract –
(a) for
the sale, lease or other disposition of an interest in land;
(b) for
the construction of a building where the contract also provides for a sale,
lease, or other disposition, of an interest in the land on which the building
is constructed;
(c) relating
only to a financial service;
(d) concluded
by means of an automated vending machine or automated commercial premises;
(e) concluded
with a telecommunications operator through the use of a public pay-phone;
(f) concluded
at an auction;
(g) concluded
before this Law comes into force;
(h) that
the States may prescribe by Regulations.
(2) Nothing
in paragraph (1) affects the application of another provision of this Law
to a personal credit agreement, a related credit agreement, or any other
agreement for a financial service, if that provision expressly refers to such
an agreement or service.
(3) In
this Article –
“financial service” means a service in the nature of
banking, a service concerning credit, insurance, personal pensions, investment
or payment, or a service concerning dealings in futures or options;
“land” means any corporeal hereditament, including a
building, and land covered with water, and also includes any interest in land
or water and servitudes or rights in, on or over land or water.
4 Contracts
to which only part of this Law applies
(1) Articles
5 to 18 shall not apply to a contract that is a timeshare agreement.
(2) Articles
5 to 17(1) shall not apply to –
(a) a contract
for the supply of food or beverages; or
(b) a contract
for the provision of accommodation, transport, catering or leisure services, being
a contract under which the supplier undertakes to provide these services on a
specific date or within a specific period.
(3) Articles
17(2) – (7) and 18 shall not apply to or in respect of a
contract for a tourism package that is sold or offered for sale in Jersey or in
a Member State.
(4) In
this Article –
“timeshare agreement” means an agreement under which a
person as a member of a pool of users is entitled to the use of living
accommodation located in Jersey or elsewhere, being use –
(a) at
least partly for the purposes of leisure;
(b) for
a specified or ascertainable fraction of each year; and
(c) during
a period of not less than 3 years;
“tourism package” means the planned combination of at
least 2 of the following components when sold or offered for sale at a global
or inclusive price and when the components so combined span in their execution
a period of more than 24 hours or include overnight
accommodation –
(a) transport;
(b) accommodation;
(c) one
or more other tourist services not ancillary to transport or accommodation but,
alone or together, accounting for a significant proportion of the value of the combination.
(5) For
the purposes of the definition of a tourism package in paragraph (4), a combination
of components is no less a tourism package –
(a) because
a separate account is created for any of the components; or
(b) because
the combination is arranged partly or wholly in accordance with the
consumer’s peculiar instructions as to one or more of the components.
5 Information
before conclusion of contract
(1) Subject
to paragraph (5), in good time before the conclusion of a distance
contract with a consumer for the supply of goods or services the supplier shall
provide to the consumer the following information –
(a) the
identity of the supplier;
(b) the
address of the supplier, if the contract requires payment in advance;
(c) the
main characteristics of the goods or services;
(d) the
price of the goods or services including all taxes;
(e) the
delivery costs, if there are any;
(f) the
arrangements for payment;
(g) the
arrangements for delivery or performance;
(h) if
the consumer has a right to cancel the contract under Article 8, notice
that the consumer has such a right;
(i) if
the contract is for a supply to be made indefinitely or recurrently, the
minimum duration of the contract;
(j) the
cost to the consumer of using the means of distance communication, whether in
respect of the contract or in the negotiations for the contract, if this cost
is calculated otherwise than at the basic rate (being the rate for normal
communications over the same distance and at the same time and date and using
the same provider of communications, the same method, and analogous terminals);
(k) the
period for which the offer, or the price, in respect of the contract remains
valid;
(l) any
other information that the States may prescribe by Regulations.
(2) If a
supplier proposes that, in the event that goods or services to be supplied
under a distance contract were unavailable, the supplier would supply substitute
goods or services of equivalent quality and price, the supplier shall, in good
time before the conclusion of the contract, inform the consumer –
(a) of
that conditional proposal; and
(b) that,
in the case of the supply of substitute goods, the cost of returning the
substitute goods to the supplier if the consumer cancelled the distance
contract would be met by the supplier.
(3) The
supplier shall provide the information required by paragraph (1), (2), (4) or
(5) in a clear and comprehensible manner appropriate to the means of distance
communication used, with due regard in particular to the principles of good
faith in commercial transactions and the principles governing the protection of
those who do not have full capacity to enter contracts.
(4) Subject
to paragraph (5), the supplier shall make clear his or her commercial
purpose when providing the information required by paragraph (1).
(5) If
the means of distance communication used in communications in respect of the
contract, or in the negotiations for the contract, is the telephone, the
supplier shall make clear his or her identity, and his or her commercial
purpose, at the beginning of those communications with the consumer.
6 Written
and additional information
(1) The
supplier in relation to a distance contract shall, before the conclusion of the
contract, provide to the consumer in writing, or in another durable medium accessible
to the consumer, information in respect of the contract, being the information
referred to in paragraph (4).
(2) The
supplier shall do so in a document that is separate from the contract itself.
(3) Despite
paragraph (1), the supplier may, except in the case of the information
referred to in paragraph (4)(i)(vi), satisfy the requirements of
paragraph (1) by providing the information referred to in
paragraph (4) at, or in good time after, the conclusion of the contract,
and in any event –
(a) during
the performance of the contract, in the case of a contract for the supply of
services; or
(b) at
or before the time of delivery of the goods, in the case of a contract for the
supply of goods where the delivery is not to a party other than the consumer.
(4) The
information is the following –
(a) the
identity of the supplier;
(b) the
address of the supplier, if the contract requires payment in advance;
(c) the
main characteristics of the goods or services;
(d) the
price of the goods or services including all taxes;
(e) the
delivery costs, if there are any;
(f) the
arrangements for payment;
(g) the
arrangements for delivery or performance;
(h) if
the contract is for a supply to be made indefinitely or recurrently, the
minimum duration of the contract;
(i) if
the consumer has a right to cancel the contract under Article 8,
information about the conditions under which and the procedures by which the
right to cancel in accordance with Article 8 is to be exercised, including –
(i) notice that the
consumer has a right to cancel the contract under Article 8,
(ii) the address for
giving the notice of cancellation,
(iii) the name of the person
(if any) nominated by the supplier as a person to whom the consumer may give
the notice of cancellation,
(iv) if the contract requires
(or the supplier intends that, when concluded, the contract will require) that on
cancellation the consumer would return any goods supplied to the supplier, notification
of that requirement,
(v) information as to
whether, on cancellation, it is the consumer or the supplier who would be
responsible under this Law for the cost of returning any goods to the supplier
or of the supplier’s recovering any goods,
(vi) in the case of a
contract for the supply of services, information as to how the right to cancel
may be affected by the consumer’s agreeing to the start of the
performance of the services before the end of the cancellation period specified
in Article 10;
(j) the
geographical address (if different from the address referred to in
sub-paragraph (b)) of the place of business of the supplier, being the
address to which the consumer may address any complaints;
(k) details
of any after-sales services and any guarantees;
(l) if
the contract is of an unspecified duration or of a duration exceeding one year,
the conditions for exercising a contractual right (if any) to terminate the
contract;
(m) any other
information that the States may prescribe by Regulations.
7 Services
performed through means of distance communication
(1) Article 6
does not apply to a distance contract for the supply of services that are
performed through the use of a means of distance communication, if those
services are supplied under the contract on only one occasion and are invoiced
to the consumer by the operator of the means of distance communication.
(2) However,
the supplier shall, on demand by the consumer who is a party to a contract
referred to in paragraph (1), give the consumer the geographical address
of the place of business of the supplier to which the consumer may address any
complaints.
8 Right
to cancel
(1) Subject
to Article 11, a consumer may give notice of cancellation of a distance
contract.
(2) Except
as otherwise provided by this Law, the effect of a consumer’s giving
notice of cancellation of a distance contract is, if the notice is given in
accordance with this Law, that the contract shall be treated as if it had not
been made.
(3) A
notice of cancellation is given in accordance with this Law if –
(a) it
is given within the cancellation period specified, as the case requires, in
Article 9 or 10;
(b) it
is given to the supplier or to a person (if any) nominated by the supplier as a
person to whom the consumer may give the notice of cancellation;
(c) it
is a notice in writing or in another durable medium accessible to the supplier
(or to the nominated person);
(d) however
expressed, it indicates the intention of the consumer to terminate the contract;
and
(e) it
has been left, or sent, as referred to in paragraph (4), (5), (6)
or (7).
(4) If
the consumer leaves the notice at the supplier’s or nominated
person’s address last known to the consumer and the notice is addressed
to the supplier or nominated person by name, the notice is taken to have been
given on the day on which it was left.
(5) If
the consumer sends the notice by post to the supplier’s or nominated
person’s address last known to the consumer and the notice is addressed
to the supplier or nominated person by name, the notice is taken to have been
given on the day on which it was posted.
(6) If
the consumer sends the notice by facsimile to the supplier’s or nominated
person’s business facsimile number last known to the consumer, the notice
is taken to have been given on the day on which it was sent.
(7) If
the consumer sends the notice by electronic mail to the supplier’s or nominated
person’s business electronic mail address last known to the consumer, the
notice is taken to have been given on the day on which it was sent.
9 Cancellation
period: goods
(1) For
the purposes of Article 8, the cancellation period in the case of a
distance contract for the supply of goods shall begin with the day on which the
contract is concluded and shall end as provided in paragraph (2), (3), (4)
or (5).
(2) If
the supplier has complied with Article 6 in respect of a distance contract
for the supply of goods, the cancellation period shall end on the expiry of the
period of 7 working days beginning with the day after the day on which the
consumer receives the goods.
(3) If
a supplier has not complied with Article 6 in respect of a distance
contract for the supply of goods but provides the Article 6(4) information
to the consumer –
(a) in
writing or in another durable medium accessible to the consumer; and
(b) within
the period of 3 months beginning with the day after the day on which the
consumer receives the goods,
the cancellation period shall end on the expiry of the period of 7 working
days beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the
information.
(4) In
a case to which neither paragraph (2) nor (3) applies, the cancellation period
shall end on the expiry of the period of 3 months and 7 working days
beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the goods.
(5) In
the case of a distance contract for the supply of goods for delivery to a third
party, paragraph (2), (3) or (4) shall apply as if the consumer had received
the goods on the day on which they were received by the third party.
10 Cancellation
period: services
(1) For
the purposes of Article 8, the cancellation period in the case of a
distance contract for the supply of services shall begin with the day on which
the contract is concluded and shall end as provided in paragraph (2), (3),
(4) or (5).
(2) If
the supplier complies with Article 6 in respect of a distance contract for
the supply of services and does so on or before the day on which the contract
is concluded, the cancellation period shall end on the expiry of the period of
7 working days beginning with the day after the day on which the contract
is concluded.
(3) Except
in the case to which paragraph (4) applies, if a supplier has not complied
with Article 6 in respect of a contract for the supply of services on or
before the day on which the contract is concluded but provides the
Article 6(4) information to the consumer ‑
(a) in
writing or in another durable medium accessible to the consumer; and
(b) within
the period of 3 months beginning with the day after the day on which the
contract is concluded,
the cancellation period shall end on the expiry of the period of
7 working days beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer
receives the information.
(4) If
the performance of the contract has begun with the consumer’s agreement
before the expiry of the period of 7 working days beginning with the day
after the day on which the contract was concluded, and the supplier has not
complied with Article 6 in respect of the contract on or before the day on
which performance began, but provides the Article 6(4) information to the
consumer during the performance of the contract, the cancellation period shall
end –
(a) except
as provided in sub-paragraph (b), on the expiry of the period of 7 working
days beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the
information; or
(b) if
the performance of the contract is completed before the expiry of the period
referred to in sub-paragraph (a), on the day on which the performance of
the contract is completed.
(5) In
a case to which none of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) applies, the cancellation
period shall end on the expiry of the period of 3 months and
7 working days beginning with the day after the day on which the contract
is concluded.
11 Exceptions
to right to cancel
Unless the parties to a distance contract have agreed otherwise, the
consumer shall not have the right to cancel the contract under this Law –
(a) if the
contract is for the supply of services and the performance of the contract has
begun, with the consumer’s agreement, before the end of the cancellation
period specified in Article 10 and after the supplier has provided the
Article 6(4) information;
(b) if the
contract is for the supply of goods, or services, the price of which is affected
by financial market fluctuations that cannot be controlled by the supplier;
(c) if the
contract is for the supply of goods in a case where –
(i) the
goods are made to the consumer’s specifications (or otherwise
personalized),
(ii) the
supplier could not, for other reasons to do with the nature of the goods,
reasonably be expected to accept their return, or
(iii) the
goods are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly;
(d) if the
contract is for the supply of an audio or video recording or computer software
and the recording or software has been unsealed by the consumer;
(e) if the
contract is for the supply of a newspaper, magazine or other periodical;
(f) if
the contract is for a gaming, betting or lottery service; or
(g) in
a case that the States prescribe by Regulations.
12 Repayment
on cancellation, and return of security
(1) On
the cancellation of a distance contract in accordance with this Law, the
supplier shall reimburse (to the person by whom it was paid) any sum paid to
the supplier by or on behalf of the consumer under or in relation to the
contract, less any charge made in accordance with paragraph (5), but
otherwise free of any charge.
(2) The
reference to any sum paid on behalf of the consumer includes any sum paid by a
credit provider under a personal credit agreement with the consumer, being a
credit provider who is not the same person as the supplier.
(3) The
supplier shall make the reimbursement as soon as possible and in any case
within the period of 30 days beginning with the day on which notice of
cancellation was given.
(4) If
any security has been provided in relation to the distance contract, the
security interest thereby created shall, on cancellation of the contract in
accordance with this Law, be treated as never having had effect and the secured
party shall forthwith return any collateral that has been lodged with the secured
party solely for the purposes of the security.
(5) Subject
to paragraphs (6) and (7), the supplier may make a charge, not exceeding the
direct costs of recovering any goods supplied under the contract,
if –
(a) a
term of the contract provides that the consumer shall, if the consumer cancels
the contract in accordance with this Law, return any goods supplied; and
(b) the
consumer does not comply with the term or causes the goods to be returned at
the expense of the supplier.
(6) Paragraph
(5) shall not apply if –
(a) the
term is an unfair term; or
(b) the
consumer cancels the contract in circumstances where he or she has the right to
reject the goods under a term of the contract, including a term implied by
virtue of any enactment or any other law.
(7) Paragraph (5)
shall not apply to the cost of recovering any goods that were supplied as
substitutes for the goods ordered by the consumer.
(8) For
the purposes of paragraph (6)(a), a term of a contract shall be taken to
be unfair if –
(a) the
consumer has had no effective say in the drafting of the term or any redrafting
of the term;
(b) the
term causes, contrary to the principles of good faith in commercial
transactions, a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations of the
parties to the contract and arising under the contract; and
(c) the
imbalance is to the detriment of the consumer.
13 Automatic
cancellation of related credit agreement
(1) On
the cancellation of a distance contract in accordance with this Law, the notice
of cancellation shall also have the effect of terminating any related credit
agreement from the time when the notice is given.
(2) On
the cancellation of a distance contract in accordance with this Law, the
supplier shall, if he or she is not the same person as the credit provider
under any related credit agreement, forthwith on receipt of the notice of
cancellation inform the credit provider that the notice has been given.
(3) If
a related credit agreement is terminated by virtue of
paragraph (1) –
(a) the
credit provider shall reimburse (to the person by whom it was paid) any sum
paid by or on behalf of the consumer under, or in relation to, the related
credit agreement (not being a sum that the supplier is obliged to reimburse
under Article 12(1) nor any sum that, if it has not already been paid,
would have to be paid because of sub-paragraph (b));
(b) the
related credit agreement shall, subject to Article 14, continue in force
so far as it relates to repayment of the credit and payment of interest; and
(c) in
other respects, the related credit agreement shall be taken to be at an end.
(4) If
security has been provided under a related credit agreement, the security
interest thereby created shall, on cancellation of the relevant distance
contract in accordance with this Law, be treated as never having had effect and
the secured party shall return any collateral lodged with the secured party
solely for the purposes of the security.
14 Repayment
on cancellation of related credit agreement
(1) This
Article applies following the termination of a related credit agreement by
virtue of Article 13(1).
(2) If
the consumer repays the whole or a portion of the credit –
(a) in
the case of credit repayable in one sum, before the expiry of one month
following the termination of the related credit agreement; or
(b) in
the case of credit repayable by instalments, before the date on which the first
instalment is due,
no interest shall be payable on the amount repaid.
(3) In
the case of credit repayable by instalments, if the consumer does not pay the
whole of the credit before the date on which the first instalment is due, the
consumer shall not be liable to repay any of the unrepaid credit unless the
credit provider gives the consumer notice in writing stating the amounts of the
remaining instalments (recalculated by the credit provider as nearly as may be
in accordance with the agreement and without extending the repayment period).
(4) The
amounts referred to in paragraph (3) shall not include any sum other than the
principal and, in a case where interest is payable, the interest.
(5) If
security has been provided under a related credit agreement, the duty imposed
on the consumer to repay credit shall not be enforceable before the credit
provider has discharged any duty imposed on him or her by Article 13(4) to
return any collateral lodged with him or her as security.
15 Return
of goods after cancellation
(1) This
Article applies where a distance contract for the supply of goods is cancelled
in accordance with this Law after the consumer has acquired possession of any
goods under the contract, not being goods referred to in Article 11(b) to
(e) or (g).
(2) The
consumer shall be taken to have been under a duty throughout the period before
the cancellation to retain possession of the goods and to take reasonable care
of them.
(3) On
cancellation, the consumer shall be under a duty to restore the goods to the
supplier in accordance with this Article, and until that restoration to retain
possession of the goods and to take reasonable care of them.
(4) For
the purposes of discharging the duty to restore the goods, the consumer shall
not be under any duty to deliver the goods except at his or her own premises
and in pursuance of a request in writing, or in another durable medium
accessible to the consumer, from the supplier and made to the consumer either
before, or at the time when, the goods are collected from those premises.
(5) If
the consumer –
(a) delivers
the goods (whether at his or her own premises or elsewhere) to the supplier or any
person nominated by the supplier as a person to whom notice of cancellation of
the distance contract could have been given; or
(b) sends
the goods at his or her own expense to the supplier or that nominated person,
the consumer shall be discharged from any further duty to restore
the goods to the supplier or to retain possession of the goods.
(6) If
the consumer delivers the goods in accordance with paragraph (5)(a), his
or her duty to take reasonable care of the goods shall cease on that delivery.
(7) If
the consumer sends the goods in accordance with paragraph (5)(b), he or
she shall be under a duty in the sending to take reasonable measures to ensure
that they are received by the person referred to in that sub-paragraph and do
not suffer damage or deterioration in transit, but his or her duty to take
reasonable care of the goods shall cease when he or she sends them.
(8) If,
at any time during the period of 21 days beginning with the day when
notice of cancellation was given, the consumer receives a request in accordance
with paragraph (4), and unreasonably fails to comply with it, his or her
duty to retain possession and take reasonable care of the goods shall continue
until he or she delivers or sends the goods as referred to in
paragraph (5).
(9) If
within that period he or she does not receive such a request, his or her duty
to take reasonable care of the goods shall cease at the end of that period.
(10) However,
paragraphs (8) and (9) shall apply as if for the expression “period of
21 days” in paragraph (8) there were substituted the expression
“period of 6 months” if –
(a) a
term of the contract provides that if the consumer cancels the contract, he or
she must return the goods to the supplier; and
(b) the
consumer is not otherwise entitled to reject the goods under the terms of the
contract or by virtue of any law.
(11) If
security has been provided in relation to the cancelled distance contract, the
duty to restore goods imposed on the consumer by this Article shall not be
enforceable until the supplier has discharged any duty imposed on the supplier
by Article 12(4) to return on cancellation any collateral lodged with him
or her as security.
(12) A breach
of a duty imposed by this Article on a consumer shall be actionable as a breach
of statutory duty.
16 Return
of goods given in part-exchange
(1) This
Article applies on the cancellation of a distance contract in accordance with
this Law if the supplier had agreed (in respect of the contract) to take goods
in part-exchange (the “part-exchange goods”) and those goods have
been delivered to the supplier.
(2) Unless,
before the end of the period of 10 days beginning with the date of
cancellation, the part-exchange goods are returned to the consumer in a
condition substantially as good as when they were delivered to the supplier,
the consumer shall be entitled to recover from the supplier a sum equal to the
part-exchange allowance.
(3) In
this Article the “part-exchange allowance” means the sum agreed as
such in the cancelled distance contract or, if no such sum was agreed, such sum
as it would have been reasonable to allow in respect of the part-exchange goods
if no notice of cancellation had been served.
(4) If
the consumer recovers from the supplier a sum equal to the part-exchange
allowance, the title of the consumer to the part-exchange goods shall vest in
the supplier (if it has not already done so) on recovery of that sum.
17 Performance
(1) The
supplier in relation to a distance contract shall perform the contract within the
30 days beginning with the day after the day when the consumer sent the
relevant order to the supplier, or if those parties have agreed on another
period, that other period instead.
(2) Subject
to paragraph (7), if, because goods or services that were ordered are not
available, the supplier is unable to perform the relevant contract within the
contract’s period for performance, the supplier shall –
(a) inform
the consumer of that inability; and
(b) reimburse
(to the person by whom it was paid) any sum paid to the supplier by or on
behalf of the consumer under or in relation to the contract.
(3) The
reference in paragraph (2)(b) to a sum includes any sum paid by a credit
provider who is not the same person as the supplier, being a sum paid under a
personal credit agreement with the consumer.
(4) The
supplier shall make the reimbursement as soon as possible and in any case
within the period of 30 days beginning with the day after the day on which
the period for performance expired.
(5) A
distance contract not performed within the period for performance shall be
treated as if it had not been made, except that the contract shall be treated
as being in force to the extent necessary for the enforcement of any rights of,
or remedies available to, the consumer as a result of the non-performance.
(6) If
security has been provided in relation to a distance contract, the security
interest thereby created shall, if the supplier is unable to perform the
contract within the period for performance, be treated as never having had
effect and the secured party shall return any collateral lodged with the
secured party solely for the purposes of the security.
(7) Despite
paragraph (2), in the circumstance that under a distance contract the
supplier is unable to supply, within the period for performance, the goods or
services ordered by the consumer, the supplier may perform the contract by
making a supply of substitute goods or services (respectively) of equivalent
quality and price if –
(a) the
contract provided for the latter supply in that circumstance;
(b) that
supply is within the period for performance; and
(c) before
the conclusion of the contract the supplier had, in relation to the contract,
given the consumer the information required by Article 5(2) in the manner
required by Article 5(3).
18 Effect
of non-performance on related credit agreement
If a supplier is unable to perform a distance contract within the
period for performance –
(a) Articles
13 and 14 shall apply to any related credit agreement as if the consumer had
given a valid notice of cancellation in accordance with this Law on the expiry
of the period for performance; and
(b) the
reference in Article 13(3)(a) to Article 12(1) shall be read, for the
purposes of this Article, as a reference to Article 17(2).
19 Fraudulent
use of card for distance contract
(1) A
person who holds a payment card for purposes that are not those of a business
of the person shall be entitled to cancel a payment made on the card, being a
payment that was made –
(a) by
fraudulent use of the card;
(b) in
connection with a distance contract; and
(c) by
another person not acting, and not to be treated as acting, as the
holder’s agent and not having, and not to be treated as having, the
authority of the holder.
(2) The
holder of the card shall be entitled to be recredited, or to have all sums
returned by the card issuer, in relation to a payment referred to in
paragraph (1).
(3) In
any proceedings, if the holder of a payment card alleges that any use made of the
card in connection with a distance contract by another person was not
authorized by the holder and the card issuer disputes this allegation it is for
the card issuer to prove that the use was in fact so authorized.
(4) This
Article applies only to and in respect of the use of a payment card that occurs
on or after the date on which this Article comes into force.
(5) In
this Article –
“card issuer” in relation to a payment card means the
owner of the card;
“payment card” includes a store card that can be used
for payment, a credit card, a charge card and a debit card.
20 Inertia
selling
(1) Paragraphs
(2) and (3) apply if –
(a) unsolicited
goods are sent to a person (“the recipient”) with a view to his or
her acquiring them;
(b) the
recipient has no reasonable cause to believe that they were sent with a view to
their being acquired for the purposes of a business; and
(c) the
recipient has neither agreed to acquire nor agreed to return them.
(2) The
recipient may, as between the recipient and the sender of the goods, use, deal
with or dispose of the goods as if they were an unconditional gift to the
recipient.
(3) The
rights of the sender of the goods to the goods shall be extinguished.
(4) A
person who, not having reasonable cause to believe there is a right to payment,
in the course of any business makes a demand for payment, or asserts a present
or prospective right to payment, for what the person knows are –
(a) unsolicited
goods sent to another person for purposes that are not those of a business of
the latter person; or
(b) unsolicited
services supplied to another person for purposes that are not those of a
business of the latter person,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a penalty of
level 4 on the standard scale.
(5) A
person who, not having reasonable cause to believe there is a right to payment,
in the course of any business and with a view to obtaining payment for what the
person knows are unsolicited goods sent or unsolicited services supplied as
referred to in paragraph (4) –
(a) threatens
to bring any legal proceedings;
(b) places
or causes to be placed the name of any person on a list of defaulters or
debtors or threatens to do so; or
(c) invokes
or causes to be invoked any collection procedure or threatens to do so,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine.
(6) This
Article applies only to and in respect of goods sent or services supplied on or
after the date on which this Article comes into force.
(7) In
this Article –
“acquire” includes hire;
“send” includes deliver;
“sender”, in relation to any goods,
includes –
(a) any
person on whose behalf or with whose consent the goods are sent;
(b) any
other person claiming through or under that person; and
(c) any
person who delivers the goods;
“unsolicited” means, in relation to goods sent or
services supplied to any person, sent or supplied without any prior request
made by or on behalf of the person.
21 Terms
in Law are paramount
(1) A
term in a distance contract is void to the extent that it is inconsistent with
a provision of this Law or of the Regulations.
(2) However
nothing in this Article renders void –
(a) a
term that this Law or the Regulations expressly permit or require to be included
in a distance contract; or
(b) a
term that a distance contract is taken to contain by virtue of this Law or the
Regulations.
(3) For
the purposes of this Article, in the case of a provision of this Law or of the
Regulations that specifies a duty or liability of a consumer in certain
circumstances, a term in a distance contract is inconsistent with that
provision if the term would, but for this Article, have the effect of imposing on
the consumer in those circumstances –
(a) an
additional duty or liability;
(b) an
additional element in the duty or liability;
(c) a
more onerous substitute duty or liability; or
(d) something
that the States prescribe for the purposes of this paragraph by Regulations.
(4) The
States may by Regulations prescribe terms (not inconsistent with this Law) that
a distance contract is required to contain, or that a distance contract is
taken to contain.
(5) If
a distance contract does not set out a term that the States by Regulations
require the distance contract to contain, the distance contract shall be taken
to contain the term.
(6) In
a distance contract, a term that requires the consumer to return any goods
supplied to the consumer under the contract if he or she cancels it under Article 8
shall, in the event of cancellation by the consumer under Article 8, have
effect only for the purposes of Articles 12(5) and 15(10).
(7) A
term referred to in paragraph (6) shall not be taken, only because of the
operation of paragraph (3), to be inconsistent with the provisions of this
Law or of the Regulations.
22 Choice
of law
(1) If
a distance contract has a close connection with the territory of Jersey, this
Law shall apply in respect of the contract notwithstanding any term in the
contract that applies or purports to apply the law of a country, or territory,
that is neither a Member State nor Jersey.
(2) If
a distance contract has a close connection with the territory of a Member State,
this Law shall apply in respect of the contract notwithstanding any term in the
contract that applies or purports to apply the law of a country, or territory,
that is neither a Member State nor Jersey.
23 Orders
to enforce Law
(1) The
Attorney General may apply for an injunction (including an interim injunction),
or other order, against any person who appears to the Attorney General to be
responsible for a breach of this Law.
(2) The
Royal Court, on an application under this Article, may grant an injunction, or
other order, on such terms as it thinks fit to secure compliance with this Law.
24 Publicity
(1) The
Chief Trading Standards Officer may arrange for the publication, in such form
and manner as he or she considers appropriate, of details of –
(a) an undertaking
given to the Chief Trading Standards Officer by or on behalf of any person as
to compliance with this Law;
(b) an application
made by the Attorney General for an injunction, or other order, for the
purposes of enforcing this Law; and
(c) an
undertaking given to, or injunction or other order made by, the Royal Court in
proceedings on such an application.
(2) The
Chief Trading Standards Officer may arrange for the dissemination, in such form
and manner as he or she thinks fit, of information and advice concerning the
operation of this Law.
25 Regulations
(1) The
States may by Regulations make provision for the purpose of carrying this Law
into effect and, in particular, but without prejudice to the generality of the
foregoing, for or with respect to any matter that the States may prescribe by Regulations.
(2) The
States may by Regulations amend the Schedule.
(3) Regulations
may contain such transitional, consequential, incidental or supplementary
provisions as appear to the States to be necessary or expedient for the
purposes of the Regulations.
26 Citation and
commencement
(1) This
Law may be cited as the Distance Selling (Jersey) Law 2007.
(2) This
Law shall come into force on such day or days as the States may by Act appoint
and different days may be appointed for different provisions of this Law and
for different purposes.
a.h. harris
Deputy Greffier of the States