Partner Article

Just what is the EU Consumer Rights Directive and how will it affect my business?

Major changes came in to force last week that stand to affect thousands of UK businesses, yet according to a survey by global law firm Eversheds, two thirds of UK business leaders are unaware of the changes and over a third are unsure of what impact the changes will have on their business.

The EU Consumer Rights Directive has been waiting behind the scenes for most of the year and was brought into statute on 13th December. It aims to clarify and simplify consumer rights so that consumers are clearer about their rights when purchasing goods and services.

By changing the rules so that consumers are better catered for, this will obviously impact upon UK businesses somewhat, but how? We’ve put together a simplified guide as to how businesses will be expected to adapt themselves over the next 6 months so that by June 2014 (when the rules are enforced) businesses are in line with the law:

Clearer pricing - Businesses will now be expected to explicitly disclose the total cost of the product or service as well as any extra fees. Consumers shopping online will not be liable for any charges or other costs if they were not properly informed before they placed their order.

Must give customers 14 days to change their minds - Businesses will have to give customers 14 days to withdraw from a sales contract, meaning that customers can return goods for whatever reason if they change their minds. If the business doesn’t state this clearly, the return period must be extended to a year. The withdrawal period will begin from the moment the customer receives the goods instead of the point of conclusion of the contract, which is how it currently stands.

Refunds – Businesses must refund consumers for the product of the withdrawal period, including the cost of delivery.

Returns – If businesses want the consumer to cover the cost of returning the goods if they change their mind, they must state this clearly beforehand, otherwise the business must pay. No extra charges for credit cards – Businesses will now be banned from charging customers more for paying by credit card than what it actually costs for them to provide this means of payment.

Possibly the most important change (in our opinion!) for businesses is the alteration in the telephone numbers that are now allowed to be used for complaints and customer services. Under the new rules, businesses will no longer be able to use premium rate 09 numbers or higher rate 084 or 087 numbers for their customer services or complaints lines.

These new rules will encourage businesses to align themselves with the growing use of mobile phone users as switching to national rate numbers will lower the call costs for mobile users.

For those companies wanting to still provide a non-geographic number, they can simply switch to an 03 number. This will provide them with the benefits of an 08 number, yet it will allow consumers to call from mobiles at low rates, as the minutes are included in monthly minute bundles.

Businesses afraid of switching numbers as they think they will no longer be able to use their call management services, need not to worry, as the same setup can be used with 03 numbers and any virtual geographic (01 or 02) numbers.

What’s more, those using an 084 number will be able to switch their number to the equivalent 034 number, meaning that all that would change for them is 1 digit of their contact number yet they will comply completely with the guidelines.

Any businesses with further questions about the changes or about how they can go about changing their current telephone number, please visit our website www.03numbershop.co.uk or call 0330 111 0300 to speak to one of our team.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by 03NumberShop .