US government fines imposed on seven online retailers last month
for non-delivery has put pressure on the UK Government to ensure
that UK consumers are similarly protected.
The fines, totalling $1.5m (£1m), were made under the Mail and
Telephone Order Rule, a US law that requires retailers to ship
goods within 30 days of receiving an order or provide a delay
notice whereby the buyer can either choose to wait for delivery or
cancel the order.
UK rules are due to be covered by national implementation of the
EC Distance Selling Directive, which covers basic rights for
consumers. But implementation of the directive has been delayed,
and government officials were last week unable to say whether UK
sites that fail to deliver on time, will face the same heavy fines
as in the US.
A Department of Trade & Industry spokeswoman said the
Government was taking its time to ensure that the legislation is
right - it will also cover cross-border online buying. The original
implementation date for the directive was 4 June 2000, but this has
now been put back.
The US fines - against CDNow.com, BKids.com, Macys.com,
Toysrus.com, Original Honey Baked Ham, Patriot Computer and
Minidiscnow.com - related to the Christmas buying period last
year.
According to the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Consumer
Protection, the Mail and Telephone Order Rule applies equally to
online and bricks-and-mortar retailers. The failure of many online
retailers to comply and the flood of subsequent complaints left
many companies "looking like Scrooge rather than Santa", it
said.
Although no date has been set for UK legislation, the Government
said it will allow a transition period for the new law.