UK consumers who buy goods online have been given added
protection by recent changes to trade legislation, but the new laws
will make things more difficult for
online retailers and
auction sites.
The
Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulation 2008 act
makes it a criminal offence for traders to make any misleading
claims.
This includes claiming to be a consumer making private sale or
claiming to sell branded goods that are not the genuine
article.
The regulation, which implements the 2005 European unfair
commercial practices directive, could affect online sites
themselves as well as sellers, according to Dai Davis, partner at
legal firm Brooke North.
"The regulation will prove to be a real challenge to online
trading sites like
e-bay if it is properly enforced because it will be difficult
for such sites to prove they have taken all reasonable precautions
and exercised all due diligence to ensure claims made by sellers
are not misleading," he said.
The changes to the old Trade Descriptions Act also make it
illegal for traders to advertise goods for sale unless the trader
is able to meet market demand.
Davis said manufacturers and retailers will need to be more
careful about the timing of marketing campaigns to ensure they have
stock available before advertising.
End-users who suspect online trading information is misleading
should report it to the trading standards office responsible for
enforcing the trade law, he said.
E-bay did not wish to comment on the issue.