Distance Selling Regulations

witnessmenow

Just a quick question:

Do distance selling regulations not apply if a business is purchasing off another business?

If they dont, I find that hard to believe....

johnfás

witnessmenow wrote: »

Just a quick question:

Do distance selling regulations not apply if a business is purchasing off another business?

If true, I find that hard to believe....

Correct. The Distance Selling Regulations form part of the consumer regulatory regime. Business to business purchases are based in contract. Therefore the same rules regarding misrepresentation, mistake, illegality, frustration etc apply as would apply to any other contract. Cooling off periods in business to business contracts only exist if incorporated into the terms of the contract.

Arsenal1986

Yep its true, that whole EU area of legislation is very heavily slanted toward protecting consumers

witnessmenow

thanks for the replies, apologies i made a mistake in my my op which i have corrected now.

So lets say a company was to buy a laptop of a major computer manufacturer, and when the laptop was received, it was discovered it looks quite different than the online picture(the finish of the laptop, physically it looks the same). And the company believed due to the nature of the finish of the laptop it was not suitable for the business environment (The finish isn't vulgar or anything, it would just be extremely unprofessional looking) , would the company have any comeback?

GerardKeating

witnessmenow wrote: »

thanks for the replies, apologies i made a mistake in my my op which i have corrected now.

So lets say a company was to buy a laptop of a major computer manufacturer, and when the laptop was received, it was discovered it looks quite different than the online picture(the finish of the laptop, physically it looks the same). And the company believed due to the nature of the finish of the laptop it was not suitable for the business environment (The finish isn't vulgar or anything, it would just be extremely unprofessional looking) , would the company have any comeback?

The "major computer manufacture" might give the purchaser more than the minimum legal, so they might offer a 14/21/30 day return to company purchases.

witnessmenow

GerardKeating wrote: »

The "major computer manufacture" might give the purchaser more than the minimum legal, so they might offer a 14/21/30 day return to company purchases.

But I'm asking is, is it legal for them to refuse to return the item at all?

johnfás

witnessmenow wrote: »

But I'm asking is, is it legal for them to refuse to return the item at all?

If the item delivered was fundamentally different in quality to that which the company ordered, and the company considers the quality of finish to be a vital part of the contract, then yes they would have recourse under the law of contract for misrepresentation by the vendor.

Of course in most instances concerning a major manufacturer there are explicit terms and conditions attaching to purchases which include returns policies within a certain period of days. However, if that did not apply in the example, then yes the company would still have options available under contract law. Depending on the price of the laptop it may not be worthwhile enforcing those rights.