Spring 2018 Cancellation rights Spring fair Do right by your customers by following the rules when you enter into a contract at their home As winter fades and a new season approaches, peoples minds turn to home and garden improvements. Thats good news for traders who offer products and services connected to these but businesses must follow all of the rules to ensure their contracts are enforceable and that they do not commit any criminal offences. Call-out charges Statements such as No call-out charges should only be used if there will be no charge to the customer for the trader attending their home and assessing the work. Charging an assessment or diagnostic fee when no work has been agreed could make the statement misleading, which is an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. The Advertising Standards Authority has issued guidance on call-out charges. Cancellation rights If a business enters into a contract at the consumers home, a number of rules need to be followed under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. The main requirement is to provide the customer with paperwork detailing the: ntraders name and address nwork that has been agreed ncancellation period of 14 days A business commits a criminal offence if it fails to give information about a persons cancellation rights. In certain, limited, circumstances such as when a contract is for goods or services of less than 42 there is no legal obligation to give cancellation rights to consumers. However, it is still best practice to give a written contract, clearly A business commits a outlining the work to be done. criminal offence if it fails to give information about a persons cancellation rights If the contract is for a service only, with no goods involved for example, garden maintenance, or cleaning the cancellation period is 14 days from when the contract is entered into. If goods or parts are involved, however, the cancellation period is 14 days from when the last of the goods is delivered to the consumer. Businesses do not have to give cancellation rights if they leave a quote that the consumer later accepts over the phone, or by post or email. So to avoid any issues over cancellation, the best advice would be not to enter into any contract at the time of the visit. No work can start within the cancellation period; if it does, the business runs the risk of not being entitled to payment for work done. However, there may be times when a consumer wants the work to be carried out immediately, or within the 14-day cancellation period. In this case, the law allows for work to be started if the consumer makes an express request in writing. The cancellation period allows consumers time to shop around and make an informed decision about whether they want to go ahead with the work so it is very important that no pressure is put on them to sign to have the work started early. Not giving customers the statutory period to cancel could be considered an aggressive practice under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. Further advice and guidance on the law when carrying out work in a persons home can be obtained from your local Trading Standards service or the Business Companion website. Credit: Sylvia Rook Images: istock / Alexander Raths For further information, please contact your local Trading Standards Service