23 Sept 2015
John Hinde
Job Title
While veterinary practices are primarily involved with animal welfare, many now sell an increasing number of products to generate an extra revenue stream.
But with the introduction of new legislation last year, and with more on the way next month, the consumer law landscape is not what it was, meaning practices need to know their rights.
Looking first at the changes that came into force last June, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Payments) Regulations 2013 – CCRs for short – will affect practices in different ways depending on how they contract with clients (“consumers” to use the legal vernacular) – that is “on-premises” (in the practice), “at distance” (telephone or online), or “off-premises” (say on the consumer’s premises).
According to Eve England, a senior associate at law firm Eversheds, the CCRs made a number of key changes affecting the way businesses contract with consumers, including prescribing what information is provided to consumers, the granting of certain cancellation rights, together with ensuring consumers agree to any costs they may be liable for.
Eve said: “For in-practice purchases consumers must be told about the complaints policy, the guarantee and aftercare.” She notes that those vets selling online must identify if they are acting on behalf of another trader and, if so, provide that trader’s contact details in addition to their own. Further, where consumers have a right to cancel, they must be told how to cancel.
Cancellation rights are a key part of the consumer landscape and the CCRs have extended the period for consumers to cancel their contracts (subject to certain exemptions) from seven days to 14 calendar days. For goods, the period starts from the date the contract is concluded, and ends 14 calendar days after receipt of the goods. For services, such as behaviour treatment, the period ends 14 days after conclusion of the contract. Any refunds due must be made to the consumer without undue delay, and in any event, within 14 days.
In a new development, CCRs can now protect consumers from unsolicited sales or additional charges that have not been agreed by the customer in advance: “This means, for online sales, pre-ticked boxes committing the consumer to additional charges are banned,” added Eve.
Lastly, the CCRs demand any helpline that a consumer needs to ring after the contract has been concluded should only be charged at a basic rate – non-standard or premium numbers are not allowed.
But later this year, as part of the wider reform of UK consumer law, comes the Consumer Rights Bill (CRB) which, subject to the ongoing Parliamentary process, should be in force from October 1.
Apart from the law, consumers can, from January 1 this year, take retail-based complaints to the new Retail Ombudsman.
It can investigate matters relating to returned and faulty goods, missing parts, delivery and customer service issues, pricing, misrepresentation and product description problems. While it covers both online and physical stores and businesses, such as practices where retail is ancillary, the ombudsman doesn’t cover purchases made before 1 December 1 2014. The procedure is free for consumers and involves giving retailers an opportunity to investigate and conclude an investigation within eight weeks.
If the ombudsman agrees with the consumer, it can order compensation up to £25,000 and/or order a retailing business to take (or stop) action including providing a refund, exchange or an apology. Non-membership does not prevent investigation of a complaint. Those retailing wanting to boost their credentials can join the scheme via www.theretailombudsman.org.uk
The CRB is relevant to every business selling to consumers and covers goods, services and digital content (which is, to be fair, unlikely to affect a practice unless it’s something like a pet training DVD). The CRB also makes changes to the present unfair terms regime, which governs the way in which contractual terms are presented to consumers.
The CRB will consolidate existing consumer legislation, such as the Sale of Goods Act 1979, the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 into a single law that hopes to clarify, for all, what a consumer should expect when buying and what the solutions are when the expectations are not met.
In terms of accurate descriptions, the CRB demands that goods and services and, for the first time, digital content, are as described by the trader when sold: “Items must, in addition, be fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality, while services, such as a pet drop-off system, must be provided with reasonable care and skill,” added Eve.
The CRB gives consumers an initial 30 days to reject goods that aren’t to standard while also entitling them to a full refund. She added: “But importantly, and something that may well be of concern
to practices, is that the CRB says when a consumer agrees to accept a repair or replacement, the practice,
as the retailer, only has one
bite of the cherry – it can’t demand multiple attempts at a fix under the new tiered-remedy regime.
“Consumer law was in need of an overhaul, especially as the world has moved on technically. Any simplification and clarification in the law can only be of benefit to both retailer and consumer alike.”
It is vital those selling goods by retail are fully compliant with the changes introduced in June 2014 by the CCRs, and that they familiarise themselves and start making changes to implement the new provisions contained in the CRB, which should be in force by October 2015.
Tasks that practices need to check off include updating documentation and promotional material that clients or consumers see, updating their terms and conditions including returns policies to reflect the (new) law, updating their sales practices and ensuring – by training – all staff know the new rights of consumers and the obligations placed on their business.
It is also worth noting the CRB now confirms that any statements made to consumers pre-contract, and relied upon by the consumer, will form part of the contract. This makes the consideration of all consumer-facing pre-contract materials (including verbal information provided by staff) more important than ever.
Those ignoring the new legal landscape could very well find themselves in hot water as a failure to comply could quite possibly, in some circumstances, lead to a court appearance as some consumer law breaches carry criminal sanctions. But it could be the power of the media through the risk of high profile and negative attendant publicity following non-compliance that could be a driving factor for practices to take note of the law.
According to Howard Brown, VPMA president, retail has become something of a “Marmite issue” for veterinary practices: “They tend to either love it and get behind it, or shy away from it, often on the grounds that it’s out with the normal remit of what a veterinary practice is about.”
He notes that some deem it to yield poor returns on the time invested because of competition from pet shops and the web also make it difficult to get much margin at the volume of sales most practices would be generating. “That said,” added Howard, “some practices have grasped the opportunity retail offers to help bond their clients by keeping close to all aspects of pet ownership.”
In terms of the change to the law, Howard thinks there will be some awareness particularly among those that undertake distance selling in terms of last year’s regulations. “The overhaul in the Consumer Rights Bill (CRB) coming in October, as I understand it, is pulling together various previous pieces of legislation under one umbrella, as well as improving and updating it, which I think will be welcomed by veterinary practices – any process that helps bring transparency is a good thing for everybody.”
Of the impact on practices, Howard is confident they already act ethically when it comes to consumer rights so he doesn’t foresee a big change when the bill comes in. He said: “However, retailing practices will need to be aware of the changes in periods of time for refunds and so on. In terms of service provision though, which also falls under the bill, we’ll be watching the outcome of the RCVS alternative dispute resolution trial closely, as any permanent scheme would have to be aligned with, and take account of, the CRB.”
Howard offers practices advice though, he says they should stay (or become) familiar with changes in the law, as well as ensuring their charging and fee structures are transparent. “Many client complaints come about because of a lack of communication in this area. Clients (or customers) are behaving increasingly like shoppers, and practices need to ensure they are familiar with all aspects of this changing consumer environment, including customer buying behaviours,” he added.
