Further Information
Distance Selling
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Policies & Issues
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| DISTANCE SELLING |
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Many of our members operate a distance selling channel, via the internet, mail order or telesales. Distance retailing has continued to show growth, with more and more consumers utilising this convenient and efficient way of shopping. Our members continue to lead and innovate with their websites, delivery options, and outstanding service.
The BRC would like to see an EU wide regulatory regime which allows UK retailers to sell cross border in an easy and cost effective way. The new Consumer Rights Directive if delivered with maximum harmonisation will go some way to achieving this, particularly in the area of customer returns, where the balance must be redressed to provide better protection for the retailer. We urge Government to ensure that when it comes to implementing the Directive into UK Regulation, these important measures are retained.
BRC members sell a diverse range of products, some of which are sold with age restrictions, such as DVDs, knives & alcohol. The BRC has been at the forefront of implementing schemes such as "Challenge 21" and "Challenge 25" in the face to face retail environment. Our members that operate online also carry out a number of measures to prevent underage sales.
One challenge facing retailers that sell age restricted products is the increased prevalence of pre-paid credit cards. Currently there is no way of identifying the age of the owner of one of these cards. We believe Government should ensure that the card industry provides a way for retailers to be able to identify pre-paid credit cards so they can then exclude them from being able to make purchases of age restricted products.
Enforcement of regulations in the online environment is key to ensuring that reputable businesses can flourish, and rogue traders are removed from the market. The ease and speed at which a website can be established presents a challenge for enforcers in locating and prosecuting rogue businesses who set out to defraud or mislead consumers. BRC members are responsible retailers that take compliance with their legal requirements very seriously. We believe enforcement resources should be targeted at seeking out those irresponsible traders operating online that distort the market and can deceive consumers.
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