Protect your business with clear and fair terms and conditions for the sale of goods to consumers via a website. Use these standard terms and conditions for any business in England, Wales or Scotland that sells goods online to consumers.
This document is GDPR compliant.
Use these standard terms and conditions when:
you are selling goods to customers not acting in the course of a business (ie consumers)
selling from your website (if you are selling from your business premises, make Terms and conditions for sale of goods to consumers)
you are selling goods to specification and/or standard services
the goods are of the type requiring statutory cancellation rights
If you need tailored terms and conditions, consider using our Bespoke legal drafting service. If you’re unsure if these T&Cs meet your business needs, read How to choose the right terms and conditions.
These terms and conditions cover:
Terms and conditions for the sale of goods to consumers via a website should be used if you want to sell goods online to a consumer on standard terms. They should cover key issues such as orders, delivery, pricing, payment, guarantees, cancellation, liability, data privacy and security.
Terms and conditions for the sale of goods to consumers via a website protect your business interests, ensure that customers know where they stand and help avoid disputes.
Terms and conditions must be clearly brought to the customer's attention before the sale takes place to ensure that they are binding on the customer. There are various ways of doing this. Usually, customers are deemed to accept the T&Cs by placing an order. However, the best way to ensure that the T&Cs are accepted is by requiring the customer to check a box stating that they accept them before the order is placed. Ideally, the tick box includes the terms and conditions or a hyperlink to them allowing the customer to store and reproduce them at any time.
Consumers benefit from considerable legal protection and 'statutory rights'. Compliance with consumer rights must be integral to the way the website operates. For example, there must be appropriate and compliant back-office procedures in place to ensure that all orders are confirmed and that any changes to the terms are clearly updated on the website.
You cannot legally change or exclude statutory rights, which belong to the consumer. The words 'your statutory rights are not affected' are often used to ensure that this is understood by the consumer. Some rights are that the goods:
are of satisfactory quality
are fit for their intended purpose
match the description that was used to advertise or sell the goods to the consumer
Read Doing business with consumers and Consumer rights for more information.
Consumers are entitled to reject the goods within 30 days if they are:
of unsatisfactory quality
unfit for their purpose
not as described
You may consider offering a returns policy allowing consumers to change their minds about the goods for any reason (or for no reason) within a short period of time after receipt of the goods.
Read Consumer rights for more information.
You may wish to provide a guarantee to repair, replace or refund goods that are faulty (ie a manufacturer's guarantee). You may wish to offer a guarantee if you are in a position to repair, replace or refund the goods. In any case, such a guarantee also exists as a statutory right, as long as the customer can show that the goods are faulty.
Your T&Cs should set out when payment for the goods needs to be made. Note that the time period between payment and delivery of the goods can't be too far apart (eg 1 year in advance of the service).
You should agree beforehand in the T&Cs whether you will charge interest on overdue payments. It will be up to the parties to agree on the amount of interest payable. However, the interest rate should not be unfair or unreasonable to the consumer.
It is possible to exclude the possibility of a refund in the case of goods which are made to order. However, such an exception wouldn't affect a customer's statutory rights in relation to faulty or misrepresented goods. Read Doing business with consumers for more information and do not hesitate to Ask a lawyer if you have any questions.
It's a good idea to provide an email and/or postal address where the customer can send communications that must be in writing, such as a notice cancelling the order or return of purchase. You should also set out the accepted payment methods and terms (eg provide that payment must be made when an order is placed but credit and debit cards will not be charged until goods are dispatched).
for goods that focus on intellectual property
if you are selling digital content
if you are selling goods overseas
These terms and conditions are governed by the law of England, Wales or Scotland.
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