 What the law says
When you buy goods or services by post, telephone, fax or through the internet, from someone who is selling in the course of a business, you have the same rights as if you had bought them in shop. The laws say the goods must: - match their description. This means they must be as described by the seller. This includes any description on the label. In most circumstances, it also means that they must conform to any advertising claims made about them; and
- be of satisfactory quality. This means the goods must meet the standards that any reasonable person would expect, taking into account the description, the price and all other relevant information. This includes the appearance and finish of the goods, their safety and durability and whether they are free from defects. The goods must also be fit for their purpose, which means you must be able to use them for the purposes you would normally expect from this type of product. It also means that the goods must conform to any specific requirement you have mentioned to the seller.
The distance selling regulations give you some additional rights when you buy without meeting the seller face to face
These include the right to: - clear information before you decide to buy, including the name and address of the seller, the main characteristics of the goods and services, the price of the goods including taxes and other components of the price, delivery charge, existence and conditions of warranty, and the consumer´s right to withdraw from the contract and of the manner and term for exercising such right. The information must be in writing and can be in a letter, fax, e-mail, advert or website; and
- cancel your order at any time up to 14 days after you received the goods (at that for EU there is a minimum time limit of 7 working days, but in many countries like Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, as also in Estonia, this time limit is prolonged to 14 days). You cannot cancel if, for example, the goods were made to order, perishable, newspapers, software, or audio or video recordings which have been unsealed. In some cases you might have to pay for the return of the goods, in this matter there are also some differences between EU countries. In Estonia (by the Law of Obligations Act §194) the parties may agree that the consumer will bear the regular expenses relating to the return of the thing to the extent of a sum corresponding to 10 euro, except in cases where the thing delivered or service provided is not that which was ordered; and
- have the goods delivered within 30 days of your order unless you and the seller agreed otherwise. If the seller later finds they can´t deliver within this time, they must tell you and give you the option of canceling and getting a full refund; and
- protection from fraud if you pay by a credit or a debit card. If someone makes dishonest or fraudulent use of your payment card, you can cancel the payment and the card issuer must refund all the money to your account. You must inform the company that issues the card as soon as you suspect that someone else is using the card; and
- withdraw from the contract within 3 months, if the supplier has failed to perform in time the obligations to confirm you the required information in writing or by means of any other durable data medium accessible to you not later than during the time of the performance of the contract or, in the case of movables, not later than at the time of delivery thereof. This right is not applicable to services which are provided directly by a means of communication and on one occasion only and the charge for which is calculated by the provider of the telecommunications service. If a consumer withdraws from a contract, the paid sums must be refunded to him immediately but not later than within 30 days as of the withdrawal from the contract.
These rights do not apply when you buy: - financial services such like insurance or banking, related to the issue of instruments the price of which on the money market varies regardless of the supplier, such as securities, money-market instruments, investment instruments, transactions with derivative instruments and exchange and interest rate instruments; or
- services such as transport, accommodation, catering and leisure services which are ordered for a specific date or period; or
- food or drink from a delivery service; or
- services such as betting or lottery or auction services.
These rights do not apply to contracts, concluded by using automatic vending machines or by means of a public telephone with a provider of telecommunication services if the object of the contract is use of a public telephone. Also, these rights do not apply to contracts for construction work or the transfer of an immovable, or with regard to a real right in an immovable. If a distance contract also conforms to the provisions concerning package travel contracts or contracts relating to purchase of right to use buildings on timeshare basis, these provisions apply together with the specifications provided for such types of contract.
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