Provisions the documents cite: regs 4–5 (consumer, trader, off-premises contract, distance contract, durable medium), 6(1)(e) (new buildings excluded), 7(4) and 27(3) (£42 threshold), 9 and Schedule 1 (on-premises information), 10 and Schedule 2 (off-premises information), 11 (repair or maintenance up to £170), 12 and 16 (copy or confirmation), 13 (distance contracts), 19 (offence), 28(1)(b) and (e) and 28(2) (no right to cancel), 29–32 (right to cancel, 14-day period, extension to 12 months, how to cancel), 34 (refund), 36 (service started in the cancellation period), 40 (additional payments), Schedule 3 (model instructions for cancellation and model cancellation form)
What it requires
Applies to contracts between a trader and a consumer — an individual acting for purposes wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession — entered into on or after 13 June 2014 (regs 1(2), 4). It does not apply to a contract for the construction of new buildings, or the construction of substantially new buildings by the conversion of existing buildings (reg 6(1)(e)). An off-premises contract is one concluded, or offered by the consumer, in the simultaneous physical presence of trader and consumer in a place which is not the trader's business premises, or concluded on the business premises or at a distance immediately after the consumer was personally and individually addressed away from them; a distance contract is concluded under an organised distance sales or service-provision scheme without simultaneous physical presence, using only distance communication up to the time of contract; a durable medium includes paper and email (reg 5). Before an on-premises contract the trader gives or makes available the Schedule 1 information — main characteristics, identity, geographical address and telephone number, the total price inclusive of taxes or how it will be calculated, the arrangements for payment and performance and the time by which the service will be performed, any complaint handling policy, after-sales services and commercial guarantees, and the duration — if not already apparent from the context (reg 9). Before an off-premises contract the trader gives the Schedule 2 information on paper or, if the consumer agrees, another durable medium, legibly, and where a right to cancel exists a cancellation form as set out in part B of Schedule 3; the part A model instructions, correctly filled in, discharge Schedule 2 paragraphs (l), (m) and (n) (reg 10); distance contracts are treated likewise (reg 13). For an off-premises contract the trader gives a copy of the signed contract or a confirmation on paper or durable medium before performance of any service begins (reg 12). Parts 2 and 3 do not apply to an off-premises contract under which the consumer pays not more than £42 (regs 7(4), 27(3)); a service contract for repairs or maintenance the consumer explicitly requested, performed immediately, for not more than £170 has a reduced pre-contract information requirement (reg 11). A trader who enters into an off-premises contract without giving the Schedule 2 (l), (m) or (n) cancellation information commits an offence (reg 19). The consumer may cancel a distance or off-premises contract within the cancellation period without giving any reason (reg 29); for a service contract the period ends 14 days after the day the contract is entered into (reg 30(2)); if the cancellation information is not given it ends 14 days after the consumer receives it where it is given within 12 months, and otherwise 12 months after the normal period would have ended (reg 31). The consumer cancels using the model form or any other clear statement, and a communication sent before the period ends is in time (reg 32). There is no right to cancel for goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised (reg 28(1)(b)) or where the consumer specifically requested a visit to carry out urgent repairs or maintenance, except for additional services, or goods other than necessary replacement parts, supplied on that visit (reg 28(1)(e), (2)). On cancellation of a service contract the trader reimburses all payments within 14 days after being informed of the decision (reg 34(1), (6)). The trader must not begin supplying a service before the end of the cancellation period unless the consumer has made an express request — on a durable medium for an off-premises contract (reg 36(1)); the consumer loses the right to cancel if the service has been fully performed after such a request and with the consumer's acknowledgement that the right would be lost once it was (reg 36(2)); a consumer who cancels after requesting early supply pays an amount in proportion to what has been supplied, calculated on the total contract price or, if that is excessive, on market value (reg 36(4)–(5)), but bears no cost if the Schedule 2 (l) or (n) information was not given or there was no request (reg 36(6)). No payment beyond the remuneration agreed for the trader's main obligation is payable unless the consumer gave express consent before being bound, and consent inferred from a pre-ticked box is not express consent (reg 40). Extends to the whole United Kingdom.
The instrument itself: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2013/3134. The summary above is our plain-English reading, not the text of the instrument — always work from the source.
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The 7 documents that cite it
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Building contracts
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