We know we said the end had come, but what's a full meal without its coffee or tea and its tabletop. Well, this is our particular contribution to extend this splendid meeting.

First of all we want to emphasize that this plus is only obligatory for those companies that commercialize their products and services in their web site; so if your web site is merely informative, either informing about your company or about your products and prices, it is not necessary that you include it (it is enough with what already seen on the Legal Notice).

Although it is not superfluous to have as much information and training as possible in case we need it in the future. Perhaps at the moment you are not interested in the option of online commerce, but better to be prepared for what may come; as the saying goes: "Better safe than sorry", and even more so when the sanctions involved are so heavy (reminder: these are the sanctions of the LSSICE).

At this point it should be noted that the basic regulation is the LSSICE, and it is in its article 27 where the information to be included if you have online recruitment is set out. In the first paragraph of this article, it also reminds us of the importance of this additional information being offered to users permanently, free of charge, easily accessible, and in a language that makes it clear, understandable and not open to doubt.

Therefore, the information to be included is the following:

  • The steps to be followed to conclude the contract, that is, to make the purchase or hire the service.

  • Whether the contract will be saved electronically and whether it will be accessible by the user.

  • The means to correct the data entered before confirming the contract. For example if it includes some mechanism to avoid an order with 0 articles or the shipment to an incorrect postal address.

  • The language or languages in which the contract can be formalized.

  • The general terms and conditions governing the contract.

And in addition to all this, once the service or purchase has been accepted (by the company that offers it), the company must send a confirmation of the order, that is, confirm to the consumer that the order has arrived (article 28 of the LSSICE). This confirmation will be made by sending an email acknowledgement of receipt within 24 hours of receipt of the acceptance, i.e. from the time the order has been placed from the website. Another option is to confirm receipt as soon as the purchase/contracting process has been completed, but this must be linked to a way for the consumer to file this confirmation, for example by downloading a document or accessing a user area where they can consult and/or download it.

Regarding where to include this information, you can choose a specific section or include it in the "Legal Notice". In both cases, the section must be identified as such with a title that the visitor identifies with the content, such as "Terms of purchase", "How to buy", etc. In this way we will comply with the requirements of the LSSICE regarding the availability of information. A detail to be taken into account if you choose to have a specific section (independent of the "Legal Notice") is that the link/access to it must always be available, so it is convenient (and the simplest) that it is found in the footer of the page together with the rest of the links to the sections already seen in previous issues (thus having four links to four independent sections).

All this implies a higher level of complexity (since the detailed information must also comply with the purchase conditions required by the online commerce regulations, such as the deadlines, requirements and form of return, exceptions, shipments, etc.), but it is the price we must assume for playing in the field of online commerce. 

And with these latest guidelines, we are concluding, this time for good, the rich food that makes up our collection of fascinating fascicles about online responsibility.

Thank you for reading.

 


ALERT: This article has been translated with automatic translation software so it may contain errors and inaccuracies. You can read the original article in this link: Un plus: La contratación online

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