INDUSTRYNEWS
EU CONSUMER RIGHTS DIRECTIVE
- NOW IN FORCE
The GGF has provided this information on
the EU Consumer Rights Directive – now in
force - and has also produced revised sets of
Model Terms and Conditions for Members
and non-members (see below).
‘every Company must
have changed its contract
of terms and conditions’
The incoming (EU) Consumer Rights
Directive, which came into force on 13th
June 2014, states that every Company must
have changed its contract of terms and
conditions by that date. To help companies
cope with the new legislation, the Federation
has now published revised Model Terms and
Conditions of Contract, plus Guidance on
implementation of the EU Consumer Rights
Directive for both GGF Members and nonMembers.
The EU Consumer Rights Directive
(CRD), is entirely separate legislation from
the Consumer Rights Bill which is now due
to be implemented in Summer 2015. The
Government signed up to the CRD more than
three years ago.
The Directive is being implemented
via legislation known as The Consumer
Contracts (Information, Cancellation and
Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. The
main issues are:• The cooling-off period for goods and
services sold by distance or by off-premises
selling will be harmonised across the EU
to 14 days from date of delivery of the
products
• There are some important exemptions,
one of which is for products “made to
the consumer’s specification” – this will
include such products as made-to-measure
windows made to a consumer’s specific
requirements; another is for urgent repairs
and maintenance when a consumer invites a
trader to their home
• There is a long list of pre-contract
information which must be provided
to consumers before a contract is made,
including advising cancellation rights and
if a trader belongs to a code of conduct, for
example the GGF Consumer Code of Good
Practice. Failure to provide certain items
will give a consumer a cooling-off period
of up to 379 days, and the trader would be
liable to a fine of up to £5,000
The GGF has advised its Members of
these upcoming changes for over a year now,
following meetings between the GGF with
the Department of Business, Innovation and
Skills (BIS) in 2012. GGF Members have
voted to retain the current seven days coolingoff period from date of contract in the GGF
Consumer Code of Good Practice in addition
to the requirements of the new legislation.
The GGF has produced a revised set of
Model Terms and Conditions of Contract
for its Members and also produced Guidance
to the CRD specifically for the glazing,
home improvements and renewable energy
sector. These documents are now available
via the Members area of the GGF website for
Members to download free of charge.
The GGF has also produced a revised set of
Model Terms and Conditions for non-member
companies which reflect changes necessary
due to the implementation of the Directive.
These Model Terms and the GGF’s Guidance
to the CRD can be purchased by nonmembers at a combined cost of just £75. Any
company wishing to buy the Model Terms and
GGF Guidance on the CRD, should email
[email protected] with your details.
Visit www.ggf.org.uk to find out more.
CLEARVIEW PUBLISHING FORGES AHEAD
WITH EXPANSION PROGRAMME
Clearview Group Ltd, the South Yorkshire-based specialist publishing group,
continues with its expansion programme with a move into offices close to
the centre of Barnsley, and the appointment of additional sales staff.
Sian Wilson, Suzanne Whyke, Kelly
Boydell and Jadie Horne have recently
joined the existing sales team to market
a variety of products across Clearview’s
portfolio of both print and online national
and regional products.
B2B titles cover the glass, glazing & allied
industries sector, locksmith, auto locksmith
& security industries, and agriculture.
The group plans to launch or acquire
further B2B titles and with this in mind,
further sales recruitment is planned for this
calendar year.
30
JUL 2014
It is also moving into the exhibitions
arena in 2016 with its first event aimed at
the locksmith and auto locksmith industry,
Lockex, which will take place in September
2016.
Director Steve Sidebottom commented: