Don’t get caught by small print if you have a big issue

MORE and more retailers and traders are hiding behind their terms and conditions (Ts&Cs) when it comes to complaints, often claiming to dissatisfied customers: “We have no liability due to our terms and conditions”, if my postbag is anything to go by. When you purchase goods or services from a retailer, you enter into a contract, the terms of which should normally be set out within the Ts&Cs – sometimes dubbed the “small print”. But there are three occasions when a retailer’s Ts&Cs may not apply – giving you a useful avenue of complaint to pursue if you’re unhappy with goods or services.

Here’s what you need to know:

TS&CS HIDDEN

As a general rule, consumers should be provided with all relevant information about goods or services and the terms under which the sale is taking place before they make their purchasing decision. A customer cannot be legally bound by

Ts&Cs they were not provided with or made aware of.

John in Richmond, Surrey, purchased a carpet and arranged for fitting by telephone. When he went back to the retailer to complain about the installation, he was directed to the fitter and told: “Your contract was with the fitter, as it states in our terms and conditions.”

These Ts&Cs had never been shown to John and at no point was he told about the fitter being a third party. I raised this with the retailer on John’s behalf and it has now agreed to change its processes.

KEY TERMS NOT PROMINENT

Ts&Cs are typically printed in small type on the reverse of invoices and are rarely read by customers.

For this reason, the Consumer Rights Act provides that “key terms” (such as anything to do with payments, exclusions and termination) must be made prominent.

This means the retailer must be able to demonstrate the consumer was specifically made aware of such terms. If a retailer cannot show it has made key terms prominent, they will not be legally binding.

TERMS CONTRARY TO LAW

Retailers will often insert clauses in their Ts&Cs that conflict with consumer law. One of the most common examples relates to the time you have for the “no-fault” return of goods bought online.

The Consumer Contracts Regulations state 14 days, whereas retailers often claim they will only accept such returns within seven days. Retailers cannot “contract out” of the law, so such Ts&Cs are not legally binding.

I often see Ts&Cs that contain “unfair terms” and this can be another get-out. By this, it is understood that if the term feels unfair to the consumer (such as charging an amount of money for a penalty that goes beyond what the retailer has actually lost) it will be deemed unfair and therefore unenforceable.