The Importance of Online Sales Terms and Conditions
Sales terms and conditions are something that any e-commerce company must never overlook. It is strongly recommended that companies ensure that their terms and conditions comply with the law and are never a copy and pasted version of a competitor’s own sales terms and conditions.
Believe me, I wouldn’t offer that piece of advice if it weren’t necessary—there have been cases of terms and conditions plagiarism. Case in point: Kalypso, a French website that specializes in selling children’s clothing, was found guilty of copying the sales terms and conditions of its competitor vente-privée.com and pasting them onto its website. This plagiarism eventually won the online shopping site a trip to court, resulting in a €10,000 fine and a penalty issued by the Paris Court of Appeals on September 24, 2008. It seems that these days similar stories of Internet wrongdoing are becoming all too familiar.
Obligations linked to online sales terms and conditions
Online shopping websites are required by law to provide their sales terms and conditions. This requirement protects both the company and the shopper. The sales terms and conditions for consumer-oriented e-commerce websites must include clauses on: rules and regulations, price listings, product descriptions, shipping costs (usually indicated within the product description file), as well as the delivery timeline and the cancellation and return policies.
In order to be as transparent as possible with online shoppers, it is also recommended that the terms and conditions include an explanation of how personal information will be treated and the date and version of the current terms and conditions.
One last reminder (even if you think it goes without saying): if you’d like to avoid being accused of damaging the reputation of a competitor, never publish their sales terms and conditions as your own. It’s the Golden Rule of sorts for online sales terms and conditions.
Sources:
legalis.net
zataz.com
journaldunet.com
Image source:
Google Images
Adapted by: Jessica Hartstein
Tags: kalypso, terms and conditions
