Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024

Prospective

230 Omission of material information from invitation to purchase U.K.

(1) For the purposes of this Chapter, a commercial practice which is an invitation to purchase omits material information if, considering the matters mentioned in subsection (8), it omits any of the information which is—

(a) set out in subsection (2), and

(b) not already apparent from the context.

(2) The information referred to in subsection (1) is—

(a) the main characteristics of the product (to the extent appropriate considering the means used to communicate the invitation to purchase and the nature of the product);

(b) the total price of the product (so far as paragraph (c) does not apply);

(c) if, owing to the nature of the product, the whole or any part of the total price cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, how the price (or that part of it) will be calculated;

(d) the identity of the trader and the identity of any other person on whose behalf the trader is acting;

(e) the business address and, if different, the service address of the trader and any business email address of the trader;

(f) in relation to any other person on whose behalf the trader is acting—

(i) the person’s business address and business email address (if the person has such addresses), and

(ii) if different to the person’s business address, the person’s service address;

(g) any freight, delivery or postal charges, including any taxes, not included in the total price of the product but which the consumer may choose to incur (or where those additional charges or taxes cannot reasonably be calculated in advance, the fact that they may be payable);

(h) for products involving a right of withdrawal or cancellation, the existence of such a right;

(i) to the extent that the trader’s practice in relation to any of the arrangements mentioned in subsection (3) departs from the trader’s published practice in relation to those arrangements, the practice which the trader is currently operating;

(j) any information which the trader is required under any other enactment to give to a consumer as part of an invitation to purchase.

(3) The arrangements referred to in subsection (2)(i) are—

(a) the arrangements for payment;

(b) the arrangements for delivery of the product;

(c) the arrangements for performance;

(d) the arrangements for handling complaints.

(4) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) the total price of a product includes any fees, taxes, charges or other payments that the consumer will necessarily incur if the consumer purchases the product.

(5) For the purposes of subsection (2)(c) (and subject to the matters mentioned in subsection (8)) the information given must—

(a) be such that it enables the consumer to calculate the total price, and

(b) be set out with as much prominence as any information that is set out in compliance with subsection (2)(b).

(6) For the purposes of subsection (2)(d) “identity”, in relation to a trader, means—

(a) the name of the trader, and

(b) if different, the name under which the trader trades.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (2)(e)—

• “business address”, in relation to a person, means—

  (a)

  where the person is a body corporate, the address of its registered or principal office,

  (b)

  where the person is a firm that is not a body corporate, the address of the principal office of the firm, or

  (c)

  in a case where neither paragraph (a) or (b) applies, the address of the person’s principal place of business;

• “business email address”, in relation to a person, means any email address used by the person for conducting business;

• “service address”, in relation to a person, means the address at which the person will accept service of documents.

(8) The matters referred to in subsection (1) are—

(a) any limitations resulting from the means of communication used in the commercial practice (including limitations of space or time), and

(b) any steps taken by the trader to overcome those limitations by providing information by other means.

(9) In this section, references to omitting information include providing information—

(a) in a way that is unclear or untimely, or

(b) in such a way that the consumer is unlikely to see it.

(10) In this Chapter, “invitation to purchase” means a commercial practice involving the provision of information to a consumer—

(a) which indicates the characteristics of a product and its price, and

(b) which enables, or purports to enable, the consumer to decide whether to purchase the product or take another transactional decision in relation to the product.

Commencement Information

I1 S. 230 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 339(1)