E-tail regulations: what additional legislation pertains to retailers trading online? Berwin Leighton Paisner lawyer Eduardo Usataran advises.

It's often said that the customer is always right. That's a tough mantra to live by in the online world. For example, there's the story of the person who bought a washing machine on the Web. The installation service included removal and disposal of the old machine. However, after two days the customer decided he preferred his old machine and exercised his right to cancel the contract under the distance selling regulations. Unfortunately, by then the old machine had been reduced to a very small cube of scrap metal and the e-taller faced a rather embarrassing situation.

Even in a light-touch regulatory environment like the UK, selling products and services online is a challenge. E-tailers need to juggle a number of ever-evolving rules. Distance selling and e-privacy regulations are probably the main hurdles. In addition, the e-commerce regulations of 2002 …