Trying out a service

I am posting this because there seems to be some confusion...

Consumer protection laws try to help consumers and help them avoid making silly mistakes. It is good. And one of the concerns is that, unlike a "real shop", buying on-line can be misleading, and confusing, and can even lead to regrettable impulse purchases which would not have happened in a "real shop".

So originally the Distance Selling Directive, and now The Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, provide some protections.

Goods

For goods the idea is to try and provide something of the same level of assurance as buying in a "real shop". In a shop you can see the item, pick it up, inspect it, maybe even have a demo from the salesman. Consider it carefully and make an informed choice.

So for on-line sales you get the chance to do the same - a 14 day trial period. If you don't like it, you can send back for a refund. You don't even have to pay postage. (yes, if faulty, or not as described, you can send back anyway, and have more protections, we are talking changing your mind here).

The regulations are not quite so absolute, you get postage covered, unless you opted for a more expensive than default postage, for example. Also, if the goods are diminished in value by handling other than, well, basically, what you might expect in a shop (not quite the wording, but you get the idea), then you have to cover that.

But the idea is simple, same deal as a "real shop".

Services

This is more difficult as you cannot "send back" a service for a refund.

So, once again, the regulations try to be fair to customer and the seller.

The 14 day cooling off period is a chance to CHANGE YOUR MIND only. To address the "impulse purchase" and "buyers regret", even the "Amazon whilst drunk" syndrome. And to do so before the service is provided.

It is not a chance to try out the service and then decide you don't like it. This is important. IT IS NOT A FREE TRIAL!

There are allowances for asking for the service quickly, i.e. within the 14 days, and still changing your mind. But if the service has started to be provided, you have to pay for what has been done. When fully performed, you lose the right to cancel at all. You don't get a free trial.

A lot of people seem to think the 14 days is a free trial, or at least a cheap trial, of a service. It is not.

A good example was a comment on a recent ispreview article, here:

"It’s good for the customers…. Why give us 14 days to cancel without even trying your service, i think the OTS 1 day service will allow customers to test the network and if its bad, they can leave within 14 days:)"

This very much highlights the problem as people really think the 14 day period is to "allow customers to test the network", which is very much is not.

Ongoing services

This is the grey area. A service that is "one year of broadband" cannot be fully performed within the 14 days, but at the same time the "provision" of that service can be. Saying "fully performed" makes no sense for an ongoing service, and arguably the ongoing part is not relevant to the regulations at all - it is "performing" the service, the service of "providing the ongoing service" that has been done, and as such stops the right to cancel. That is one view, anyway.

The problem is the regulations do not use wording clearly enough to say for sure, and (as far as I know) it is not tested in court.

This means some people think the 14 days ends up being a means to "try out" a new "ongoing service" and cancel within 14 days. This is clearly not the intention of the legislation and may not be what a judge sides with. But it is a risk for a seller, because of the bad wording.

OFCOM

What is worrying is that people see OFCOMs new rules on fast service migrations as specifically allowing cancellation within the 14 days, AFTER the service has been provided (well, provisioned), because it was quick and within the 14 day period. They see it as allowing someone to try the service and then change their mind.

Given that the supplier may have costs to install and even commitments to 12 month terms for underlying circuits, it makes no sense that they only get to charge the customer for a day or two of service. That is what some customers think is fair, somehow.

That is why it needs to be crystal clear, in law, and on sign up, what exactly the customer is getting.

• A 14 day chance to change your mind BEFORE service starts.
• An option to have service sooner, LOSING the right to change your mind once provisioned.

This is what the regulations do for any other service, so should be the same for an ongoing service like broadband. They may do, depending on how a judge reads it, but it should be clearer for suppliers and consumers what it means exactly.