52
JUNE 2014 PRO INSTALLER
PRO BUSINESS
www.proinstaller.co.uk
EU CONSUMER RIGHTS
DIRECTIVE - ALL CONTRACTS
MUST CHANGE BY 13th JUNE
The GGF has provided this useful update on the new and imminent EU Consumer Rights Directive – and has
also produced revised sets of Model Terms and Conditions for Members and non-members (see below).
With the incoming (EU)
Consumer Rights Directive coming into force
on 13th June 2014,
every Company must
change its contract of
terms and conditions
by 13th June 2014. To
help companies cope
with the new legislation the Federation has
now published revised
Model Terms and Conditions of Contract, plus
Guidance on implementation of the EU Consumer Rights Directive
for both GGF Members
and non-Members.
The EU Consumer Rights
Directive (CRD) is being
implemented in the UK on
the 13th June 2014. This is
entirely separate legislation
from the Consumer Rights
Bill which is now due to
be implemented in Summer 2015. The Government
signed up to the CRD more
than three years ago.
The Directive is being
implemented via legislation
known as The Consumer
Contracts (Information,
Cancellation and Additional
Charges) Regulations 2013.
The main issues are:• The cooling-off period
for goods and services
sold by distance or by
off-premises selling will
be harmonised across the
EU to 14 days from date
of delivery of the products
• There are some important
exemptions, one of which
is for products “made to
the consumer’s specification” – this will include
such products as made-tomeasure windows made
to a consumer’s specific
requirements; another
is for urgent repairs and
maintenance when a consumer invites a trader to
their home
• There is a long list of
pre-contract information
which must be provided
to consumers before a
contract is made, including advising cancellation
rights and if a trader
belongs to a code of
conduct, for example the
GGF Consumer Code of
Good Practice. Failure to
provide certain items will
give a consumer a cooling-off period of up to
379 days, and the trader
would be liable to a fine
of up to £5,000
The GGF has advised its
Members of these upcoming changes for over a year
TrustMark’s enhanced consumer
protection through a range of improved standards and membership
criteria, is designed to provide
greater levels of consumer protection. Warren Stiles, FairTrades’
a revised set of Model
Terms and Conditions for
non-member companies
which reflect changes necessary due to the implementation of the Directive. These
Model Terms and the GGF’s
Guidance to the CRD can be
purchased by non-members
at a combined cost of just
£75. Purchasers will also receive a voucher to the value
of £75 if they decide to join
the GGF before the end of
June 2015.
If a company wishes to
buy the Model Terms and
GGF Guidance on the CRD,
please email [email protected] with your
details.
Brian Smith, GGF Director
of Home Improvement, will
be presenting about the
Consumer Rights Directive
and the upcoming Con-
sumer Rights Bill at the FIT
Show seminars, on each day
of the show (10-12 June) at
1.30pm. All companies are
welcome to attend but must
register via the FIT Show
website. Book at: http://
www.fitshow.co.uk/seminars
‘Purchasers will
also receive a
voucher to the
value of £75
if they decide
to join the GGF
before the end
of June 2015’
Visit our website
www.ggf.org.uk
Revised Trustmark A ‘Real Boon’ To
Consumer And Trade Says Fairtrades
Warren Stiles
of FairTrades
FairTrades, the trade association that specialises in
providing business benefits
to home improvement installers, says the re-launch
of the government-backed
TrustMark scheme is ‘to be
commended’ and is a ‘real
boon’ to the consumer and
the trade.
now, following meetings
between the GGF with the
Department of Business,
Innovation and Skills (BIS)
in 2012. GGF Members have
voted to retain the current 7
days cooling-off period from
date of contract in the GGF
Consumer Code of Good
Practice in addition to the
requirements of the new
legislation.
The GGF has produced a
revised set of Model Terms
and Conditions of Contract
for its Members and also
produced Guidance to the
CRD specifically for the
glazing, home improvements and renewable energy sector. These documents
are now available via the
Members area of the GGF
website for Members to
download free of charge.
The GGF has also produced
Client Development Manager, says
that such steps can only be regarded as good for business. “There
are those that see such measures
as another barrier to overcome.
We and our members have welcomed the tighter standards as
being great for business through
the creation of better relationships
with their customers and product
and installation benchmarks that
alienate the poorer operators.
Homeowners are far more likely
to commit their money when they
are comfortable that they are receiving great value in return.”
The TrustMark revisions include
more specific, firmer standards
with members required to show
how they are raising standards to
address identified areas of consumer mistrust and performance.
Tradesmen will be more rigorously
vetted, upon entry to the scheme,
at renewal and through on-going
checks, and more proactive use
of complaints data and increased
transparency in the complaints
process by scheme operators such
as FairTrades, which is a member
of the HomePro Group, a leading provider of insurance backed
guarantee protection for homeowners. A further key commitment
under the revisions is to step up
protection and reduce misuse of
the TrustMark brand.
“We are delighted that TrustMark have made a commitment
to dealing more vigorously with
the TrustMark brand, the integrity
of which is absolutely vital to our
members who subscribe to the
scheme and who have made the
commitment to excellence for their
customers. Unauthorised use of
the brand must be enforced,” said
Warren.
“The timing of this is excellent
as we have seen a significant
increase in the number of enquiries received from homeowners for
FairTrades members during the
spring, which is continuing strongly as we move into the summer
months. They are choosing FairTrades because of the protection
we offer, including TrustMark.”
As one of the leading Approved
Scheme Operators of TrustMark,
vetted members of FairTrades may
become members of the TrustMark
scheme, with both existing and
new members having to commit to
the more rigorous standards and
vetting of the revised TrustMark
membership criteria. Installers
may discuss membership and IBG
protection, the latter of which become mandatory on 6 June, at The
FIT Show, stand 100, when it takes
place on 10, 11, 12 June 2014.
In one of the first major announcements from the joint
industry and Government industrial strategy for construction,
‘Construction 2025’, the re-launch
is designed to boost the reputation
of tradesmen and consumer confidence in the domestic repairs,
maintenance and improvement
market by setting standards for
customer service, good trading
practices and technical competence.