Regulation of Distance Selling Methods

Abstract

The ways in which traders are selling and distributing their goods on the market have undergone significant changes over the recent decades. The traditional way of shopping in store is more and more replaced by purchases conducted via modern forms of distance communication, following offers on teleshopping programs or in web shops online. While those sales methods are widely appreciated as they entail a number of benefits for both suppliers and consumers, they also give rise to serious concerns, particularly rooted in the lack of physical contact between the parties involved and the buyer’s inability to examine the goods prior to purchase. Although providing for a considerable level of consumer protection in general, New Zealand legislation has yet to react on the specific demands of distance sales in this respect. In order to shield consumers from potential drawbacks, enactment of comprehensive statutory provisions, addressing particular concerns, needs to be considered. Presenting the European Union’s regulations on distance selling as an example how problems related to consumer protection in distance contracts can be addressed successfully, this paper argues for an adoption of similar provision in New Zealand so as to further promote protection of consumers in the modern market place.