UK Distance Selling Regs & Domains

[AlienAlien is verified member.]

Quicky Question:

Does the UK's distance selling regulations totally apply to the buying and selling of UK domain names?

I guess they wouldn't apply between a business to business domain sale, but how about business to end customer (consumer)?

 

[WealdDomains]

Alien,

I'm not qualified, but my interpretation would be that only something very personal like JohnSmith.me.uk (or .me or maybe .tel) could come under it, and then only when sold directly to someone called John Smith, for personal use, at a fixed price.

Surely for anything else, the buyer (and seller) would be acting in a business capacity, either pre-existing or as a de facto sole trader by the act of carrying out the transaction ?

Even if the buyer was acting on behalf of a club or society, surely that would be ex officio (even if just as an unpaid voluntary website administrator who got stitched up at the last meeting) rather than in a personal consumer capacity ?

Also, there are exclusions around auctions (aimed at eBay but presumably applying everywhere, including here).

Also, in my opinion, anything other than .me.uk/.me/.tel(?) demonstrates something more than a pure consumer intent. It may be a personal hobby, but the choice to establish as a .co.uk/.org.uk/etc demonstrates something more, even if just founding a supporters' club or special interest group. Otherwise a blog under a blog provider's domain would be adequate.

So, if a UK-based John Smith buys JohnSmith.me.uk/.me/.tel? from a seller in the UK for a fixed price and intends to use if for personal stuff, I think it could possibly apply, but not for any other scenarios or non-me/tel suffixes.

Incidentally, I would see any use of Acorn Domains as being de facto evidence of not being a pure consumer.

I'm happy to be corrected by someone who knows what they are talking about !

David

 

[bb99]

http://www.nic.uk/registrants/aboutdomainnames/legal/distanceselling/

This may be of use :shock: