Note: This advice is given by the CAP Executive about non-broadcast advertising. It does not constitute legal advice. It does not bind CAP, CAP advisory panels or the Advertising Standards Authority.
In 2004 the ASA received a complaint about an ad that appeared on Ebay, an Internet auction site. Although the ASA formally investigated (Sure Trading, 22 December 2004), the investigation led to CAP examining whether the Distance Selling rules (which mirror, to a large extent, the Distance Selling Regulations of 2000) should apply to such ads. Those Regulations specifically identify auctions as being excluded but seem to refer to traditional auctions where buyer and seller (or agents of either party) can inspect the goods and participate in a process of open bidding. The Regulations do not explicitly include Internet auctions. Before reaching its decision, CAP took advice from its solicitors and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
The DTI thought ads on Ebay were analogous to classified ads in local papers and believed the Regulations would apply if tested in the courts. CAP’s legal advice also suggested that the Regs would possibly apply. After much consideration, CAP decided that ads that involved an auction element and appeared on the Internet should be considered outside the scope of the CAP Code, even if the trader is a company and not an individual.
CAP might reconsider its position if the application of the Distance Selling Regulations was tested in the courts.
In 2007, the OFT issued a press release in which it claimed online auction sites eBay, eBid, CQout, QXL and Tazbar had agreed to include advice and links on their sites to inform consumers of their rights under the Distant Selling Regulations (DSRs). They have also agreed to inform businesses that use their site as a sales channel of their legal obligations under the E-Commerce Regulations (ECRs) .
Last modified : 06 August 2010