Customer service
This section helps you provide good customer service when selling your Physical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. or services and understand your customers' legal rights. It guides you on the policies you need to put in place to deal with returns and refunds, delivery, cancellations and complaints, how to manage this in practice and how to deal with issues such as selling age-restricted Physical items being sold. Distinguished from digital content and services, neither of which are physical items. and difficult customers.
Customer service in a shop or other business premises
- 1.What customer service policies do I need when selling from a shop or other business premises?
- 2.What should my delivery policy be for goods ordered in my shop or other business premises?
- 3.Can I refuse to sell goods or services to a customer at my shop or business premises?
- 4.Can I refuse to sell goods or services to a customer at my shop or business premises after I have agreed the sale?
- 5.When is it discrimination to refuse to sell goods or services to a customer at my shop or business premises?
- 6.What should I do if a customer in my shop or business premises is being abusive to my staff?
- 7.Can I legally bar or remove a customer from my shop or business premises?
- 8.Can I use force to remove a customer from my shop or business premises?
- 9.When can I use force to remove a customer from my shop or business premises?
- 10.Can I arrest a shoplifter on my premises?
- 11.If a customer damages goods or takes them out of their packaging in my shop, can I make them pay for it?
- 12.Can I legally sell age-restricted goods or services from my shop or business premises?
- 13.How can I check the person I am selling to from my shop or business premises is not underage?
- 14.What should I do if I suspect a customer is using false identification in my shop?
- 15.What should I do if a customer complains they have been harassed or discriminated against by my staff in my shop or business premises?
- 16.Can I trade from my business premises on Sundays?
- 17.Can I trade from my shop on Sundays?
- 18.Does the size of my shop affect whether I can trade on Sundays?
- 19.Do Sunday trading restrictions apply to all large shops?
Customer service when selling at a customer's home or workplace
- 20.What customer service policies do I need to sell to customers at their home or workplace?
- 21.What should my delivery policy be for goods sold at a customer’s home or workplace?
- 22.Can I legally sell age-restricted goods or services at a customer’s home or workplace?
- 23.How can I check the person I am selling to at a customer's home or workplace is not underage?
- 24.How can I protect my staff from abusive customers when they are working at a customer's home or workplace?
- 25.How do I deal with customers who are disabled or vulnerable if I am selling at their home or workplace?
- 26.What adjustments might I have to make when selling to disabled or vulnerable customers at their home or workplace?
- 27.Do I need a licence to sell at a customer’s home or workplace?
Customer service when selling over the telephone
- 28.What customer service policies do I need when selling over the telephone?
- 29.What should my delivery policy be for goods bought over the telephone?
- 30.Do I have to protect my staff from abusive customers on telesales calls?
- 31.How can I protect my staff from abusive customers on telesales calls?
- 32.Who am I allowed to call for telesales?
- 33.How do I screen against the TPS and CTPS and my own do-not-call lists for telesales?
- 34.How do I comply with data protection law when making telesales calls?
- 35.How do I allow people to opt out easily from telesales calls?
- 36.How do I obtain consent for automated telesales calls?
- 37.Are there any rules about how a telesales call should be conducted?
- 38.What methods can be used when conducting a telesales call?
- 39.What information needs to be given during telesales calls?
- 40.Can I legally sell age-restricted goods or services over the telephone?
- 41.How can I check the person I am selling to over the telephone is not underage?
- 42.Am I allowed to record telephone sales calls?
- 43.What are the legal rules for recording telephone sales calls?
Customer service when selling via mail order
- 44.What policies do I need to sell via mail-order?
- 45.What should my delivery policy be for mail-order sales?
- 46.Can I legally sell age-restricted goods via mail-order?
- 47.How can I check the person I am selling to via mail order is not underage?
- 48.What should I do if a customer orders something from my mail-order catalogue which is out of stock?
- 49.Who am I allowed to send my mail-order catalogue to?
- 50.What are my data protection obligations when sending mail-order catalogues to potential customers?
- 51.What should I do if a customer asks me to stop sending them post and/or other forms of marketing?
Dealing with consumers who want to return goods
- 52.Do I have to have a customer complaints policy?
- 53.What should a customer complaints policy say?
- 54.Do I have to allow a consumer to return goods they have bought from me?
- 55.What are my returns obligations when selling from a shop or other business premises?
- 56.What should my returns policy be for goods bought in my shop?
- 57.What should my returns policy be if someone changes their mind and wants a refund for goods not bought in a shop?
- 58.Does the automatic right to return if someone changes their mind apply to all goods not bought in a shop?
- 59.Do I have to provide a refund for goods not bought in a shop if the consumer changes their mind?
- 60.Does the consumer have to return goods not bought in a shop if they change their mind?
- 61.How do I provide a refund to consumers for goods not bought in a shop when they change their mind?
- 62.What should my returns policy be for goods that are damaged or faulty?
- 63.How do I decide whether an item I sold to a consumer is faulty?
- 64.If the goods I sold are faulty, what rights does the consumer have?
- 65.When do I have to refund for faulty goods?
- 66.When do I have to repair or replace faulty goods?
- 67.Do I have to refund or repair faulty goods if the consumer doesn't complain immediately?
- 68.If the consumer asks for a refund for faulty goods, when do I have to give them the refund?
- 69.Does the consumer have to return the goods if they are complaining they are faulty?
- 70. What should my returns policy be for goods that are not as described?
- 71.What should my returns policy be for a consumer who buy goods which they say are not as described?
- 72.If the goods I sold are not as described, what rights does the consumer have?
- 73.When do I have to refund for goods that are not as described?
- 74. When do I have to repair goods that are not as described?
- 75.Do I have to refund or repair goods that are not as described if the consumer doesn't complain immediately?
- 76. If the consumer asks for a refund for goods that are not as described, when do I have to give them a refund?
- 77.Does the consumer have to return the goods if they are complaining they are not as described?
- 78.What should I do if a consumer wants to return goods because they were delivered late?
- 79.Can I offer an extended warranty to consumers?
- 80.What happens if I send the wrong quantity of goods to a consumer?
- 81.What should I do if I receive a complaint that a product I sold to a consumer caused somebody an injury or damaged property?
- 82.What should I do if a consumer wants to return goods but has removed the original packaging or labels?
- 83.What should I do if a consumer wants to return goods but no longer has the receipt?
- 84.What should I do if a consumer wants to return goods bought in a sale?
Dealing with business customers who want to return goods
- 85.What should I do if a business customer wants to return goods?
- 86.What should I do if a business customer complains that goods I have sold are damaged or faulty?
- 87.How do I decide whether an item I sold to a business customer is faulty?
- 88.Can I exclude liability for faulty goods sold to business customers?
- 89.If the goods I sold are faulty, what rights does the business customer have?
- 90.How long does the right to return a faulty item last for business customers?
- 91.What should I do if a business customer complains that goods they bought from me are not as described?
- 92.Can I exclude liability for goods sold to a business customer that are not as described?
- 93.If the goods I sold are not as described, what rights does the business customer have?
- 94.How long does the right to return an item that is not as described last for business customers?
- 95.What happens if I sent the wrong quantity of goods to a business customer?
- 96.What should I do if a business customer wants to return goods because they were delivered late?
Dealing with complaints about digital content
- 97.What should I do if a consumer wants to cancel an order for digital content?
- 98.What are my returns obligations when selling digital content from a shop or other business premises?
- 99.What are my returns obligations when not selling digital content from a shop?
- 100.When does the consumer lose the right to cancel an order for digital content not sold in a shop?
- 101.How do I provide a refund for digital content not sold in a shop?
- 102.What should I do if a consumer complains that digital content they have bought from me is defective or faulty?
- 103.How do I decide whether digital content I sold to a consumer is faulty?
- 104.If the digital content I sold is faulty, what rights does the consumer have?
- 105.When do I have to repair or replace faulty digital content?
- 106.Do I have to give a refund for faulty digital content?
- 107.If I have to give a refund for faulty digital content, when must I do this by?
- 108.What should I do if a consumer complains that digital content I sold them is not as described or not what they wanted?
- 109.If the digital content I sold is not as described, what rights does the consumer have?
- 110.When do I have to repair or replace digital content that is not as described?
- 111.Do I have to give a refund for digital content that is not as described?
- 112.If I have to give a refund for digital content that is not as described, when must I do this by?
- 113.What should I do if a consumer complains that digital content I sold them has damaged a device or other digital content?
- 114.Can business customers cancel an order for digital content?
Dealing with complaints from consumers about services
- 115.What should I do if a consumer books a service but subsequently changes their mind and wants to get their money back?
- 116.What does the consumer have to do to cancel a service not booked from a shop?
- 117.What are my obligations when a consumer wants a refund for a service booked from a shop or other business premises?
- 118.What are my obligations when a consumer wants a refund for a service not booked from a shop or other business premises?
- 119.Does the 14 day cooling-off period apply to all types of service not booked from a shop?
- 120. What if I have already started providing the service not booked from a shop within the 14-day cooling-off period?
- 121.How much of a refund do I give a consumer who cancels a service not booked from a shop within the 14-day cooling-off period?
- 122.How do I issue a refund for a consumer who has cancelled a service not booked from a shop?
- 123.What should I do if a consumer complains that a service I provided was not satisfactory?
- 124.If a service that I provided was not satisfactory, what rights does the consumer have?
- 125.What should I do if a consumer complains that a service I provided was late?
- 126.What should I do if a consumer is refusing to pay me the amount we agreed for my services?
- 127.What should I do if a consumer is refusing to pay me and no price was agreed?
- 128.What should I do if a consumer is disputing how we agreed a service would be carried out?
- 129.What do I need to do if I am unable to provide the service that I said I would?
- 130.What discount do I have to give if I am unable to provide the service I said I would?
- 131.How long does a consumer's right to have the work redone or get a refund for services I am unable to carry out last?
Dealing with complaints from business customers about services
- 132. What should I do if a business customer books a service but changes their mind and wants a refund?
- 133.What should I do if a business customer complains that a service I provided was not satisfactory?
- 134.Can I exclude liability to business customers for unsatisfactory services?
- 135.If the service I provided was not satisfactory, what rights does the business customer have?
- 136.What should I do if a business customer complains that services I provided was late?
- 137.What should I do if a business customer is refusing to pay me what we agreed for my service?
- 138.What should I do if a business customer is refusing to pay me for a service and no price was agreed?
General risk assessment for a shop or other business open to customers
This risk assessment for a shop or other business open to customers is designed to help you comply with your health and safety duties. If your business involves the general public coming to your premises eg a shop, cafe, salon etc, it is important to take health and safety seriously and carry out regular risk assessments. This risk assessment covers the most common hazards you might find in your premises and suggests what sort of action you should be taking to protect your employees and visiting customers. Because every workplace is different, the risk assessment has space for you to include anything that is specific to your premises or type of business. Don’t forget to also download and complete our fire safety risk assessment !
£25 + VAT
Privacy policy
This template privacy policy will allow you to set out the privacy information that you are legally required to provide to individuals who use your website. This includes what personal data you process and how you use it. It is also referred to as a privacy notice and it might be produced in a combined document with your cookie policy, or as two separate documents. This template will help you to comply with your data protection and privacy obligations when you are running a website. It enables you to set out all of the data protection information that you must give to your users. It is a UK GDPR compliant privacy policy, which is suitable only for UK based businesses carrying out data processing activities in the UK. If your business has an office or establishment in an EEA country, or offers goods or services to, or monitors the behaviour of, individuals in the EEA, then following Brexit your privacy notice will also need to comply with the EU GDPR, which is outside the scope of this service. Because no two websites are the same, you can customise this privacy policy for your purposes whether you sell goods or services online, or if your website simply promotes your business. You can also purchase this policy as part of the Starting an online business toolkit or the Data protection policy toolkit .
£25 + VAT
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