The Provision of Services Regulations come into force on 28th December 2009 and applies to almost every business that provides services in the UK – from accountants to plumbers, from graphic designers to travel agents and from child minders to vets.
For most businesses the important provisions concern information that they must give to their clients and customers. Much of this information is already provided by most firms but the requirements are extensive and a checklist of what has to be supplied is given below.
The regulations apply to B2B as well as B2C activities. They do not apply to sale of goods – but they would if there are services as well as goods being supplied.
These Regulations emanate from the EU Services Directive and are being implemented in all EEA countries – that is the European Union plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.
Complaints
If you receive a complaint from a client or customer about your services, the Regulations require you to respond as quickly as possible and to use your best efforts to find a satisfactory solution.
Discrimination
The Regulations also prohibit a business from discriminating on grounds of nationality or residence. So, for example, you cannot give a client in one area different terms of business from a client in another area unless there are ‘objective criteria’ for doing so that justify this difference.
Exceptions
There are some businesses that are not subject to the Regulations. They include:
- Financial services, insurance and investment advice – presumably because they are already subject to regulation by the FSA (Financial Services Authority)
- Transport services air, road and rail ( taxis are exempt but car hire firms and driving instructors are subject to the regulations)
- Temporary work agencies
- Betting shops and casinos
- Audiovisual services such as cinemas and broadcasting
- Healthcare Services (public or private) and Social services such as housing and childcare provided by the state
- Private security services.
Here is a checklist of information you must provide:
- Name of business
- Legal status (i.e. sole trader, partnership, limited company etc.)
- Address (including official address such as the registered office of a company)
- Details of how you can be contacted rapidly:
Phone: mobile/landline
Fax
Email
- Trade registration if applicable (e.g. Gas Safe Register) with register’s name and your registration number
- Authorisation scheme details (if you are subject to authorisation in UK or in the EEA)
- VAT number if registered for VAT
- Professional registration – name of professional body and your professional title
- Your general terms & conditions of business (if any)
- Your contract terms relating to governing law and jurisdiction.
- Any after-sales guarantee that you provide
- Your price (when this is pre-determined for a particular service) or, if requested, your method of calculating price
- The main feature of your services (unless this is clear from other information)
- Your insurance cover & insurers’ contact details plus territorial coverage of the insurance (if you are required to maintain professional liability insurance)
- Dispute Resolution Procedure (if your professional or trade body has a procedure) but only if requested.
- Contact details for complaints
What happens if you do not comply with the Regulations?
Not much, is the answer in the case of business to business transactions- it seems to be up to the client to complain and possibly take action in the courts – but it should normally be quite easy for the complaint to be sorted out by the service provider coming up with the missing information.
The Office of Fair Trading and various other consumer bodies are able to take action against businesses in breach of the Regulations where the breach harms the collective interests of consumers.
Competent Authorities
The Regulations also set out criteria for ‘competent authorities’ when dealing with applications for approval from outside the UK. There is a long list of ‘competent authorities’ and they include professional bodies such as the Law Society and Institute of Chartered Accountants as well as public bodies like the Forestry Commission and Health & Safety Executive.
The main point here is that when a foreign business needs to be licensed to operate in the UK, the relevant competent authority may only impose requirements that are necessary, non-discriminatory and proportionate. And certain requirements are now prohibited. For example an authority can no longer require that a business’s staff, shareholders, or management are British or resident in the UK nor can it prevent a business from being established in the UK if it is also established in another EEA state.
The Regulations can be found at: http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2009/draft/ukdsi_9780111486276_en_1
For more information there is a 53 page booklet of Government Guidance you can find at: http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file53100.pdf
