c Contracts for Financial Services
Distance selling of financial services was seen as sufficiently important to merit its own treatment, first by European Directive, and latterly by Irish regulation. Its purpose is to establish a clear regulatory framework for the marketing of financial services at a distance - that is, non-face-to-face transactions via the Internet, email and telephone, within Ireland and across the EU.

The regulations mirror those applying to non-financial services, described above, with some important modifications. As was the case with the regulations for non-financial services, these regulations apply only to business-to-consumer transactions.

Financial services are defined as any service of a banking, credit, insurance, personal pension, investment or payment nature.

Before a consumer is bound by a distance contract for the supply of a financial service, the supplier must supply certain information"within a reasonable time". The list of requirements is too long and too detailed to be repeated in full here, but it includes:

• The identity and the main business of the supplier, the geographical address at which the business of the supplier is established and any other geographical address that may be relevant to the consumer's relationship with the supplier
• If the consumer resides in another Member State and the supplier has a representative in that State, the supplier must provide details of that representativeThe supplier's VAT number
• A description of the main characteristics of the financial service to be supplied by the supplier
• The total price to be paid by the consumer to the supplier for the financial service, including all related fees, charges and expenses and all taxes paid through the supplier. Alternatively, if an exact price cannot be specified, the basis for calculating the price so as to enable the consumer to verify it

There are special provisions relating to distance contracts for financial services where contact is made over the telephone. The amount of information which needs to be provided to the consumer can, in these cases, be shortened, but only if the consumer consents to it.

In addition, and again "within a reasonable time", the supplier must give to the consumer all of the terms of the contract, and the information required to be supplied in writing, before the contract will be deemed enforceable.

One of the most important provisions of the regulations is that dealing with a "cooling-off" period. Consumers are given 14 calendar days to withdraw from the contract without penalty, and 30 days when the contract relates to life assurance or a personal pension plan. There are certain exceptions to this right of cancellation. If the contract is cancelled in time, the supplier must provide a full refund, less any charge for a service supplied in accordance with the contract, within 30 days. Similarly, the consumer must refund money or restore property provided by the supplier within the same period.

Those found guilty of an offence under the regulations is liable to a fine not exceeding €3,000 and/or to imprisonment for a term of not more than 12 months, or both. Companies can be fined up to €5,000 for breaches of the regulations. The regulations also provide for a Financial Services Ombudsman to investigate and adjudicate on disputes.

Access the EU directive on distance selling of financial services [PDF, 190KB]

d Pricing
As set out above, the consumer must be faced with detailed information about the product or service before the contract is made, and this information must include the prices of the goods and services, including all taxes, and the period for which this price remains valid.

When a product is offered for sale, both its selling price and the unit price (if there is a difference between the two) must be displayed clearly and unambiguously, and these must be placed in proximity to the description of the product on any website.

These pricing regulations apply only to transactions between a business and a consumer, not transactions between businesses.

It is important to note that where an offence in relation to pricing is committed by a company, and is proven to have been committed with the consent or connivance of a director, manager or other officer of the company, then he or she will also be guilty of the offence. Fines of up to €3,000 can be imposed for any breach of the pricing regulations.