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Terms and Conditions for your website/ online store
Understanding Romanian Terms and Conditions: A Guide for International Clients
If you have an international business and you are looking to navigate the complexity of Romanian e-commerce, the real understanding of the Terms and Conditions is essential.
In this easy guide, you'll explore the most important aspects of the Romanian Terms and Conditions, notice insights on legal compliance, sanctions, and the issues of copying templates.
Whether you're selling goods, providing services, or simply looking to offer more information to your visitors, our advice will help you draft Terms and Conditions that ensure both legal compliance and the protection of your interests.
Find out the main information you need to know and which you need to make available through the Terms and Conditions, but also how to protect your interests through this document.
Drafting the Terms and Conditions without providing these mandatory information may trigger sanctions up to 50,000 RON.
Thus, you must pay attention to the Terms and Conditions, because this document sets up all interactions between the online store and your customers.
In addition, the Terms and Conditions of your website are needed for the online store to operates within the legal framework, as such it may be avoided possible sanctions or fines applied by ANPC, for the non-compliance of the legal obligations.
Furthermore, these documents serve as the foundation for your interactions with customers and can significantly impact your legal standing.
At the same time, in the case of conflict, which may lead to a court action, the provisions of the Terms and Conditions play an important role.
From this article you will also find out the risks to which you are exposed in the event of non-fulfillment of the legal obligations required by the e-commerce related law, but also what you should consider before drafting the Terms and Conditions.
Read on what are the essential information needed to be presented in the Terms and Conditions.
Content:
What information are required to be in the Terms and Conditions of a website by which you are going to offer goods or services?
Legal Sanctions.
What can you do to avoid these sanctions?
Terms and Conditions (Model) for online stores and why copying the Terms and Conditions from the internet is not recommended.
Personal data processing.
1. What should be contained in the Terms and Conditions?
If the goods or services will be offered to individuals, who do not buy the products presented on the website for commercial purposes, but for personal use, they have the quality of consumers, and you, the retailer who sells the products or services online, has the quality of professional .
Let's explore the key elements that should be included in your Terms and Conditions:
Main Features of Goods or Services: Your Terms and Conditions should outline the main characteristic of the products or services you offer. It's essential to provide a clear description to ensure customers understand what they are purchasing.
Identification Data and Contact Details: This section should include your company's name, company's legal address, trade register number, tax identification number, telephone number, and email address. If the location of your business differs from your registered office, be sure to include that address as well.
Pricing and Delivery: The document should specify the price of goods or services and the method of its calculation. Include any delivery charges, ensuring that the price you present includes all taxes and additional transport costs.
Payment and Delivery Methods: Detail the accepted payment methods (cash and card) and the conditions for delivery.
Return Policy: Explain the process for returning products in a separate Return & Refund Policy.
Customers typically have a 14-day period to return goods, which can be extended. Be clear that customers do not need to provide a justification for returning items. Specify whether customers are responsible for return shipping costs.
Conformity Guarantee: If you sell mobile goods or goods with digital elements, you should provide goods that match the description presented on your website.
After-Sale Services: Outline any post-sale services or commercial guarantees offered by your online store.
Code of Conduct: If your business adheres to specific codes of conduct, mention this in your Terms and Conditions.
Contract Duration: If your contracts have indefinite periods or automatically renew, explain the termination procedure.
Advance Payments: Include information about any advance costs or financial guarantees required from customers.
Complaint Procedure: Provide details on how customers can file complaints. Additionally, inform them about alternative dispute resolution procedures through the SOL Platform.
In addition to those established by online retailers, for consumers, an alternative dispute resolution procedures can be used through the SOL Platform.
By carefully addressing these elements in your Terms and Conditions, you can ensure compliance with Romanian e-commerce laws, protect your interests, and maintain a strong legal standing in your online business.
The legal penalties for the non-fulfillment of the above obligations
In case you are not compliant with the above, (i.e. if one of the above detail is not reflected in the Terms and Conditions), you risk one of the following penalties:
If no information regarding the additional costs of delivery and transport is presented, customers cannot be forced to pay them.
Also, if the returning costs are not presented to the customers, they cannot be forced to pay them.
In addition, if the returning right and its procedure are not mentioned in the Terms, then the period in which customers can return the products is legaly extended to 12 months.
What does it means?
Customers will be able to return the ordered products or request a refund of the price paid within a period of 12 months, compared to the normal period of 14 days.
In addition, if the above-mentioned details are not reflected in the Terms, you risk a fine, whose amount can vary between 1,000 RON and 5,000 RON.
Contact us via the e-mail address office@cristinatudor.ro or at the phone number (+40)766.706.561 and make sure that the Terms and Conditions of your business contain all the information required by law.
The legal penalties for the non-fulfillment of the above obligations
If the above listed details are not provided or if the information is not accurate, the client may request the cancellation of the contract concluded with you online.
At the same time, according to the legal provisions, if one of the above information is not mentioned, you can be sanctioned with a fine up to 50,000 RON.
Contact us via the e-mail address office@cristinatudor.ro or at the phone number (+40)766.706.561 and be sure that you have included all the mandatory details in your Terms and Conditions.
What can you do to avoid these sanctions?
First of all, we recommend you to contact a specialist for drafting the Terms and Conditions or to pay attention to their content, as sanctions may be applied even in situations where the information provided is incomplete or inaccurate .
As well as, it is necessary to adapt the Terms and Conditions to your online store specifics and, in addition, keep in mind that this document represents the legal act (contract) that controls the relations between your store and its customers/ visitors.
Therefore, when you draft the Terms and Conditions, pay attention to each section of this article.
Furthermore, it is necessary to ensure that no mandatory information is omitted, according to the legal requirements, and also that it is correct.
Reach us at the e-mail address office@cristinatudor.ro as we can help you drafting the Terms and Conditions.
Model Terms and Conditions for the online store and why copying the Terms and Conditions is not recommended
It may be tempting to save time by using template Terms and Conditions, but this practice comes with significant risks.
Ready-made templates, whether from platform specialists or other websites, are often generic and not tailored to your business specifics. They may also lack crucial information required by Romanian law.
Copying the Terms and Conditions from other sites is not an alternative and is not recommended as there is a risk of copyright infringement, which may trigger the application of penalties.
Moreover, the Terms and Conditions found on other sites contain information that may not be applicable to your online store, which may trigger the application of penalties as well, as this information may be classified as inaccurate information.
5. Processing of personal data
The user accounts creation is allowed on online networks, and to be able to process an order it is necessary to fill in a form with identification data and the delivery address of the costumers, fact which generates the processing of the data provided,
It is needed to request the prior consent of costumers and inform them, among other things, regarding of their rights, the purposes on which the data processing operates.
Most often, this notice takes the form of a Privacy Policy.
In conclusion, understanding and amending your Terms and Conditions is essential for your online business's success. By following legal requirements and avoiding common pitfalls, you can protect your interests and maintain compliance while providing transparency and trust for your national and international clients.
If you have any questions or need assistance with the drafting of the Terms and Conditions or GDPR Policies, you can contact us via the email address: office@cristinatudor.ro or at the phone number (+40)766.706.561, as well as using the form below.