It is not all fun and games when it comes to setting up your e-commerce store. These are some basic consumer rights information you need to know as an e-commerce seller, so as not to get into trouble!

The Singapore Consumer Rights Act protects Singaporean buyers from unethical vendors and defective items. The legislation outlines the numerous consumer rights that Singaporean purchasers have, as well as the laws that sellers must follow while interacting with customers.. These rights apply whether customers purchase from a physical store or an online retailer.

Understanding the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act and the rules governing consumer rights in Singapore is beneficial for digital company owners. It will assist you in maintaining a good image with your consumers. Let’s take a closer look at how Singapore’s Consumer Rights Act operates.

3 key areas covered by the Act

• Unfair practices: The act specifies 24 unjust business activities that are unfavorable to customers. Customers have the right to file a lawsuit if a company participates in any of these practices.
• Direct sales contracts and other regulated contracts: To sum up, customers have the ability to terminate these contracts within five days after signing them.
• The Lemon Law: Under the Lemon Law, Sellers are required by law to offer items that are not damaged or faulty in any way—they must be of sufficient reliability and effectiveness.

Key tips to not break any rules

These tips are helpful, but by no means exhaustive. 

• Sell high quality, durable products

Check that your items are not faulty or damaged before selling them. While you cannot promise that every item will be in excellent condition, you may inspect your inventory to ensure that you are pleased with the quality before delivering products to your clients.

After all, you have no influence over what occurs throughout the delivery process. However, verifying that products are in good condition before shipping decreases the likelihood of a customer exercising their consumer rights and requesting a refund or triggering the consumer rights Singapore return policy.

• Make your terms and conditions clear

While a consumer’s entitlements include the right to repair, substitute, or refund a faulty goods, you can specify the circumstances under which the repair or replacement is provided. These can include appointing authorized repair agents, restricting the number of times repairs or replacements can be performed, and determining who pays for the expense of sending the damaged item for repair, substitution, or refund.

• Never market what is not true

The simplest method to violate Singapore’s Consumer Rights Act is to make misleading claims about what your product can accomplish. Ensure that any statement you make can be supported by facts, data, and testing.

• Do not misuse consumers’ personal details 

Even though the Consumer Rights Act of Singapore does not safeguard the customer’s right to privacy, it is good practice for vendors to ensure that their customers’ information is always secured. In Singapore, the consumer privacy statute is known as the Personal Data Protection Act (PDPA), and it protects the privacy of consumers’ data.

The legislation states that an entity should not acquire, exploit, or reveal an individual’s personal data for purposes other than delivering a product or service to the consumer. This implies that you are not permitted to gather personal information from the customer other than their contact details in order to complete the purchase and shipment of their product from your business.