Policies for E-Commerce Companies

This page is for online retailers, marketplace sellers and direct-to-consumer brands that need their customer-facing and internal documentation in order. Policy Pros writes bespoke consumer law, data protection and operational policies for UK e-commerce businesses, from a single returns policy to the full set behind a growing online store.

Bespoke, audit-ready policies from £65 + VAT per document. Get a quote or call 020 3951 2875 for a free scoping conversation.

Policies E-Commerce Companies Need

Legally Required

• Terms and Conditions of Sale - the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 require specific pre-contract information for every distance sale, including the total price, delivery costs and cancellation rights
• Returns and Refunds Policy - consumers get a 14-day cancellation right on most online orders, and refunds are due within 14 days of the goods coming back; get the cancellation information wrong and the window can extend by up to 12 months
• Privacy Notice and Cookie Policy - UK GDPR and PECR, with PECR breaches now attracting fines up to £17.5 million or 4 per cent of worldwide turnover
• Complaints Handling Policy - the Consumer Contracts Regulations require complaint handling information before the sale, and the Consumer Rights Act sets the remedies you must honour
• Health and Safety Policy Statement - required in writing once you have 5 or more employees, including warehouse and fulfilment staff

Expected by Regulators and Platforms

• Review Moderation Policy - hosting customer reviews without taking reasonable and proportionate steps against fake and undisclosed-incentive reviews is itself a banned practice under the DMCC Act
• Pricing and Promotions Policy - the total price, including unavoidable fees, must be stated up front; drip pricing has been an early CMA enforcement target
• Email Marketing and Soft Opt-In Procedure - PECR rules on when you can email existing customers and what every message must contain
• Product Safety and Recall Procedure - distributor duties under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, with new online marketplace duties expected under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025
• Subscription Cancellation Procedure - renewal reminders and easy-exit cancellation arrive with the new subscription contracts regime, announced for January 2027
• Personal Data Breach Procedure - 72-hour ICO reporting discipline for customer data incidents

Returns Rights Are Stricter Than Most Stores Assume

The Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give online customers 14 days to cancel most orders without a reason, and a refund including basic delivery costs within 14 days of the goods coming back. Miss the required cancellation information and the cancellation window extends by up to 12 months.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 sits alongside them: a 30-day short-term right to reject faulty goods, then repair or replacement, then a final right to reject after one failed attempt. Our guide to the Distance Selling Act and what replaced it explains how the pieces fit together, and your published returns policy must not promise less than the law gives.

Reviews and Pricing Now Carry Direct Fines

Since 6 April 2025 the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 has let the CMA rule on breaches itself and fine up to £300,000 or 10 per cent of worldwide turnover, whichever is higher, without going to court. The CMA's unfair commercial practices guidance sets out the regime.

Fake reviews are banned outright, and that includes publishing reviews without reasonable steps to detect fakes, and cherry-picking positive ones. Checkout pricing must show the full unavoidable cost up front. Our DMCC Act compliance guide covers what to change, and a further consultation on fake discounts and misleading RRPs was announced in August 2026.

Cookies and Marketing Email After the DUAA

The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 rewrote the cookie rules from 5 February 2026. First-party analytics and appearance cookies no longer need consent, provided you tell users clearly and give a free, simple way to object, while advertising and tracking cookies still require consent. Our DUAA cookie consent guide covers the conditions, and our cookie policy writing service produces the documentation.

Marketing email still runs on PECR: consent, or the soft opt-in for your own similar products with an opt-out in every message. The stakes changed in February 2026, when PECR fines rose from a £500,000 cap to UK GDPR levels.

Product Safety Duties Reach Online Sellers

If you sell products someone else manufactures, you carry distributor obligations under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005: due care not to supply unsafe products, traceability, and notification when something turns out to be dangerous. A written procedure for safety complaints, notifications and recalls is what evidences that duty.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Act 2025 gives ministers powers to impose duties on online marketplaces and those who sell through them. The implementing regulations are still to come, so sellers who document their safety checks now will be ahead of them.

What Policy Pros Delivers

Every document is written around your store: your platforms, your product range, your fulfilment model and your marketing channels. You get plain-English policies on professionally branded templates, consistent with each other and ready to publish or file.

• Customer-facing documents: terms of sale, returns and refunds, privacy and cookie notices, complaints procedure
• Internal procedures: review moderation, pricing sign-off, marketing consent, product safety and recall, data breach response
• Employment and warehouse documents as you grow, from contracts to health and safety

How to Get Started

Tell us what you sell, where you sell it and which documents you already have. We will come back with a fixed-price quote and a realistic timescale, usually the same working day.

Get a quote or call 020 3951 2875. If you also run physical retail or logistics, our retail and logistics industry page covers the wider document set.