can a uk website use 'applicable law' from another country?

matty_hunt

Hi. Ive been looking at terms and conditions of Lensway.co.uk They cover themselves by saying they abide by the 'applicable law' of British Columbia, Canada. Given this website is co.uk and the contact address is Berkshire, UK can they legally use the law of another country, whether the product is manufactured and shipped from that country or not. Their website, or 'on-line shop' is UK. Surely UK law is the 'applicable law'.
Any thoughts? Cheers.

vaio

b2b they can, b to consumer I'd say it would be an unfair term and not enforceable

gregg1

matty_hunt wrote: »

Hi. Ive been looking at terms and conditions of Lensway.co.uk They cover themselves by saying they abide by the 'applicable law' of British Columbia, Canada. Given this website is co.uk and the contact address is Berkshire, UK can they legally use the law of another country, whether the product is manufactured and shipped from that country or not. Their website, or 'on-line shop' is UK. Surely UK law is the 'applicable law'.
Any thoughts? Cheers.

I thought that if they were selling to a UK market, our laws applied.

browneyedbazzi

Just because they have a .co.uk address and a mailing address in the UK doesn't guarantee that they are a UK company - you should check where they are actually registered and taking payment from. If they are based abroad then the laws where they are based are the ones that will be enforceable.

dacouch

The website's registered in Sweden...

http://www.nominet.org.uk/whois/lookup?query=lensway.co.uk

The Slough address is an office for Mail Boxes etc who forward mail, Slough dialing code is 01753.

Here is google streetview of the 24-28 St Leonards
http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=24-28+St.+Leonards+Road+Windsor,+Berkshire+SL4+3BB&hl=en&ll=51.479223,-0.612429&spn=0.007257,0.021136&hnear=24-28+St+Leonard's+Rd,+Windsor,+Berkshire+SL4+3BB,+United+Kingdom&gl=uk&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=51.479223,-0.612429&panoid=_hP8eolXcG5KYDYna5MUZw&cbp=12,274.71,,0,6.92

I would give this company the massive swerve

Looksguywalker

gregg1 wrote: »

I thought that if they were selling to a UK market, our laws applied.

Really...you think that? If I buy something by money transfer for instance from China how can I enforce UK laws when something goes wrong?

System

Lensway are actually very good. They offer a very good service and I use them a lot.

They don't need to follow uk law but as they have an excellent returns service I don't think it really matters that they don't abide by uk legislation.

System

Looksguywalker wrote: »

Really...you think that? If I buy something by money transfer for instance from China how can I enforce UK laws when something goes wrong?

That's what trident is for......

matty_hunt

Thanks for the replies. It seems naughty that websites can do this. Even their 'about us' page makes no reference to the company not being UK based. Its only in the T&C that any mention of Canada comes up and even then, as pointed out above, the website is registered in Sweden. What flagged this up for me is that they charge £5.99 for compulsory postage insurance which under UK law is illegal, so I wanted to check.
Cheers.

dacouch

http://lensway.com/ address is a mail box eg mail box 2500 at the UPS Store http://www.theupsstorelocal.com/1595/

http://www.complaintsboard.com/complaints/lenswaycom-c424914.html

http://www.trustpilot.co.uk/review/www.lensway.co.uk

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3582441

System

matty_hunt wrote: »

Thanks for the replies. It seems naughty that websites can do this. Even their 'about us' page makes no reference to the company not being UK based. Its only in the T&C that any mention of Canada comes up and even then, as pointed out above, the website is registered in Sweden. What flagged this up for me is that they charge £5.99 for compulsory postage insurance which under UK law is illegal, so I wanted to check.
Cheers.

Is that illegal? I've never heard that before.