The Cancellation of Contracts made in a Consumer’s House or Place of Work Regs 2008 came into force in October 2008. These give consumers the right to cancel any contract for the supply of goods or services (such as a solicitor’s retainer) made during a visit to the consumer’s home or place of work.

A ‘consumer’ is defined as a natural person who is not acting in the course of his trade or profession. Note that it does not matter whether the visit was solicited or unsolicited, provided the contract is worth more than £35. Most importantly, there is a mandatory cooling-off period of seven days in which the contract can be cancelled. No contracting-out of the Regs is possible.

Under the Regs, the right to cancel must be clearly and prominently set out, and contain prescribed information (includes identity of the business; statement of cancellation rights and how they may be exercised; address to which the notice should be sent; the cancellation form must be a detachable slip). Note that the Regs say notice will have been served once it has been posted by the consumer, which means that the prudent professional will therefore allow additional time before starting work (since the notice might be posted by second-class post on the seventh day).

The Regs do not apply to contracts for the sale or rental of removable property, and thus will not be relevant to conveyancers. But, they are clearly very applicable to litigation lawyers, especially those who see clients at home and who work on a conditional fee basis, and accept work from accident management companies.

What if you are in breach of the Regs (eg you do not use the precise prescribed wording in your notifications)? The answer is that the contract will be unenforceable, and you will also be at risk of criminal sanctions. Clearly, if you are asked to see a client at home, or at work, you need to take great care and ensure that you have copies of the prescribed forms. Failure to do so is likely to be costly. For a useful introduction see article in [2009] LSG 22 October 24.