The new Finnish act on e‑commerce enters into force on June 13. The act may require changes to online stores’ terms of delivery, documents sent to customers and other contents. 

Readthe Finnish Competition and Consumer Authority's policy on the legal requirements for online trading. After reading the policy, check that your own terms of delivery and other content meet the requirements of the new act.

The most remarkable changes in the act concern consumer protection and the trader's obligation to provide information. A PDF return form has been added to the software, which can be printed according to the customer's order during the order processing phase.

It is important that you check the information provided by your online store and make the necessary changes according to the requirements of the law and your own practices. Things that require your attention and need to be checked are contact information, terms of delivery, email notifications sent to customers and the return form.

In online stores that use the default theme, the texts printed on the online store's order confirmation page and email notifications can be modified with the Dictionary tool in the online store’s admin panel. To access the Dictionary, go to Contents > Dictionary in your online store's admin panel.

In online stores that use a customized store theme, implementing changes may require the help of a layout designer. If necessary, you can also contact our customer service.

Checklist of the changes caused by the law change

Make sure that visitors to your online store have access to sufficient preliminary information about purchasing, payment methods, delivery and cancellation policy.

  1. Check the contact information on the Settings > General settings page in your online store’s admin panel.

    If there are empty fields, please fill in the missing contact information as comprehensively as possible. Check that the information is up to date and the phone numbers and email addresses are correct.

    The act also requires the online seller's geographic address be notified to the customer.

  2. Refine the terms of delivery on the Settings > General settings page in the online store’s admin panel.

    Using the {TermsAndConditions} tag, the details you enter in the Shipping conditions field can be displayed on any page in the online store.

    Make sure that the terms of delivery cover all the possible stages of the order process, from placing the order to making a return, and give instructions on what the consumer should do in problem situations. The following structure is generally accepted:

    • Information about the online store, i.e. the seller
    • Order instructions
    • Payment methods, associated costs and instructions for payment – note that the consumer may not be charged more for using a payment method than what its cost is for the seller
    • Delivery methods and time, associated costs and instructions for delivery
    • Instructions for order cancellation and returns, as well as cancellation form – shall the return costs be paid by the customer or the seller (if the information is not clearly available to the consumer, the consumer is not obligated to pay the costs)
    • Instructions for return situations where the product can no longer be sold in like-new condition after the return

    See also MyCashflow's default shipping conditions.

  3. Check the Dictionary for legal texts used on theorder confirmation page and in order and shipping confirmations. You can find the texts most easily by typing Legal in the search field of the dictionary.
  4. Test and check all the texts
    • On the Shipping conditions page
    • On the order confirmation page
    • After ordering on theorder thank you page
    • In the order confirmation
    • In the shipping confirmation
  5. Test also the return process and check that the information on the return form corresponds to the policies of your online store and company (if necessary, change the texts in the Dictionary).

    A return form is mandatory. However, you do not have to use the return form produced by the system, but you can print your own form according to the order if you wish.