I occasionally watch these ‘customs’ docusoaps on TV where they send drug sniffer dogs into airports and cut open children’s books to find stashes of cocaine in the cover. It’s all fascinating stuff, and it’s amazing to see what people try and get away with.

I’ve always wondered however, what happens if they get it wrong? What if they cut up an expensive camera only to find it filled with the usual set of electronics, or deface a child’s toy to find it completely empty or harbouring a little sand from the beach?

Today I found out, they just put the pieces back in the box and deliver it. A friend returned a USB 3G modem and cable from Australia by post. Thankfully the modem survived, but the cable is unusable:

There were no stickers on the package, no apology, no £5 cheque for a replacement cable, just a broken cable and bits of surgically removed plastic! I don’t know if it was done by UK or Australian customs, I don’t know why, they didn’t even bother to properly reseal the package, it was just stuck down with the same glue Jen used to package it to start with and dropped through my letterbox by the postman.

I hope this doesn’t happen too often, think of those children opening a stuffed bunny birthday present only to find it had been decapitated by some overzealous customs official.

Thank you whoever you are, for not cutting up the modem and various other things I have posted from abroad. Next time, a little post-it with a handwritten ‘Sorry’ would have been enough for something of this value. At least that way I’d accept it’s part of your job to destroy other people’s things.

As the self-assessment deadline draws closer, thousands of business are being hit with an email, supposedly from the tax office claiming they are owed a rebate. HMRC describe it as ”the most sophisticated and prolific scam” they’ve had to deal with and would like to remind people that HMRC will only ever offer rebates by post.

HMRC are receiving around 500 of these emails forwarded by customers. Taxpayers are being asked either to leave their bank details or to call a premium rate number which will charge them around £6 per minute as they hold for a reply.

From HMRC: “We only ever contact customers who are due a refund in writing by post,” said a spokesman for HMRC. “We never use emails, telephone calls or external companies in these circumstances, and it is very important that anyone receiving it does not reply or provide any personal details whatsoever.”

 

Website Accessibility

2.2 (p7): “The Disability Discrimination Act makes it unlawful for a service provider to discriminate against a disabled person by refusing to provide any service which it provides to members of the public.”4.7 (p39): “From 1st October 1999 a service provider has to take reasonable steps to change a practice which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services.”

2.13 – 2.17 (p11-13): “What services are affected by the Disability Discrimination Act? An airline company provides a flight reservation and booking service to the public on its website. This is a provision of a service and is subject to the act.”

5.23 (p71): “For people with visual impairments, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”

5.26 (p68): “For people with hearing disabilities, the range of auxiliary aids or services which it might be reasonable to provide to ensure that services are accessible might include … accessible websites.”

Hotels have lifts, shops have ramps, even London underground is making an effort. (although much work still needs to be done.)

Is a website not accessible? How do you make a website accessible?

Blind people cannot read a computer screen, but many are online. How? They use a screen reader to read the page. Text content NEEDS to be in order in the code for this to work, also images should not be used for content, and any flash should have a text alternative.

Coming away from the extreme, many people in the UK are long-sighted or have difficulty reading, particularly on the back-lit screen. To combat this, the text colour should contrast the background, should be large enough or be re-sizable. You should also take into account the number of colourblind men there are out there, particularly when some colours are indistinguishable.

If you rely on video or audio files, you should provide a text alternative for the deaf.

Flash websites are BANNED! however some flash elements with text equivalents are still allowed… they are usually unnecessary. If a site must be in flash, a full HTML version should be provided, the second html site is also good for google as flash can’t be seen.

“This seems a bit like political correctness gone mad, can you be sued?”

In a word, yes. The RNIB has approached two large companies with regard to their websites. When they raised the accessibility issues of the websites under the DDA, both companies made the necessary changes, rather than facing the prospect of legal action (in exchange for anonymity).

The DRC launched a formal investigation into 1000 websites, of which over 80% were next to impossible for disabled people to use. They issued a stern warning that organisations will face legal action under the DDA and the threat of unlimited compensation payments if they fail to make websites accessible for people with disabilities.

In short, if you operate a website, this applies to you. Generally speaking, little will need to be done (if anything) to make your site accessible, speak to your web designer today or contact us for advice.

You can also check your site free on http://wave.webaim.org/

While not 100% accurate, it will give a good idea as to how much work will be needed. Have a chat to your web designer if you think your exposure could be increased.

Can I also tell you a secret? Google factors website accessibility into it’s algorythm. An accessible website will rank more highly than an in-accessible one with the same content.

I know they are not sexy, but hey, if you got them sorted out for your business you would not need to spend fees on lawyers over disputes. We are still building our site and want to offer some free items to display in our contracts section. We believe this will drive more traffic to us as well as offering something useful for propective clients.

What sort of terms would you like to see as free my ideas so far are:

Web site terms of use
Privacy Terms
IP ownership terms of use
Shareholders agreement
Trading terms for the supply of services B2B

Any more thoughts on what else would be useful? We will decide on the top 5 and refresh them every quarter.

Author: Sue McGaughran – LimeOne – Legal Advice, Ecommerce Contracts, Legal Document Shop

Do we need a code of conduct for writing blogs?

According to DLA Piper, only 5% of Internet users know the legal rights and wrongs of posting online. It also found that 77% of bloggers were unaware of the law surrounding publication and journalism.

The same study found that 42% of Internet users believe that bloggers should be made to follow the same legal standards as journalists. 46% like the idea of a voluntary code of conduct. Bloggers however, don’t agree, only 32% support the idea with 34% directly opposed.

According to a spokesman from DLA Piper, there is potential for bloggers to end up in court. Beyond defamation and employment law, there are plenty of other issues which bloggers could trip up on. Issues such as, but not limited to: Libel, Contempt of court, the Telecommunications act, Protection from harassment act, even the anti-terrorist legislation.

Given that nobody reads website Terms and Conditions (and many still do not have them!) wouldn’t a code of conduct be pointless? Essentially, a code of conduct is not a set of laws, followers of this conduct will however protect themselves against some potential legal surprises if UK companies and individuals do decide to clamp down. A court may even look more favourably on them for following the voluntary code if the matter does reach a court.

Who would sign up for a voluntary code of conduct? Would it be those who are already careful in what they publish? or would it be the trouble makers inspiring this discussion in the first place?