Consumer Rights and the Law

Author: muckshifter
Published on: 23-05-2004
Views: 24400


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Introduction

Know your rights!

When you buy something that turns out to be faulty, trying to argue your case with the retailer or manufacturer can be a testing experience. Despite strong laws designed to protect consumers from being “ripped off”, the advice given by retailers and manufacturers is often misleading or even downright wrong. This means the poor buyer is sent from pillar to post as they try to get a resolution. One of the consumer’s biggest enemies though, is lack of knowledge of the rights they have. Retail staff are often clueless about their legal responsibilities, and quote “company policy” as if it magically cancels out UK & European Laws. Be assured … it certainly does not.

I have often been asked for a definitive list of exactly which laws apply in which situation, and the action people can take. Sadly, this simply isn’t possible. All laws allow events to be judged in context, so interpretation is paramount in any situation.

What I can give you, though, is a round-up of the laws that protect you when buying from shops, online stores or over the phone. I’ll explain your main rights and responsibilities as a consumer and support it with advice from a qualified lawyer. I’ll also include some common questions we have received, with a brief summery of the legal position in each case.

Just remember that the law only protects you when you are in the right, and that a judge (if you ever went to court) could interpret a situation quite differently than you. One thing I can guarantee is that it’s difficult for a retailer to bluff someone who has researched their rights.

Consumer Laws

An introduction to Consumer Laws

The main Laws that preserve consumers rights are the “Sale of Goods Act 1979” (SGA) , the “Sale & Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2003” (SSGC), the “Supply of Goods & Services Act1982” (SGSA) and the “Distance Selling Regulations 2000” (DSR). There are other related laws, which I will mention, but the above cover most situations.

The majority of your rights are protected under the SGA. This is a good one to remember. This Law states, goods must be “of satisfactory quality”. This means there should be no faults or defects in components or design at time of manufacture that affect appearance or make the product unusable or unsafe. (Example … a TFT monitor with dead pixels) . If you buy from a shop, inspect the goods first (that’s right, take the things out of the box, or better still, get the shop assistant to do it for you) make sure you are satisfied.

One important aspect of the SGA is that you can’t return items to a shop because you have changed your mind, found something cheaper, or you just don’t like the colour. The SGA assumes that you have made an informed choice when buying in a shop. In practice, many shops offer a returns or exchange policy but, this is goodwill, NOT a legal obligation.

Fit for the Purpose

Does the product work as claimed?

What you buy must also be “as described” and “fit for the purpose”. In other words, it should be capable of undertaking the task it is described as being able to do. For example; if you purchase a camera on the fact that it has a zoom lens, or could have one added, and this feature is not available, then the goods are not as described or fit for the purpose you wanted. This could also count as “misrepresentation of goods”, which you can report to Trading Standards. It then can decide to prosecute the offender under the Trade Description Act 1968. In some cases, you might have to pursue such cases yourself through the “small claims court”. (see note)

If a product fails to satisfy any of the above criteria under the SGA, it can be returned to the retailer for a FULL refund, as long as this is done within a “reasonable time” of the sale (This particular legal “term” causes a lot of confusion).Contrary to what some retailers may insist, there is NO legal limit. However, I strongly advise you to check the goods as soon as possible and return them within seven days if not satisfied with the quality.

If you have problems within the first few weeks you could probably argue you have a right to a full refund. If they appear after a couple of months, it is not likely you will automatically be offered, a full refund, until you have let the retailer or manufacturers try to repair or replace the goods.