Consumer Law ModuleCST 107 PDF

CONSUMER LAW MODULECST 107 The Consumer Rights Act, 2015 Miscellaneous protection WEEK 5 DR SINÉAD FUREY CONSUMER RIGHTS ACT, 2015 What do we already know? IMPLIED TERMS Take the form of specific promises to the buyer THE SELLER HAS THE RIGHT TO SELL THE GOODS Nora buys a new Ford Focus...

CONSUMER LAW MODULECST 107 The Consumer Rights Act, 2015 Miscellaneous protection WEEK 5 DR SINÉAD FUREY CONSUMER RIGHTS ACT, 2015 What do we already know? IMPLIED TERMS Take the form of specific promises to the buyer THE SELLER HAS THE RIGHT TO SELL THE GOODS Nora buys a new Ford Focus from Belfast Road Motors. She trades in her present car – a Ford Fiesta. Belfast Road Motors sells the Ford Fiesta for £5,000 to Owen. The Fiesta had in fact been stolen and belonged to Paul. The police trace the car and Owen is forced to hand the Fiesta over to its rightful owner. Paul goes to see the manager of Belfast Road Motors who explains that he had no idea the car was stolen and, although sympathises to Paul, says he can do nothing. What do you think? GOODS MUST BE OF “SATISFACTORY QUALITY” Rose buys a pair of trousers from Co-Designs that cost £65. When Rose tries the trousers on at home she notices a serious flaw in them and takes them back to the shop. The retailer is sympathetic and says she will send them back to the manufacturer and asks her to return in about two weeks’ time. Rose is unhappy and asks for her money back. The retailer refuses saying that she will have to get in touch with the manufacturer before she refunds any money. What do you think? FIT THE DESCRIPTION GIVEN Stephen buys three pairs of blue cotton sheets from a large store. The shop assistant gets the sheets from the shelf and they are already packed with a label indicating they are 85% cotton and are blue and cost £75. When Stephen gets home he finds, on unpacking them, that the sheets are nylon and are pink. He returns to the store with the sheets and demands a refund. The supervisor apologizes to Stephen but says, since he opened the packaging, he will not get a refund and suggests he should have checked before leaving the store. What do you think? FIT FOR PURPOSE Tessa has just bought a large house with a large garden. She is a keen but rather inexperienced gardener and she decides to go along to the garden centre of a large department store. The store regularly advertises the fact that it has employed two staff in its garden centre who are expert gardeners and will give their advice to customers who request it. Tessa is advised about a certain type of weed killer to destroy weeds that are spoiling a very attractive rockery. Tessa buys the weed killer on the advice of the assistant. Unfortunately, she has been given the wrong advice and the weed killer destroys all the plants in the rockery in addition to the weeds! Tessa returns to the shop and the manager is very sympathetic but reminds Tessa that she did not accept the advice given to her. What do you think? IMPLIED CONDITIONS The seller has the right to sell the goods Goods must be of satisfactory quality Fit the description given Fit for purpose installed correctly – where installation has been agreed as part of the contract. LEARNING OBJECTIVES #2 Discuss Unfair Contract Terms protection under the Consumer Rights Act 2015; and Check understanding of the consumer protection afforded under the Consumer Rights Act, 2015. RECAP OF WEEK 4 What are the remedies available to the consumer under the Consumer Rights Act, 2015 and how are they applied? UNFAIR CONTRACT TERMS The Consumer Rights Act 2015 will also cover the use of unfair terms in consumer contracts. What is an unfair term? FAIRNESS TEST Contract terms are tested for “fairness”. Any written term of a consumer contract or a consumer notice must be “transparent” meaning it is intelligible to consumers. Unfair terms are not legally binding on consumers. The Competition and Markets Authority can take enforcement action to stop the use of unfair terms – protecting consumers generally (rather than individually). CHALLENGING UNFAIR TERMS Unfair terms, if successfully challenged, are not legally enforceable/not binding on consumers and consumers may challenge terms they consider unfair. All important terms should be included in contracts / agreements and understood by both parties Nothing should be included within any contract /agreement that suggests any diminution of consumers’ legal rights. ADDITIONAL PROTECTION addition, any attempt to mislead the consumer about his rights is an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations, 2008. Where a trader has used misleading or aggressive selling practices, the consumer may be entitled to claim compensation and/or a reduction in price, or to cancel the contract completely.