Consumer Protection

I

Introduction

Consumer Protection, rights granted by law and political pressure to those who buy goods or services, not in the course of business, but as private citizens for their own consumption or use. Consumers are afforded protection both in respect of the quality of the goods and their safety, by controls imposed on the goods during their production, sale, and use. Similar rules apply to services provided, and, in particular, to goods provided in the course of a service.

II

Production of Goods

The control of quality in production is largely the responsibility of the manufacturer, for whom the consequences of failure become apparent at later stages. However, certain manufactures that carry inherent dangers, such as drugs, electrical equipment, or motor vehicles, are covered by formal legal provisions. As well as these requirements there are standards authorities that set good-practice requirements in design and production, and consumers' groups, which may monitor products to bring public pressure to bear on producers.

III

Sale of Goods

The law grants certain minimum rights to the purchaser of goods. English law requires that goods be of a quality that is adequate for the purpose for which they are usually used, and for any particular purpose of which the seller is aware. They must also correspond to any description of them if they were sold on that basis. If any of these guarantees are broken, the buyer can return the goods and get a refund of the payment made, if he or she acts promptly, or can claim damages for the breach. While it may be possible to alter these conditions if the sale is between businesses, the ordinary consumer can never be deprived of these rights.

The seller of goods owes a contractual duty to his or her purchaser. The seller also owes a duty in negligence to anyone who might reasonably be expected to be affected by the condition of the goods.

In certain circumstances, a credit card company will be liable in contract to the purchaser of goods who had bought them on a credit card. So a person who has bought defective goods may have recourse against the company where the seller cannot or will not cooperate.

Under the British Trade Descriptions Act it is a criminal offence to give a false description of goods, and to attempt to persuade a consumer, by writing on the goods' packaging, that these rights do not apply.

Many manufacturers also offer a “no questions asked” money-back guarantee. This is not legally required, but it makes the goods seem more attractive, and also avoids the administrative costs of dealing with complaints under the legal procedure. Where a seller is obliged to accept the return of goods, the buyer is entitled to the return of the price paid: a buyer is not obliged to accept a credit note, or replacement goods.

IV

Use of Goods

Once goods have been accepted and prove to be of satisfactory quality, the consumer has legal protection if the goods subsequently prove dangerous in use. This is the case regardless of whether or not they are inherently dangerous. Formerly, the consumer had to show that the producer was negligent: this would, however, often be evident from the state of the goods.

The Consumer Protection Act 1987 makes a seller or manufacturer liable for damage done by a defective product—that is, if the safety of the product is not such as people generally are entitled to expect.