Know your Consumer Rights with our Litigation Team

15 March marks World Consumer Rights Day, so to celebrate the day, the Litigation Team here at Bradley Haynes is taking a look back at the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (the ‘Act’) and how it applies to you, the effect of the Act on goods and services (both physical and digital) which you may purchase, how it can assist you when it all goes wrong and what the team here at Bradley Haynes can do to support you in obtaining a remedy.

Who is a “Consumer”?

The Act defines a consumer as:

An individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft or profession

So, if you are purchasing goods or services, it is likely you would be covered by this definition (with certain exceptions as detailed below). If in doubt, speak to the Litigation Team at Bradley Haynes before pursuing any action.

Contracts for goods.

The Act does not apply to all contracts for goods and only the following are addressed under the Act:

• A sales contract
• A contract for the hire of goods
• A hire-purchase agreement
• A contract for the transfer of goods

Statutory rights.

For switched on shoppers out there, the Act provides certain rights which may seem familiar to those under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982, these include:

• Goods to be of satisfactory quality
• Goods to be fit for particular purpose
• Goods to be as described
• Goods to match a sample
• Goods to match a model seen or examined

Remedies.

If you have purchased goods which:

• Are not of satisfactory quality
• Are not fit for particular purpose
• Are not as described
• Do not match a sample
• Do not match a model seen or examined

The Act provides a number of remedies including:

• Short term right to reject
• Right to repair or replacement
• Right to a price reduction or the final right to reject
• Damages (otherwise known as compensation)
• Specific performance
• Specific implement
• Relying upon the breach against a claim by the trader for the price of goods provided
• Exercising a right to treat the contract as at an end (where an express term of the contract has been breached)

What about digital goods?

Whilst the Act also applies to digital goods, it does not address every contract and only the following would be covered:

• Contracts for traders to provide digital content to consumers where the consumer has or will pay a price
• Contracts for the provision of digital content if it is supplied free with goods, services, or other digital content for which the consumer pays a price
• Contracts for the provision of digital content if it is not generally available to consumers unless they have paid a price for it or for goods, services, or other digital content

Statutory rights.

Similarly, to contracts for physical goods, the Act provides for certain rights where the contract is concerned with the provision of digital goods, including:

• Digital content to be of satisfactory quality
• Digital content to be fit for particular purpose
• Digital content to be as described

Remedies.

Remedies available to consumers in respect of faulty digital goods reflect those seen for physical goods and these include:

• Right to repair or replacement
• Right to a price reduction
• Damages (otherwise known as compensation)
• Seeking to recover money paid where the consideration for payment of the money has failed
• Specific performance
• Specific implement
• Relying upon the breach against a claim by the trader for the price
• Exercising a right to treat the contract as at an end (where an express term of the contract has been breached)
• Remedies for damage to devices or other digital content
• Right to a refund

What about services?

The Act covers all contracts for the provision of services between a trader and a consumer but does not include:

• Employment contracts
• Apprenticeship contracts
• Gratuitous contracts (in the case of contracts entered into in Scotland)
• Contracts relating to the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport

Statutory rights.

The Act also provides statutory rights in respect of contracts for the supply of services, including:

• Services to be performed with reasonable care and skill
• Information about the trader or service being binding
• Reasonable price to be paid for a service
• Service to be performed within a reasonable time

Remedies.

As with contracts for goods, the Act provides remedies for contracts for the supply of services, including:

• Right to require repeat performance
• Right to a price reduction
• Damages (otherwise known as compensation)
• Seeking to recover money paid where the consideration for payment of the money has failed
• Specific performance
• Specific implement
• Relying upon the breach against a claim by the trader under the contract
• Exercising a right to treat the contract as at an end

What does this mean for you and how can Bradley Haynes help?

As a consumer, you hope the goods and services you purchase will be everything you want them to be, and it can be very disappointing when reality does not meet expectation. it cannot be said enough how important it is to be aware of your rights as a consumer especially when things go wrong.

Quite often, disputes between consumers and traders can be resolved amicably and any faulty goods or services can be replaced, or refunds agreed but it is not always so simple, and, in such cases, you may need to turn to the Act to obtain an appropriate and satisfactory remedy.

If you have purchased goods or services and are dissatisfied with the quality of your purchase and cannot agree a solution with the trader, get in touch with the Litigation Team at Bradley Haynes today by email at neil@bradleyhayneslaw.co.uk or telephone on 01905 900 949.

The Litigation Team will guide you through the law, advise on what remedies may be available to you and pursue traders to obtain a satisfactory outcome, whether that is through a negotiated settlement or court proceedings.