What are your consumer rights when it comes to Christmas Presents?

What are your consumer rights when it comes to Christmas Presents?

The Litigation Team at Bradley Haynes Law can support you in bringing consumer action against suppliers of goods and services if they fail to comply with the law. If we can help, get in touch by phone on 01905 900 919 or by email at Neil@bradleyhayneslaw.co.uk.

Christmas is for many people, their favourite time of year – time with the family, great food and of course, presents! Whilst we would like good cheer to all men, things do not always go so smoothly and with Christmas just around the corner, our Litigation Team rounds up your options for when things go wrong.

The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (the ‘Act’) provides protection for consumers when they have purchased goods or services which are not up to standard. These protections cover both physical and digital goods and services.

Contracts for goods

The Act does not extend to all contracts for goods and only the following will be addressed under the Act:

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

Statutory rights

The Act provides for statutory rights which some may recognise from other legislation such as the Sales of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. These statutory rights 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 goods are not of satisfactory quality, are not fit for purpose, are not as described, do not match a sample provided and/or do not match a model seen or examined, the Act provides a number of remedies including:

• The short-term right to reject
• The right to repair or replacement
• The right to a price reduction or the final right to reject
• Claiming damages (compensation)
• Seeking specific performance
• Seeking an order for specific implement
• Relying on the breach against a claim by the trader for the price of the goods
• For breach of an express term, exercising a right to treat the contract as at an end

Contracts for digital goods

Similarly, to contracts for goods, the Act does not apply to all contracts for digital goods and only the following will be covered by the Act:

• 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 or 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 or 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, these include:

• 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 fault digital goods are similar to those in respect fo physical goods, including:

• The right to repair or replacement
• The right to a price reduction
• Claiming damages (compensation)
• Seeking to recover money paid where the consideration for payment of the money has failed
• Seeking specific performance
• Seeking an order for specific implement
• Relying on the breach against a claim by the trader for the price
• For breach of an express term, exercising a right to treat the contract as at an end
• Remedies for damage to devices or other digital content

Contracts for services

The Act covers all contracts for the provision of services between a trader and consumer but does not include employment or apprenticeship contracts, gratuitous contracts (in the case of contracts entered into in Scotland) and/or contracts relating to the rights of passengers in bus and coach transport.

Statutory rights

As with contracts for the provision of goods, the Act provides for statutory rights in respect of contracts for the supply of services, these rights include:

• Services to be performed with reasonable care and skill
• Information about the trader or service to be 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 and these include:

• The right to require repeat performance
• The right to a price reduction
• Claiming damages (compensation)
• Seeking to recover money paid where the consideration for payment of the money has failed
• Seeking specific performance
• Seeking an order for specific implement
• Relying on 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?

It is often the case that if you have received the incorrect item from a shop, you can return it and request a refund without dispute or if a service has not been supplied as agreed, a compromise can be reached but disputes can arise.

If you have purchased goods and/or services and are not satisfied with what you have received, you may be able to rely upon the Act in reaching a favourable outcome.

The Litigation Team at Bradley Haynes Law can support you in bringing consumer action against suppliers of goods and services if they fail to comply with the law. If we can help, get in touch by phone on 01905 900 919 or by email at Neil@bradleyhayneslaw.co.uk