“After six months, the onus on proving a auto had a pre-existing fault shifts to the consumer – so the responsibility will lie with them if they are to benefit from the new law”. It consolidates three big pieces of consumer law – the Sale of Goods Act, the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations and the Supply of Goods and Services Act – to make shopping in the United Kingdom a safer and easier process if things go wrong.
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The Act sets out a clearer route for consumers’ remedies and clarifies the periods for fix, replacement and rejection of goods, services and digital content.
“As an example, only consumers who buy online can cancel within 14 days and get a refund, but for simplicity a few retailers will now allow a refund within 30 days, whether the goods are faulty or not”.
After 30 days, retailers have one opportunity to fix or replace a faulty item, at the customer’s choosing.
Consumers must understand their new rights and know how to assert them if necessary, said Helen Dewdney, who blogs as the Complaining Cow.
The Act has been welcomed by many consumer rights groups and further information can be found here.
For digital buyers, the new laws will be the first time such purchases been given clear legal protection. Shoppers are increasingly spending their money on digital content, with more than £2.8 billion spent on downloaded music, video and games last year, up 18% on the previous year.
At the same time, companies, including budget airlines, will no longer be allowed to hide charges in their smallprint.
Which? executive director Richard Lloyd said: “Consumer law was crying out to be brought up to date to cope with the requirements and demands of today’s shoppers”.
Getting a refund or fix, dealing with issues with faulty digital downloads and challenging unfair terms should all be made much simpler. Now the key terms of a contract, including price, may be assessed for fairness.
Previously terms and conditions were exempt from an official scrutiny when customers complained, as long as they were written in plain language, but from today it will be easier for customers to challenge them.
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“Businesses must ensure their staff are aware of the changes so they’re not caught out short-changing customers or breaking the law”. “The new Consumer Ombudsman offers a glimmer of hope, but the bulk of retailers are not yet signed up to it. This needs to change”.
