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Consumer Rights
All businesses must consider consumer rights in their trading practices. The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (“the Act”) affords protection to consumers while giving new rights and additional remedies. The Act defines unfair treatment of consumers while the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 prohibits traders from using misleading or aggressive selling practices.
How businesses respond to consumer demand should be in adherence to the Act and should meet the expectations of trading standards. Consumer rights apply to all businesses, whether you’re a product retailer or a service provider, you must adhere to the Act which applies to the purchase, hire or part exchange of goods.
Consumer Rights
The law protects consumers when they have been treated unfairly or when things go wrong. This includes:
- credit and store cards
- faulty goods
- counterfeit goods
- poor service
- contracts
- builders
- rogue traders
Digital Products
Consumer rights apply to products bought online, meaning it should be of satisfactory quality and match its description. If it does not, the seller must cover the cost of replacing the product or (where the product is digital content) is damaged.
Claims and Remedies
When this Act is enforced, consumers can claim for compensation or are entitled to cancel the contract in its entirety. Trading standards can enforce consumer law and are empowered to enforce the law reasonably and fairly.
Remedies can be as simple as exchanging the product or refunding the cost of the product but disputes can often result in going to court to achieve a remedy.
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