The Consumer – Rights and Responsibilities

What happens when we make a contract? Everyone enters into several contracts every day without even realising it. Each time you catch a bus or buy a magazine or a packet of sweets or visit the cinema you are making a contract. It means that both you and the other person involved have important rights. As a consumer you're entitled to receive the goods or services you asked for and you rightly expect them to be in a reasonable condition and safe to use whilst the supplier has the right to expect payment of the amount promised at the time you agreed upon.

Many people mistakenly believe that you can only have a Many people mistakenly believe that you can only have a legally binding contract if you have all the details written down and have signed the piece of paper. This isn't true. A contract is simply a deal between two people where each agrees to do something for the other. Often it involves paying money in exchange for goods or services - just as you buy a ticket from a train company in exchange for carrying you on one of their trains or you hand money to a newsagent in exchange for a magazine.

What does a contract involve? What does a contract involve? Three main things:- Offer-  as in the case of the CD, where you offer to buy it if the shop will order it for you. Acceptance - the shop accepts your offer and agrees to order it. Consideration - this basically means the payment or promise of payment of the agreed price when the CD arrives

There is NO contract, until an offer has been made and this has then been accepted. Both parties must be clear about what they're agreeing to.

What is The Sale of Goods Act 1979 ? This is a civil law which say that every time a trader sells you goods: They must be of "satisfactory quality" They must match the description the trader gives them They must be "fit for their purpose".

Unsatisfactory Goods If the seller fails to meet any one of these three conditions (satisfactory quality, description or fitness for purpose) then he or she is probably in "breach of contract". Despite anything a retailer may tell you, you have no legal claim against the manufacturer under the Sale of Goods Act. The law says that it's the retailer's responsibility. If the fault is serious and you find it almost immediately, or soon after purchase, then you are entitled to claim your money back.

What is The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982? The Supply of Goods and Services Act says that if goods are being supplied to you as a part of a service then those goods must be as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for the purpose. In other words they have to meet the same standards as those laid down in the Sale of the Goods Act - as if they'd been sold to you over the counter.

The second part of the Act deals with the basic obligations of anyone who provides a service, such as dry cleaning, hairstyling, plumbing, transport, estate agency. It says that the supplier must carry out the work with reasonable care and skill and that is must be done within a reasonable time and for a reasonable price.

What is The Trade Descriptions Act 1968? This Act sets out to protect consumers from traders who either deliberately or accidentally mislead their customers. The Act also makes it illegal for traders to knowingly mislead you about the services they are providing.

It is illegal for traders to describe falsely what they sell in writing, in advertisements (including those on radio or television) or by word of mouth.

Online shopping - your rights Many of your rights when buying online from a UK-based company are the same as when you buy from a shop

In addition, when shopping on the internet you are also entitled to: clear information about the goods or services offered before you buy written confirmation of this information after you have made your purchase a 'cooling off' period during which an order can be cancelled without any reason and a full refund made a full refund if the goods or services are not provided by the date you agreed. If you didn't agree a date, then you are entitled to a refund if the goods or services are not provided within 30 days.

For More Information: www.yomag.net/ www.askcedric.org.uk www.tradingstandards.gov.uk