Consumer Rights
The rights of customers and clients
Awareness of your consumer rights is practically a necessity in today’s world, where many businesses will happily rip you off with poor quality goods or services if they feel they can get away with it. Informing yourself of your rights may help you to tip the balance in your favour.
What sort of things does consumer law cover?
Consumer law is in place to protect you from the misfortunes that can arise when making purchases, whether through malice on the part of the supplier, poor build quality of items or simply bad luck. It ensures that you are able to take action if you should purchase faulty goods, or even if you hire faulty goods. It also protects you should you inadvertantly sign up to an unfair contract, and allows you to make holiday claims if you should suffer a sub-par vacation.
What legislation is in place to protect consumers?
Most forms of trade have particular legal restrictions on them to ensure that the buyer is treated fairly. The Supply of Goods and Services Act is one of the most useful, since it sets out what you can reasonably expect from purchased items or paid-for services, and offers recourse should the supplier fail on this front.
If you’ve been the victim of an untrustworthy salesman or made a regrettable purchase over the internet, the Doorstep Selling Regulations and Distance Selling Regulations may be exactly what you need.
Furthermore, if you’ve paid for anything priced between £100 and £30,000 using a credit card, it might benefit you to be aware of the potential for Section 75 claims if you end up in a situation where your purchase is unsatisfactory.
TV licensing laws are also a point of contention for many, and worth taking note of.
Consumer rights — what's in store for you
UK law outlines a range of rights held by consumers when buying goods or services from any kind of trader. Consumer rights offer widespread protection to people when they buy things and allow them to expect certain standards.
Enforcing your consumer rights through a solicitor
Solicitors specialising in consumer rights offer a valuable set of services in protecting the public from unscrupulous or irresponsible businesses out to get their money.
Legal advice for wronged consumers
There are many ways to obtain legal advice. Free legal advice is available from various websites online but this advice may be limited. The Citizens Advice Bureau and other pro bono groups also offer free legal advice on a range of topics including that of the consumerist market.