Supply of Goods and Services Act:
This is along the same lines of the Sale of Goods Act, except it covers services as well. The act states that anybody providing a service, for example a haircut, holiday, bus journey must carry out the work to a proper standard of workmanship, with reasonable care and skill, also if no fixed time or cost has been placed on the work then it must be completed within a reasonable amount of time, at a reasonable cost. To define what reasonable is the consumer is helped by standards laid down by various bodies, including trade associations, professional bodies or one of the official ‘watchdog’ bodies such as Ofcom.
Trade Descriptions Act:
This act makes it an illegal offence to make false statements about goods offered for sale, or to make misleading statements about services. This act also affects false or misleading adverts, packaging and labels, for example making a misleading statement about a service, e.g. “our swimming pool is the best in the country” when it is not.
Customer Credit Act:
The consumer credit act requires any business dealing with debts, e.g. debt collection, debt adjustment, etc. or credit brokers, to obtain a consumer credit license from the office of fair trading. Trading without a license is a criminal offence and can be punished with a fine and/or imprisonment. The Act also requires certain credit and hire agreements to be contained in writing, set out in a particular way and to contain certain information - for example, they must contain an annual percentage rate (or APR) which is based on the 'total charge for credit' so that consumers can work out the comparative value of the deals.
Weights and Measures Act:
The Weight and Measures Act ensures that all weights and measures used on products are correct. So that when a consumer is buying twenty litres of petrol what they get is twenty litres of petrol and not anything less. There are secret test done on products being sold to customers on weight and measures, to make sure that they are abiding the laws.
Working Time Directive:
The working time directive sets limits on the hours an employee can be asked to work. It tries to prevent stress by preventing people from working too much, it also promotes safety. Although it is possible for workers to opt out it they want to. The directive includes;
- 48 hrs a week is the limit a worker can be required to work a week (if the employee chooses to opt out they can work more).
- Night workers can only be required to work a limit of 8hrs in 24, and they hold the right to receive free health assessments.
- A right to 11hrs rest a day
- A right to a day off each week
- A right to a break at work if their working day is longer than 6hrs.
- A right to 4 weeks’ paid leave a year.
This can also reflect onto customer service. If an employer does not conform to these rules then their employees will be overworked so this can lead to ineffective customer service, which can ultimately lead to a loss in sales.
EU Influences on Legislation:
The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations, which came into force in 2003, put into practice an EU directive geared towards harmonising consumer law throughout the EU. In the case of the UK consumers were already in a strong position, but these rights were also granted to UK consumers following this EU base set of regulations:
- Consumers will be entitled to their legal rights wherever they buy goods within the EU.
- UK consumers will have the right to replace or have repaired goods if they are faulty.
- If the goods develop a fault within the first 6 months, and the retailer wishes to disagree with the claim, the retailer has to provide evidence that the fault was not present at the time of purchase.
Trading Standards and the Office of Fair Trading:
If a consumer would like to complain then they are entitled to take their complaints to their local Trading Standards office. When this is threatened the retailer usually gives into the demand as the unfavourable publicity will not reflect will on the company or its reputation.
The Office of Fair Trading is the UK government’s consumer protection agency. The OFT states that it is “responsible for making markets work well for consumers…by promoting and protecting consumer interests throughout the UK, while ensuring that businesses are fair and competitive”.
Will Hindle
