CONSUMER LAW SOLICITORS

What Does Consumer Law Cover?

Consumers have a collection of rights that are protected by UK law, ensuring that they can be secure when purchasing goods and services. Consumer law covers a variety of products and ensures that regulations are met by the suppliers and manufacturers. Consumer law covers purchases made in store, online, in entertainment sectors such as restaurants and travel concerns.

Some examples of products that are covered by consumer law include:

• Credit cards
• Faulty goods including large household appliances
• Faulty vehicles including cars, caravans and boats
• Counterfeit (fake) goods and branded items
• Contractual issues
• Poor services
• Rogue traders
• Construction complaints and problems.

Many of the above services are protected by industry specific regulations and consumer law works to ensure that such rules are followed and observed. The Ombudsman Association has information on all UK registered ombudsman and can direct consumers to the relevant one based on their case.

What Protection Do I Have?

Consumer law covers a host of areas and industries and as such, individual cases will receive individual results. As a basic guideline, consumers who have a faulty product are protected by the Sale of Goods Act 1979. The Act provides consumers with statutory rights and includes the right to be sold an item of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose. The product must also match the description that was given prior to purchase. When these rights are breached, consumers may be able to obtain a refund, replacement and recovery of any losses incurred through the substandard product or service.

Can I Claim for Legal Fees?

Claims under the value of £10,000 are usually considered to be small claims. This means that is is usually not possible to recover the costs of legal advice and services through the claim. Claimants should therefore be aware of this and ask their solicitor to confirm the viability of their case and assess the value of the investment in legal advice.

Claims above the value of £10,000 are more likely to be more in-depth cases and as such, legal fees are usually able to be recovered through the claim process and settlement.

Are my credit and store cards covered?

Under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act, credit and stores cards are protected by consumer law. This extends further to mean that a credit card company is jointly liable for purchases of products made on the card. This means that contractual breaches may also be claimed for via credit cards, where applicable. Claimants are therefore able to make simultaneous claims to a manufacturer or service provider, as well as a credit card company. This reduces the financial losses suffered by claimants while claims are investigated and processed.

What Acts are covered by consumer law?

Consumer law covers a variety of cases and supports several governmental acts that are passed for the protection of UK consumers. Some of the most common Acts that are supported by consumer laws include:

• The Sale of Goods Act 1979
• Consumer Rights Act 2015
• Consumer Credit Act 1974
• Supply of Goods and Services Act 1979

The contents of such Acts are in depth and extensive, though consumer law solicitors are well versed in the structure and inclusions of the Acts. The solicitor will understand what areas of care and contracts have been breached and where losses may be recoverable.

Am I Protected for Travel Under Consumer Law?

Travel purchases and arrangements are covered under consumer laws and substandard services and goods are protected along with other such products.

Recent European laws have gone further to ensure that the rights of travellers are protected. This means that even the most budget forms of travel must observe a variety of laws and rulings to maintain a uniformed basic level of service to their consumers. This includes the right to board a plane when a passenger meets the boarding criteria (fit to fly, valid ticket and prompt check-in). This allows for protection against over-booking of services and company error, meaning that travellers should not suffer due to travel and transport companies' fault.

The laws have further defined the need to care for passengers in the event of delays and cancellations. Travel consumers are now further protected when suffering from such eventualities, as travel providers must supply refreshments, accommodation, communications amongst other things. These laws are to be observed across Europe and are not limited to the UK only.