Consumer Rights vs. Trader Obligations – are They Balanced?

Nowadays, various disputes can occur almost in every sphere of social life, and the trade is not an exception here. It is a frequent case when controversial points arise between consumers and traders concerning different peculiarities of this or that product. That is why there must be developed the strict legislation in order to systematically and consistently solve all the disputes arisen. Thus, the main task of the given essay is to describe the fundamentals of consumer rights and trader obligations as well as to explain how they are balanced.

To begin, it is necessary into gain insight on the terminology. A trader does not obligatory mean a sole trader; the term embraces a person, partnership, company or even public authority performing their functions for the purpose of their business. Even if a person does not have any business name or company, he or she is still considered to be a trader also known as a private seller. On the other hand of the relationships, we find a consumer who is described as a person who this time is not acting for the purpose of any business. Even if a consumer owns a company, he is still deemed to be a consumer. The only case when an individual cannot be considered as a consumer is when he or she deals with a trader who distributes his services to businesses only.

It is not a surprise that the relationships between the two mentioned above must be strictly governed. Thus, it is time to mention the Consumer Rights Act that came into force on 1 October 2015 (Wimbledon). The given piece of legislation contains both the consumer rights and the trader obligations. That is why it is a must-read for both parties to a trade. As for the trader obligations, there are a few requirements the products on sale must correspond to. To explain, the products must be of a satisfactory quality, fit for the purpose, and match the description (Wimbledon). Though the requirements seem to be clear and logical, they are not always met. Also, if a trader is obliged to perform the installation of the products under a contract, they must be installed properly.

When a trader fails to meet the requirements mentioned above, a consumer is entitled to exercise the right to refund, repair or replacement (Wimbledon). If a consumer’s claim is made within 30 days of the sale of products, a trader has only 14 days to refund the consumer. However, when a claim is made after the stipulated period, a consumer is entitled to repair or replacement only. Moreover, any case of repair or replacement must be performed at the trader’s expense and without causing significant inconvenience. In addition, if repair or replacement fails to be performed in compliance with the requirements stipulated, the consumer has the right to a price reduction. If the consumer is not satisfied with the situation even after that, a compensation is said to be a remedy of the last resort.

Taking into account everything mentioned above, it can be supposed that a trader has a lot of obligations to a consumer, while the latter is not limited by any requirements. Fortunately, this guess is false. In other words, not every claim made may be considered as valid. To explain, there are particular cases when the claims cannot be accepted by a trader due to different reasons. For example, the first case when consumers cannot claim for defects is when these defects had been put on notice before they bought the products. Secondly, if any damage is caused by consumers themselves or by a proper exploitation, no claim may be made. Finally, it is really good news for traders that consumers are not allowed to ask for the refund or any other type of the remedies just because they have changed their mind about wanting the products. Otherwise, all the traders will suffer great losses because of exercising this right.

To conclude, we should say that the economic relationships between traders and consumers are a serious challenge from a legislative point of view. That is why the Consumer Rights Act 2015 provides both parties with the exhaustive information on how all the possible controversial points must be settled down. Under the given Act, we can state that the consumers and traders have both rights to exercise and obligations to meet. To put it differently, one can be sure that the document under consideration make the relationships balanced.

Works Cited

Wimbledon, Jade. “Sale of Goods Legislation: a Guide for Small Businesses.” Simply Business, 16 Mar. 2017, www.simplybusiness.co.uk/knowledge/articles/2017/03/sale-of-goods-legislation-consumer-rights-act-guide-for-small-businesses/.

The terms offer and acceptance. (2016, May 17). Retrieved from

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"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016.

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

freeessays.club (2016) The terms offer and acceptance [Online].
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[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]

"The terms offer and acceptance." freeessays.club, 17 May 2016

[Accessed: March 29, 2024]
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