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词条 Consumer Rights Act 2015
释义

  1. Background

  2. Definitions

  3. Part 1

     Goods  Digital content  Services 

  4. Part 2

     Unfair terms 

  5. Part 3

     Competition law  Duty of letting agents to publicise fees  Secondary ticketing 

  6. Impact and reception

  7. Notes

  8. See also

{{primary sources|date=August 2016}}{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}{{Use British English|date=July 2014}}{{Infobox UK legislation
|short_title=Consumer Rights Act 2015
|parliament=Parliament of the United Kingdom
|long_title=An Act to amend the law relating to the rights of consumers and protection of their interests; to make provision about investigatory powers for enforcing the regulation of traders; to make provision about private actions in competition law and the Competition Appeal Tribunal; and for connected purposes.
|statute_book_chapter=2015 c 15
|introduced_by=Jo Swinson
|territorial_extent=England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland
|royal_assent=2015
|commencement=26 March 2015
|repeal_date=
|amendments=
|related_legislation=
|repealing_legislation=
|status=Current
|original_text=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents/enacted
|revised_text=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents
}}{{Contract law}}

The Consumer Rights Act 2015[1] is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that consolidates existing consumer protection law legislation and also gives consumers a number of new rights and remedies.

Provisions for secondary ticketing and lettings to force on 27 May 2015[2] and provisions for alternative dispute resolution (ADR) came into force on 9 July 2015 as per the EU Directive on consumer ADR.[3] Most other provisions came into force on 1 October 2015.[4]

The Act replaces the Sale of Goods Act, Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982,[5] making some changes to rights to return faulty goods for refund, replacement or repair, and adding new rights on the purchase of digital content. [6]

The Act is split into three parts:

  • Part 1 concerns consumer contracts for goods, digital content and services.
  • Part 2 concerns unfair terms.
  • Part 3 concerns other miscellaneous provisions.

Background

The Act was introduced to parliament by Jo Swinson MP, then parliamentary under-Secretary in the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, on 23 January 2014 with the aim of consolidating and updating consumer protection law and to therefore provide a "modern framework of consumer rights."[7]

Among the pieces of legislation that have been combined into the Consumer Rights Act are, most notably:

  • Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999
  • Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
  • Sale of Goods Act 1979
  • Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982

Definitions

Section 2 lays out the key definitions pertinent to the Act:[8]

  • A 'consumer' is "an individual acting for purposes that are wholly or mainly outside that individual's trade, business, craft or profession." This extends beyond any previous definition in UK or EU law as it includes contracts that are entered into for a combination of personal and business reasons.
  • A 'trader' is defined as "a person acting for purposes relating to that person's trade, business, craft or profession, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader's name or on the trader's behalf."
  • 'Business' is taken to include "the activities of any government department or local or public authority."
  • 'Goods' are "any tangible moveable items, but that includes water, gas and electricity if and only if they are put up for supply in a limited volume or set quantity."
  • 'Digital content' means "data which are produced and supplied in digital form."

Part 1

Goods

The Act requires goods to be:

  • Of satisfactory quality.[9]
  • Fit for the consumer's particular purpose.[10]
  • As described.[11]

Previously defective goods had to be rejected within a 'reasonable period' but now consumers have a minimum of 30 days in which they can reject goods that fail to conform to the contract.[12]

Digital content

Digital content includes not only content that is supplied for a price but also freemium software.[13] The requirements are identical to those of goods, stated above.[14] The main difference is that there is no right to reject digital content but rather the remedies include the right to repair or replacement, the right to a price reduction and the right to a refund.[14] Consumers may also pursue other traditional remedies such as damages and specific performance.

Services

Services must be performed with "reasonable care and skill"[15] and also "within a reasonable time".[16]

The Act also ensures that any statement a trader makes when a consumer is either deciding to enter into the contract or making a decision about the service after entering into the contract is now a binding contractual term. Previously such terms may only have given rise to an action in the tort of misrepresentation but now a claim may be brought for breach of contract.[17] This means that a claimant's case will generally be easier to prove and expectation damages may be awarded rather than compensation based on the principle of restitutio ad integrum.[18]

On top of the usual remedies consumers now also have the right to repeat performance[19] and price reduction.[20]

Part 2

Unfair terms

The definition of an 'unfair term' remains the same as that originally outlined in the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977; i.e. a term is unfair if, "contrary to the requirement of good faith, it causes a

significant imbalance in the parties’ rights and obligations under the contract to the detriment of the consumer."[21] However terms that express the main subject matter of the contract are not subject to this fairness test provided such terms are both transparent and prominent in the contract.[22]

The Act also adds to the so-called 'grey list' that lists a non-exhaustive range of terms which are, in most cases, likely to be considered unfair by the courts.[23] These include:

  • Extortionate charges when a consumer decides to cancel a contract.
  • Allowing the trader to make decisions about the characteristics of the subject matter after the contract had been concluded.
  • Giving the trader a mandate to vary the price after the consumer is already bound.

Section 71 places a duty on the court to consider the fairness of contractual terms even where neither party raises the issue.[24]

Part 3

Competition law

Schedule 8 amends the Competition Act 1998 and greatly expands the jurisdiction of the Competition Appeal Tribunal to the extent that it now has similar powers the High Court. The Act also now provides for collective proceedings, a form of class action, on an 'opt-out' basis on top of the present 'opt-in' system.[25][26] There is also now a statutory scheme of voluntary redress in competition law; a form of ADR.[27]

Duty of letting agents to publicise fees

Letting agents are under a duty to display a list of fees in each of their offices in a prominent position. Such a list must include:

  • A description of each fee.
  • Whether the fee relates to each dwelling-house or each tenant under a tenancy of the dwelling-house.
  • The amount of each fee.

The notice must also indicate that the agent is part of a redress scheme and give the name of said scheme.[28]

Secondary ticketing

Anyone reselling tickets for an event must give the following information:[29]

  • The seat (or standing area) that the ticket is for.
  • Any restrictions on the type of person who may use the ticket (e.g. age restrictions etc.).
  • The face value of the ticket.

The event organiser may not cancel a ticket or blacklist a seller for re-selling the ticket unless this right is contained within the original terms of the ticket.[30]

Impact and reception

The official position is that it is hoped that by consolidating existing legislation the new Act will simplify consumer protection law for both consumers and businesses alike.[31] Also,the government predicts that the Act will "boost the economy by £4 billion" over the course of the next decade.[32]

Although claimed to be a "consolidation", the Act is nothing of the sort. Consumers and businesses had hoped simply for an update and consolidation of standard statutes like the Sale of Goods Act 1979 and the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. In the event, these older statutes (along with their updating mini-statutes) continue, with the massive new 2015 Act[33] sitting on top of them all.{{POV statement|date=December 2015}}

Notes

1. ^{{cite web|title=Consumer Rights Act 2015|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents|publisher=The National Archives|accessdate=19 March 2019}}
2. ^{{cite web|title=Consumer Rights Act 2015 / ADR: guidance for businesses|url=http://www.businesscompanion.info/en/news-and-updates/consumer-rights-act|publisher=businesscompanion|accessdate=19 March 2019}}
3. ^{{cite web|title=SI 2015 No. 1392: Consumer Protection|url=http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/1392/pdfs/uksi_20151392_en.pdf|publisher=The National Archives|accessdate=19 March 2019}}
4. ^{{cite news|title=Right to 30-day refund becomes law|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34403005|publisher=BBC|accessdate=19 March 2019|work=BBC News|date=October 2015|last1=Milligan|first1=Brian}}
5. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/consumer-rights-act |title=Consumer Rights Act 2015|website=Which? Consumer Rights |date= |author= |accessdate= 1 March 2017}}
6. ^{{cite web |url=http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/sale-of-goods-act |title=Sale of Goods Act|website=Which? Consumer Rights |date= |author= |accessdate=1 March 2017}}
7. ^{{cite web|title=The Consumer Rights Bill: Improving Consumer Law|url=http://discuss.bis.gov.uk/consumerrightsbill/|publisher=Department of Business, Innovation and Skills|accessdate=July 2015}}
8. ^s 2 Consumer Rights Act 2015
9. ^s 9 Consumer Rights Act 2015
10. ^s 10 Consumer Rights Act 2015
11. ^s 11 Consumer Rights Act 2015
12. ^s 22 Consumer Rights Act 2015
13. ^s 33 Consumer Rights Act 2015
14. ^Chapter 3, Consumer Rights Act 2015
15. ^s 49 Consumer Rights Act 2015
16. ^s 52 Consumer Rights Act 2015
17. ^s 50 Consumer Rights Act 2015
18. ^{{cite web|title=The Consumer Rights Act: consolidating UK consumer protection laws|url=http://www.out-law.com/en/topics/commercial/consumer-protection/the-consumer-rights-act-consolidating-uk-consumer-protection-laws/|publisher=Pinsent Masons|accessdate=July 2015}}
19. ^s 55 Consumer Rights Act 2015
20. ^s 56 Consumer Rights Act 2015
21. ^s 62 Consumer Rights Act 2015
22. ^s 64 Consumer Rights Act 2015
23. ^Schedule 2, Consumer Rights Act 2015
24. ^s 71 Consumer Rights Act 2015
25. ^{{Cite journal|last=Mulheron|first=Rachael|date=2017|title=The United Kingdom's New Opt-Out Class Action|journal=Oxford Journal of Legal Studies|volume=37|issue=4|pages=814–843|doi=10.1093/ojls/gqx016}}
26. ^{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34402483|title=Class action legal change for UK|last=Coleman|first=Clive|date=2015-10-01|work=BBC News|access-date=2018-04-04|language=en-GB}}
27. ^{{cite web|title=The Consumer Rights Act: Enhancing the rights of competition law claimants and consumer law enforcers|url=http://www.dentons.com/en/insights/alerts/2015/july/8/the-consumer-rights-act?ParentItemID=ktrrmYwQ8YF3a5SKjru8rjQh4mofQ7sXIz2lFCnRwTHpmyWPUqCnxA==&Archive=False|publisher=Dentons|accessdate=July 2015}}
28. ^s 83 Consumer Rights Act 2015
29. ^s 90 Consumer Rights Act 2015
30. ^s 91 Consumer Rights Act 2015
31. ^{{cite web|title=The Consumer Rights Act 2015|url=https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/about-us/how-citizens-advice-works/citizens-advice-consumer-work/the-consumer-rights-act-2015/|publisher=Citizens Advice Bureaux|accessdate=July 2015}}
32. ^{{cite web|title=New bill of rights to help businesses and consumers|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-bill-of-rights-to-help-businesses-and-consumers|publisher=Department of Business, Innovation and Skills|accessdate=July 2015}}
33. ^{{cite web|title=The Consumer Rights Act 2015|url=http://www.cubismlaw.com/cubism-news/the-consumer-rights-act-2015/|publisher=Cubismlaw|accessdate=Oct 2015}}

See also

{{Clist fair terms}}
  • [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents Legislation.gov.uk]
  • Consumer protection in the United Kingdom
  • Office of Fair Trading
  • Standard form contract
  • Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999
  • Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
  • Sale of Goods Act 1979
  • Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982
  • Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999
{{UK legislation}}

3 : United Kingdom Acts of Parliament 2015|English contract law|Consumer protection in the United Kingdom

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