Member Article

Bill of Rights proposed for consumers

The Government is consulting on a proposed ‘Bill of Rights’ for shoppers that will give them stronger rights to claim and redress for faulty goods.

Minister for Consumer Affairs, Norman Lamb, has launched a consultation to clarify the need and desire for the changes.

The Bill of Rights will set out in one place a clear code of shopping rights and simple standardised remedies for when things go wrong. Businesses will benefit from the simplified set of rules, which are intended to clear up customer issues more quickly.

Mr Lamb said: “The Consumer Bill of Rights will deliver greater clarity for consumers and save time and money for businesses so boosting confidence for consumers and businesses alike.

“The UK’s consumer law is complex and difficult for consumers and businesses to understand. We want consumers to feel confident about their rights so they can challenge businesses when they buy poor quality goods, services or digital content such as music or games. These new measures aim to do just that.”

The proposed changes will:

Clarify the nature of consumers’ rights and remedies in relation to the supply of goods, which is currently an area where the law is unnecessarily complex.

Bring the services regime more in line with the regime for goods, by strengthening consumer rights and remedies in relation to faulty services.

Modernise the law on digital content to protect consumers, by establishing a clear digital content regime with its own tailored set of rights and associated remedies.

Richard Lloyd, executive director of consumer body Which?, said: “It’s high time we had a new Consumer Rights Act to simplify and update the law, so we welcome these first steps by the Government. This should help people know what they’re entitled to and what they can do when things go wrong, which is good for consumers, better for businesses and benefits the economy.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jonathan Jones .