Introduction to consumer law

If you ever bought bread at the baker’s or a pair of shoes at a store, went by metro to work or had your washing machine repaired at a service station you were a consumer. A consumer is a person who buys goods and services for personal or household purposes from a seller.

When sellers offer and consumers agree to pay for goods or services, the parties have entered into a legal agreement which is called a contract. If the consumer and the seller have a dispute they can't settle themselves, the law may provide a remedy.

For many years, consumer law was characterized by the legal expression caveat emptor. This means " let the buyer beware." In other words, consumers had to look out for unfair and misleading sales practices before buying or else be prepared to suffer the consequences. Once consumers bought something, they were stuck with the purchase, even if they got less than they bargained for, such as unsafe or poor-quality products.

Today the law is more balanced. Consumers now have a right to be correctly informed of important information, such as quality, price and credit terms. Sellers must avoid sales and advertising practices that mislead, deceive, or are otherwise unfair to consumers. This increased concern for consumers is based on the fact that sellers are usually better informed about the products or services being offered and are usually in control of the sales transaction.

Even though the law has changed, the best protection is still a careful purchase.

While consumers have many rights, they also have responsibilities. For example, they have a responsibility to sellers to be fair and honest. A consumer who buys an item of clothing, wears it once to a party, and then returns it is not being fair and honest. When this happens, a seller's costs go up, and everyone winds up paying higher prices.

CONSUMER LAW: PROTECTION OF CONSUMER

Consumer protection is a term, which is applied to the efforts of government, public-interest organizations, individuals, and businesses to establish, protect, and enforce the rights of people who buy products such as food and automobiles or services such as health care and insurance.

Products offered for sale should not pose undue risk of physical harm to consumers or their families.

Consumers need sufficient information in order to choose wisely among the competing products and services available. The marketplace, however, contains a great many different and complex products, and advertising is usually not informative enough for consumer purposes. Therefore, consumers often lack the information required to compare the quality of various products and services, to determine their true cost, or to be assured of their suitability or safety. Many consumer problems are caused by incorrect or fraudulent information.

Consumers often need more than just the information sellers disclose. For instance, firms rarely volunteer information about the shortcomings of their products. To provide essential comparative information, several private, independent organizations test products and report their findings to interested persons.

A consumer who has been cheated or who has bought a product or service that does not perform properly has a right to seek a refund, replacement of the product, or other remedy. Sometimes, however, a buyer finds that the manufacturer or seller will not cooperate in resolving the complaint. In recent years laws have been passed to help dissatisfied consumers. Some laws declare certain deceptive business practices illegal and give consumers the right to sue a business believed to be violating the law. The communications media — newspapers, television, and radio — often aid consumers.

In many countries the governments play a major role in product testing and consumer education. Some nations place great emphasis on informative labeling. Other countries focus their efforts on making consumer assistance and information more accessible. Most industrialized nations, and many developing countries, have consumer product testing organizations that also publish reports on product tests, services, and other matters of importance to consumers.

The International Organization of Consumers Unions (IOCU) links activities of some 130 organizations in more than 50 countries. It serves as an international forum on consumer problems and works to stimulate an interchange of product test information, consumer education materials, and other data among organizations of different nations. IOCU sponsors an Asian-Pacific Regional Office to assist consumers in developing countries. The organization also represents consumer interests in international agencies such as the United Nations.