Your consumer rights / Where to find out more / Who to complain to

This is a short guide to the main consumer protection elements of this law. See the Consumer Association for more information.

Who is a consumer?

A person comes within the legal meaning of the term 'consumer', in a situation and only in a situation, where they buy goods for their personal use or consumption from someone who sells them in the course of a business and the goods are ordinarily supplied for private use or consumption.

A person who receives goods as a gift is not considered to be a 'consumer' within the meaning of the Act and neither is someone who intends to use the goods in the course of a business. A consumer contract exists only between the buyer (the consumer) and the seller (usually a retailer).

When goods are bought the 'consumer' has a contract with the seller. Under this contract the consumer has a legal right to expect that the goods will be of merchantable quality. This means that the goods should be of reasonable quality taking into account what is said about them (advertising), what they are supposed to do, their durability and their price. Goods must also be fit for their purpose: in short they must do what they are sold as being capable of doing, and they must also be as described. The description on a package must not be misleading. Goods can be described in a brochure, or orally by a salesperson. Where goods are bought on seeing a sample, they should correspond with the sample. [e.g: if a consumer buys 20 rolls of wallpaper on the basis of looking at a sample roll the remaining 19 rolls must be the same as the sample roll looked at].

A consumer cannot claim for faults specifically brought to his or her attention or for faults which should have been noticed assuming that the goods were examined.


If things go wrong who is responsible for putting them right?

The seller: -always. It is the seller who has the contract with the buyer/consumer and the seller is always responsible to the consumer.


Your rights when things go wrong

If goods are not of merchantable quality or are not fit for their purpose or are not as described the consumer is entitled to a remedy.

If the reason for the complaint is not trivial and is discovered soon after purchase, the consumer is entitled to reject the goods and insist on a full refund provided prompt action is action is taken.

If the goods have been used for some time, or if there is undue delay in making the complaint, or if there is reason to believe that the goods have been accepted, the consumer's entitlement, at best, may be to a repair or to a partial refund.

There are no hard and fast rules as each case has to be considered on its merits.


If you change your mind?

The consumer has no rights to a remedy (refund) if what is involved is a change of mind or 'second thoughts' about the goods after purchase.

There are no rights either for faults that are due to misuse of the goods; for faults which are pointed out at the time of purchase or for faults which should have been seen on examination of the goods.


Repairs….must they be accepted?

Where goods have been used for a time and subsequently prove faulty the right to reject them may be lost. In such circumstances a repair or reject them may be the proper solution. A repair should be permanent. The circumstances of each case point to the appropriate remedy. For example, one cannot expect second-hand or 'shop soiled' goods to be of the same standard as new goods.


Renting and hire-purchase

As far as consumer rights are concerned it does not matter whether the purchase was by cash, credit, rental or hire-purchase. In each case the goods should be of merchantable quality, fit for their purpose, and as described.

If goods are bought with a personal loan from a finance company complaints should be made to the retailer in the first instance but the finance company may also be liable if they paid the money directly to the retailer.

If goods are paid for by credit-card, the credit card company may not be responsible to the consumer for the merchantable quality of the goods.


Notices which say: no money refunded

Such notices have no legal effect and should not be displayed. Consumer rights cannot be taken away in this way and it is an offence to display such a notice if it seems to imply that the consumer does not have the rights contained in the Act.


Credit notes

Notices saying that only credit notes will be given have no legal effect. Where a retailer accepts a complaint as valid the consumer can refuse a credit note and insist on a refund, or, as appropriate, a replacement of the goods.


Sales

Goods sold in a sale or at a reduced price are treated no differently in law to goods sold at any other time: they must be of merchantable quality, fit for their purpose and as described. However, if goods are marked 'imperfect' or 'shop soiled' or 'seconds' then the consumer is on notice that they may not be up to the standard of new or perfect goods and the price will usually reflect this. However, they must be of merchantable quality and fit for purpose relative to the price paid for them.


Guarantees

Where a person deals as consumer a guarantee is a bonus and cannot affect or take away the consumer's legal rights against the retailer. A consumer may opt to claim under a guarantee but cannot be obliged to do so. A guarantee may be useful to a third party however as it extends to anyone possessing the goods during the guarantee period.


Buying a motor car

Like any other goods motor cars must be of merchantable quality, fit for their purpose and as described. In addition the consumer also has a right to expect that a motor-car is safe: that it is free at the time of delivery from any fault that would make it a danger to the public or to anyone traveling in it. However, if it is agreed between the buyer and the seller in writing that the car will not be used by the buyer in the condition in which it is sold then the safety proviso may not apply. Written agreements of this kind must be both fair and reasonable.

Car-related threads that are quite technical are probably best posted in the Motors forum.



A contract exists between a person who supplies a service and the consumer who for it.

The consumer is entitled to expect:

1) That the supplier has the necessary skill to provide the service.
2) That the service will be provided with proper care and diligence
3) That materials used will be sound and that goods supplied as part of the service will be of merchantable quality.

If a service is unsatisfactory the consumer may be entitled to some remedy or compensation. A lot will depend on the circumstances of the case. However, consumer rights do not apply to services in every one. In certain circumstances the suppliers of services can limit their responsibilities to consumer through exclusion clauses provided the exclusions are specifically brought to the consumers attention and are fair and reasonable.

1. Complain to the person (the shop or the business) who sold the goods or the service.
2. Act promptly and reasonably: delay could result in a loss of rights
3. As a first step the consumer must be able to establish that the goods or service in question were bought from or were provided by the seller in question, e.g. through the production of a receipt or other form of proof of purchase. [Put simply, the consumer who is making the complaint must be able to show convincingly, as a necessary first step to having their rights vindicated, that they bought the goods where they say they bought them].

The role of NCA is to give information and guidance to consumers on their statutory rights. The NCA does not intervene or become involved in individual issues or disputes between consumers and sellers of goods or service providers.

Where the consumer and the trader cannot agree a solution then the only option may be for the consumer to go to court. In the last analysis only a court can order a trader to give compensation.



Where a consumer encounters difficulty in having their rights dealt with by a seller or supplier the District Court small claims procedure can in certain circumstances offer a remedy.

Anyone who has bought goods or a service for private use from someone selling in the course of business may take a small claims action.

Claims can be made for faulty goods, bad workmanship or a service not properly rendered but claims cannot be made for debts, personal injuries , or for goods bought on hire-purchase or on leasing agreements.

The small claims court will deal with complaints up to €2,000 and the fee to enter is €9. The consumer will also have to apply to the small claims court located nearest to the business. The information on the small claims court can be found at the courts service website.