The Consumer Rights Bill (the ‘Bill) is a draft piece of legislation that was introduced earlier this summer and is currently making its way through parliament. It is specifically designed to draw together and redesign consumer law to make it easier to understand, and its arrival will streamline eight existing pieces of legislation in the process. Rights and remedies relating to digital content, goods and services, unfair contract terms and new rules on enforcement are all elements where the Bill will introduce changes, which will need to be reflected in the terms and conditions of existing consumer facing websites. So, what do the amendments proposed by the bill mean for the consumer?
The introduction of rights and remedies related to digital content is probably one of the most important changes that the Bill is introducing, in direct response to the amount of online activity most consumers now engage in. New statutory rights will require that any digital content that has been paid for, or provided free with content that was paid for, must be of satisfactory quality within the expectations of a reasonable person, fit for a particular purpose, and must match the description provided. A right of repair or replacement is the remedy if these statutory rights are not met, and if that can’t be provided, then a refund must be offered.
The Bill has also beefed up and restated the law relating to goods and services. With respect to goods, the Bill introduces a fixed time period of 30 days in which consumers can return goods, ensures that traders can’t reduce the refund available if goods are returned within the first six months, highlights that the risks associated with delivery of goods remain with the trader until the consumer physically possesses them and clarifies that consumers only have to accept one repair or replacement before being entitled to some degree of refund. With respect to services, a ban is introduced on excluding statutory rights, there is a requirement that the services must comply with information describing them that is provided anywhere by the trader, not just in the contract, and an immediate refund must be offered if services are not provided in a reasonable time.
Legislation concerning unfair terms in consumer contracts – the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 ("UTCCRs") and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 ("UCTA") – is consolidated by the Bill into one set of regulations. It contains a non-exhaustive list of terms that might be considered to be ‘unfair’ which backs up the new ‘fairness test’ whereby terms will only be binding where they are fair – i.e. where they don’t cause a significant imbalance in the rights and obligations of the parties that is to the disadvantage of the consumer. ‘Transparent’ (i.e. in plain, comprehensible English) terms that relate to the price or subject matter of the contract won’t be subjected to the fairness test.
The new Bill also deals with those bodies that are charged with enforcing the legislation, including Trading Standards and the new Competition and Markets Authority. New powers, such as the right to apply for an injunction to prevent businesses using unfair terms and conditions, have been introduced, although these are balanced by stronger safeguards in the bill to protect businesses – for example, requiring these bodies to give two days written notice before entering the premises.
Whilst all these measures are still in draft form in the Bill, they represent an encouraging step towards genuine, relevant consumer protection. It now remains to be seen which provisions will make it through parliament and which won’t.