Consumer law Flashcards
What is someone’s right
A right is something that you are entitled to i.e. the right to go to the toilet during class, or a right to an education.
What is someone’s responsibility
A responsibility is a duty, something that you are expected to do i.e. you are required to follow the school rules as set out by the school.
What are the 2 acts
Fair Trading Act 1986
Consumer Guarantee Act 1993
What is consumer guarantee act
When you purchase a good or service you have certain guarantees under the CGA
That the goods you buy are an acceptable quality – Free from defects
That the goods fit their description
That the price is reasonable (if not agreed)
That the good is fit for the purpose you buy it
That the service will be completed in a reasonable time, price and quality
What are the remedies for consumer guarantee act
Repair
Refund
Replace
Services for these remedies must be at a reasonable price
Services must be completed by a reasonable time frame if not agreed on first
If you buy a good and then you want to return it because you do not want it anymore and it passes the Consumer Guarantees Act, the store is not obliged to take it back.
What is Fair trading act
Fair Trading Act (“FTA”): protects consumers against
Misleading and deceptive conduct
False and misleading representations
Unfair trading practices
What is misleading conduct
Misleading or deceptive conduct is behaviour that has the POTENTIAL to deceive and was probably not on purpose like making a person form an incorrect assumption.
Misleading conduct mainly applies to the way a product is shown to the person so the CONSUMER HAS NOT seen the product in hand but has been deceived by an ad or article into thinking of purchasing it
Ex.
Misleading packaging, advertising a product very cheap to attract customers but there is only a very small quantity of that product and false celebrity endorsements.
What is false representation
False representation is behaviour that is DIRECTLY done to deceive like when making claims to a person that are factually incorrect
False representation applies when the product is in hand or is shown to you and you have seen it but the company selling it lies about it and makes claims about the product that are factually incorrect. Like selling a samsung as an iphone when the consumer asked for iphone.
Ex.
Price is different from the label or shop says no refunds. A misrepresentation is a false statement, or representation, about a past or present matter of fact. Saying something was $600 and it is now $450. However, before the sale, the original price was actually $500 not $600.
What is unfair trading practices
Unfair Trading Practices are when a business makes true claims but do not back them up or they are true but are unreasonable
Difference between Misleading Conduct and False representation
Misleading Conduct – The statement or description of a product must be untrue but not fully lying. It is misleading. Making a statement that is untrue but not factually incorrect.
Example: Saying a piece of wood is mahogany but it is actually pine but with a mahogany stain. Although it says it is mahogany but is not, it still looks like mahogany. Statement something that is untrue but technically also correct.
False Representation – Fully lying about something by making a statement that is FULLY untrue and incorrect.
Example: Saying a piece of wood is mahogany but it is actually pine. Stating something that is factually incorrect.
What does made in NZ mean
Definition: Goods need to be built and made from start to finish in New Zealand. Not just assembled but even raw materials used to make the product that truly define the product are from NZ (wooden chair made in NZ must have wood in NZ and office chair made in NZ must have the base, gas lift and adjustment levers from NZ because they are what make it an office chair)
Example:
A company promoted an office chair as being ‘New Zealand made’. The chairs were assembled in New Zealand using components manufactured in Taiwan, China and Italy. The imported components included the base, gas lift, chair adjustment levers and seat. The only parts of the chair manufactured in New Zealand were the foam and upholstery for the seat and back support. The court held that the representation ‘New Zealand made’ was misleading because the New Zealand input into the chairs was not enough to justify describing the chairs as ‘New Zealand Made’.
What are remedies under FTA
Go back to the seller/trader/business to resolve
Make a complaint to the commerce office
