A New Era for Consumer Rights
19 September 2013
It has long been recognised that UK consumer law is not clear enough. Even the Department for Business Innovation & Skills (BIS) website says it is out of date, confusing and incomplete.
Now, the Government has published the eagerly awaited draft UK Consumer Rights Bill. At 117 pages, it’s certainly not a quick read, but it should make consumer law clearer for businesses and consumers, as well as improving consumer rights.
Not only does the Bill give consumers the right to a full refund if they return faulty goods within 30 days, but it creates a right to a repair or replacement of faulty digital content, which will cover music and film downloads, online games and e-books.
The Bill also covers “mixed contracts”, i.e. where a trader supplies a combination of goods and services and/or digital content.