merrion street

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton today announced a major overhaul of consumer law, including the enactment of a comprehensive Consumer Rights Act. The Minister was speaking as he launched the report of the Sales Law Review Group, established by his Department to make recommendations on reform of law in the area.

New laws in the area are expected to include:

• A ban on excessive payment fees – it will not be permissible for a seller to charge payment fees greater than the cost of processing the payment
• A ban on additional charges on consumers by means of ‘pre-ticked boxes’ – additional charges will only be permitted where express consent is given
• Curbs on “small print”, possibly by requiring minimum font sizes and mandatory font colour such as black
• A requirement that receipts be issued in consumer transactions
• A rule that consumers would have the right to reject faulty goods within 30 days, replacing the complex and uncertain rules that currently apply
• A rule that goods must be of satisfactory quality
• Significant pro-consumer improvements in laws relating to services, including a rule that sellers cannot exclude certain terms in consumer contracts and strengthened guarantees as to the quality of a service provided to a consumer
• Improvements in the rules governing distance and off-premises selling. These will apply most notably to internet purchases, and will include an increase from 7 to 14 days in the time period in which consumers can withdraw from a contract

The Minister’s intention is to implement some of these provisions, in particular the measures in respect of excessive payment fees and ‘pre-ticked boxes’, by statutory instrument in advance of the comprehensive legislation.

Speaking at the launch of the report the Minister said:

Transactions involving a consumer on the one hand and a business on the other are inherently unbalanced, and government has an obligation to regulate where the consumer needs protection. As this report has found, much of the law in this area dates from the late 19th century and is totally inappropriate for the era of the smartphone and the large supermarket.

That is why I have asked my Department to radically overhaul the four Acts and the five pieces of secondary legislation relating to consumer transactions. By consolidating and reforming the plethora of laws in the area to bring about a comprehensive Consumer Rights Act we will create a structure that will be appropriate for the 21st-century consumer market, will be simpler to understand, will create clearer rules for businesses, and will bring about substantial improvements for consumers.

I commend the Sales Law Review Group for the major piece of work they have done in this area