At the start of October, revised legislation came into effect, which provides the Consumer with some well needed power against the Seller.
The changes come under The Consumer Rights Act (CRA) 2015. These changes affect everything, from what you buy online, in shops and every contract you sign as a consumer.
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA) has removed and consolidated consumer law provisions from various existing pieces of legislation, (including the Sale of Goods Act, the Unfair Contract Terms Act (UCTA), Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (UTCCR) and the Supply of Goods and Services Act).
The key principles and concepts from previous consumer legislation remain, but the rules have been updated and extended to provide a single set of rules that apply to consumer contracts that supply goods (including sale, hire, hire purchase and transfer of goods), services or digital content.
The legislation isn’t retrospective so it does only apply from October on-wards, but that doesn’t take anything away from its importance.
What is the Consumer Rights Act?
The Consumer Rights Act aims to rectify the traditional complexities of UK consumer law by consolidating eight pieces of separate legislation in this area into a single piece of legislation.
Read the full Act HERE
What is changing?
The CRA replaces three major pieces of legislation:
- The Sale of Goods Act
- The Supply of Goods and Services Act
- Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations. Hiding things in the small print is now banned The CRA means all contracts must now clearly state the main elements of the deal and outline the price in a transparent and prominent way.
WHAT SERVICE CONTRACTS ARE COVERED?
The services provisions in the CRA will apply to most service contracts. The only specific exclusions are for employment contracts and contracts of apprenticeship.
If a contract is a mixed contract (i.e. it involves the provision of goods and/or digital content as well as services), the general rule will be that the services provisions in the CRA will apply to the service aspect of the contract and the goods/digital content provisions will apply to the goods/digital content aspect (as applicable).
What does this mean for Timeshare Consumers?
The new changes will also effect the way in which contracts have to be made and agreed. This is a huge victory for Consumers and will hopefully begin to decrease the numbers of people who are misled into signing contracts.
- The CRA applies to contracts and notices between a “trader” and a “consumer” in relation to goods or services purchased on or after October 1, 2015.
- The terms must be in plain and intelligible language and, if written, in a legible format.
- The terms must be prominent so an average well-informed, observant and circumspect consumer would be aware of them.
It’s now not acceptable for key terms to be hidden in pages of terms and conditions that you need a magnify glass to read. Terms other than those specifying the main elements of the contract and setting the price will seen as unfair if:
- They are contrary to the requirements of good faith. They must be designed, negotiated and entered into with you in a fair and open way.
- They cause a significant imbalance between the rights of the retailer and you as the consumer to the detriment of you.
Remember, the CRA will only apply to service contracts agreed after 1st October 2015. The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 will apply to service contracts agreed before that date. You can find The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 HERE
For more information regarding this article or assistance in any other timeshare related issues please contact the TCA on 01908 881058 or email: info@TimeshareConsumerAssociation.org.uk