Legislation: Consumer law including trade descriptions.

The idea

Consumer law protects buyers of goods and services. It includes the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which says goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described; services must be performed with reasonable care and skill. The Trade Descriptions Act 1968 (now largely replaced by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008) made it a criminal offence to apply a false trade description to goods, such as claiming a product is 'genuine leather' when it is synthetic. For businesses, this means advertising and labelling must be accurate and not misleading. Breaches can lead to refunds, replacements, compensation, fines and reputational damage. Compliance builds customer trust and avoids legal penalties, but may increase costs of quality control and staff training.

What earns the marks

• States that consumer law protects customers who buy goods and services from businesses.
• Explains that goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described, and services must be carried out with reasonable care and skill.
• Describes trade descriptions law as making it illegal to give a false or misleading description of goods, such as false claims about origin, material or price.
• Explains that breaches of consumer law can result in refunds, replacements, compensation, fines and damage to business reputation.
• Analyses how complying with consumer law affects a business, for example through costs of quality control, staff training and accurate labelling.
• Evaluates the trade-off between the costs of compliance and the benefits of customer trust and avoiding legal penalties.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Thinking consumer law only applies to expensive items.

  Put it right: It applies to all goods and services sold to consumers.

• Believing a business can avoid refunds by saying 'no refunds'.

  Put it right: Statutory rights override shop policies.

• Confusing trade descriptions law with health and safety law.

  Put it right: Trade descriptions law deals with accurate descriptions of goods, not workplace safety.

• Assuming only the business owner is liable.

  Put it right: Employees can also be liable if they make false descriptions.

Exam tips

• Use specific examples of misleading descriptions, such as labelling a product as 'organic' when it is not, to show understanding.
• Link consumer law to business costs and benefits, such as reduced complaints and improved reputation, to reach analysis marks.
• When evaluating, consider both the cost of compliance and the potential cost of non-compliance, such as fines and lost customers.
• Avoid saying 'the customer is always right'; instead, refer to specific legal rights and business duties.