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Norman Lamb on why this matters
The supply of goods
Uncertainty about rights when buying goods can cause disputes. We want to establish clear rules, including defining the period during which consumers can get a full refund for faulty goods.
See more on the supply of goods consultation.
The supply of services
We want to bring services more in line with goods by making service providers offer guarantees and remedies for inadequate services.
See more on the supply of services consultation.
The supply of digital content
The law relating to digital purchases such as music, software and games is currently unclear. We want to establish clear protection for consumers, with rights and remedies specific to digital content.
See more on the supply of digital content consultation.
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Confidence for consumers, clarity for businesses
By Norman Lamb MP, Minister for Employment Relations, Consumer and Postal Affairs
The Coalition government believes in handing power over to people.
This involves giving consumers the ability and the confidence to assert basic consumer rights when faced with shoddy goods or services.
And it means giving businesses a simple framework of consumer law that they can apply by themselves in the vast majority of cases without having to consult lawyers or refer cases to head-office for advice.
The current complex law results in consumers not understanding their rights. What’s more, it makes it difficult for businesses to be familiar with all of their obligations.
The government is determined to clarify, update and simplify the law. But we will not simplify at any price. Any change to the law can have unforeseen consequences, and may itself damage markets or promote undesirable business behaviours.
We want to know how our proposals and ideas would affect both consumers and businesses. To make it easy for a range of people to respond, we have produced this short and simple online version of the consultation, split into three sections. These ask for your feedback on our proposals to set out consumer rights when faced with faulty or substandard:
Just click on the titles of the sections that interest you and send us your comments. In each section you’ll see links to more information on our proposals.
Your replies will be immensely valuable to us when we finalise our proposals after the consultation.
The full version of the consultation, which sets out the proposed changes to the law in more detail, is available here:
Consultation on the supply of goods, services and digital content (July 2012) (PDF, XMB)
To read the associated Impact Assessments and respond to the full consultation, see this page at the Department for Business website:
Consultation on enhancing consumer confidence by clarifying consumer law
The consultation will run until 5 October 2012.