LAND OF
LEATHER
Back in January this year we
heard from Alison who’d been having awful problems getting
Land of Leather in Newry to refund her deposit when they failed
to deliver her furniture as they’d promised, in time for Christmas.
Eventually, with our help she got her money back and bought a suite
of furniture elsewhere. But she’s not alone.
We’ve other examples of people, dissatisfied at how they’ve
been treated by Land of Leather.
T hese feelings it appears, are widespread because this week we
heard from the OFT, the Office of Fair Trading, who’ve also
received complaints about delay in deliveries, as well as the use
of unfair terms in Land of Leather contracts, goods supplied not
of satisfactory quality and misleading advertising in interest free
credit.
Since they were approached by the OFT, Land of Leather have agreed
to give consumers a fairer deal.
The company told the OFT they will put in place a number of measures
to improve compliance with legislation and have signed undertakings
that they will no longer use the unfair terms, will amend their
credit advertising and will not breach certain terms implied by
the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
This is what the Office of
Fair Trading said on 31st August in a Press Release
The Department of Enterprise,
Trade and Investment’s Trading Standards Service is urging
Northern Ireland consumers to be wary of unfair terms following
complaints in England against a furniture retailer.
Land of Leather, which has
premises in Northern Ireland, has agreed to give consumers a fairer
deal following action by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT).
The OFT had received complaints
about the use of unfair terms in Land of Leather's contracts, delay
in delivery of goods, goods being supplied that were not of satisfactory
quality and misleading advertising of 'interest-free' credit.
Kent Trading Standards Service
contacted the OFT about terms and conditions being used by Land
of Leather including terms that:
• gave unequal cancellation rights - cancellation had to be
agreed by the company and incurred a minimum 25 per cent charge
even when the supplier was in breach
• explicitly disclaimed liability for employees' oral statements
• sought to restrict liability for faulty goods by imposing
a refundable £25 charge for making a claim for goods between
one month and a year old.
Credit deals were advertised
as 'free until 2004', 'free for a whole year' and 'everything's
free until 2005' when in fact interest accrued from the beginning
of the agreement if the whole balance was not paid off within a
specified period. The OFT considered this to be misleading under
of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 and in breach of the Consumer Credit
(Advertisement) Regulations 1989.
The OFT approached Land of
Leather which reacted positively to the OFT's approach and is putting
in place a number of measures to improve compliance with the legislation.
In addition Land of Leather
has signed undertakings that it will no longer use the unfair terms,
will amend its credit advertising and will not breach certain terms
implied by the Sale of Goods Act 1979.
Welcoming the undertakings
Christine Wade, OFT Consumer Regulation Enforcement Director, said:
”Consumers have a right to expect goods to be of satisfactory
quality and delivered on time, for advertising to be accurate and
not to have their legal rights undermined by unfair terms. Where
companies breach consumer legislation we will take action to protect
consumers.”
A spokesman for the Trading
Standards Service said: “Consumers should be on the look out
for the type of clause in a contract that seeks to deny or reduce
their rights when buying goods. Consumers in Northern Ireland who
discover such unfair clauses should seek advice from Consumerline
on 0845 600 62 62.”
Background information
1. The Unfair Terms in Consumer
Contracts Regulations (UTCCRs) came into force in 1999 (superseding
the UTCCRs 1994) and apply to standard contract terms used with
consumers in contracts made after 1 July 1995. The UTCCRs protect
consumers against unfair standard terms in contracts they make with
traders.
2. The Consumer Credit Act
1974 prohibits credit advertisements which convey information which
in a material respect is false or misleading.
3. The Sale of Goods Act 1979 sets out the law governing contracts
for the sale of goods including formation of contract, implied terms,
remedies for breach and performance of the contract.
4. Part 8 to the Enterprise
Act 2002 came into force in June 2003 and improves consumer protection
by giving enforcers such as the OFT and trading standards services
strengthened powers to obtain court orders against traders that
breach a range of specified consumer legislation to the detriment
of the collective interests of consumers.
All well and good - but will this help consumers who’ve been
experiencing problems with Land of Leather and prevent others ending
up in a similar situation.
That’s the issue we’re discussing with Trading Standards
this week On Your Behalf
Contacts
Consumerline 0845 600 6262
Trading Standards Service N Ireland 028 9025 3900
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