Consumer rights and legislation

For many products, society has laws and standards that the designer must meet. These help to protect the users, by specifying that products meet certain requirements and have suitable levels of safety. The Laws also allow consumers to get their money back if goods are found to be faulty or if products do not perform in the way claimed by the manufacturer.

A law is a formal rule adopted by Parliament and enforced by the government.

A standard is a guideline which is widely accepted. Standards do not necessarily have the force of the law.

The Consumer Protection Act 1987

This protects the public by:

• prohibiting the manufacture and supply of unsafe goods
• making the manufacturer or seller of a defective product responsible for damage it causes
• allowing local councils to seize unsafe goods and suspend the sale of suspected unsafe goods
• prohibiting misleading price indications

The Trade Descriptions Act 1968

The Trade Descriptions Act makes it an offence for a trader to make false or misleading statements about goods or services. It carries criminal penalties and is enforced by Trading Standards Officers, making it an offence for a trader to:

• apply a false trade description to any goods
• supply or offer to supply any goods to which a false trade description has been applied
• make certain kinds of false statement about the provision of any services, facilities or accommodation

Standards

In the UK, standards are regulated by the British Standards Institution (BSI). Products which meet these standards can be marked with the KiteMark.

There are also separate standards for the European Union. If a product meets these, it can be given a CE Mark. The marks show government officials that the product conforms to a standard, which enables it to be legally placed on the market within their country.

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