Chapter 2 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (which comes into force on 1 October 2015) applies to contracts between traders and consumers for the supply of goods (as specified). The Act brings together provisions relating to contracts for the supply of goods which are contained in several other pieces of legislation.
The Act sets out a consumer's statutory rights, including terms that the goods are:
- of satisfactory quality;
- fit for the particular purpose made known to the trader by the consumer;
- as described;
- match a sample or model that is seen or examined by the consumer.
In addition, certain pre-contract information provided by a trader under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 is to be treated as included as a term of the contract.
Subject to appropriate provisions for different types of contract (eg hire contracts), a statutory term will be included in the contract that the trader has the right to sell or transfer the goods in question.
This Chapter of the Act also sets out the statutory remedies available to a consumer where there has been a breach of the consumer's statutory rights, including the right to reject the goods, a right to a partial rejection of the goods, the right to a repair or a replacement and the right to a price reduction.The statutory rights can not be limited or excluded by the trader in most situations and the statutory remedies do not limit any other remedies open to the consumer.