Consumer report analysis

1 This figure comes as no surprise as consumers now have more choices and variety due to modern day technology. Chart 1 Nonetheless, they need protection. The consumer Rights Act of 2015 sought to consolidate existing laws before it and make new provisions in respect of goods, services, and digital content. As the law marks more than three years since its implementation, this report seeks to assess whether the changes that the CRA introduced, in practice, reduced unresolved consumer complaints. By introducing consumer rights in respect of digital content and remedies as well, the CRA is able to reduce the number of unresolved consumer complaints. The remedies offered by the ACT in the case of a consumer’s complaint due to damaged caused to a digital device is limiting as requires that the user chooses between compensation and repair.

The Act does not provide any means to resolve a situation where the repaired product fails. This will lead to an unsatisfied consumer since the consumer will not have a remedy for the damaged digital content. Furthermore, consumers do not bear the right to reject digital content that is not in physical form, given the fact that digital content, in a meaningful sense, cannot be returned. 4 The thirty-day reform policy is yet another change that is likely to resolve the number of unresolved consumer complaints. This is through the second part of the CRA which consolidates provisions that are under UCTA and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts. This has resulted in the removal of anomalies and provisions that overlap each other in consumer contracts.

5 These new provisions emphasize the need for consumer contracts and notices to both transparent and prominent for them not to be considered unfair. This is a fairness test of some sort. The CRA also provides a list of terms which can be deemed unfair, similar to the “grey list” that was previously entailed in the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts. This part makes it harder for retailers/sellers to breach the Consumer laws laid out due to the existing consequence of legal Action. In conclusion, the Consumer Rights Act of 2018 is likely to reduce the number of unresolved consumer complaints. It first achieves this by preventing the occurrence of user complaints. This is seen in the second part of the CRA which requires that consumers contracts be clear enough for the consumer to understand what it entails.

Additionally, the user has a longer period of time availed to him or her to reject the product it falls short of what the contract entailed. It also made the literature more relevant. The third criteria is that all literature sources had to be older than 2015. This criterion was essential due to the fact that the Act in question was implemented in 2015 an information that dates back 2015 was not relevant. This time limit also adheres to literature review principles which advocates for the currency of literature as non-current literature limits the findings of the researcher. Database/Sourcing The literature used was sourced from the internet and it relied for internet searchers. DBIS, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.  ‘Explanatory Notes to the Consumer Rights ACT 2015’, at para 205 O’Brien, Eimear.