The Sale of Good and Service Act – you may be aware of this important piece of legislation we have in place to protect us from poor products and shocking services. When we buy a product or invest in a service, we expect that the outcome provided will be of a satisfactory standard. In fact, that’s precisely the reason the Act is in place.
Know Your Rights!
Under the Act, a product sold must primarily adhere to three main factors. The product must (under the Sale of Goods Act 1979) be:
- As Described – The product must fit any description of it, whether written or verbal from the seller. If the product is clearly not as described, you should be entitled to a full refund or replacement (if appropriate).
- Fit for Purpose – The product must do what it is intended to do. A can opener should open cans; a phone must make and take calls; a car must drive. If the product cannot do what it is intended to do, you should be entitled to a refund or a replacement.
- Of Satisfactory Quality -The product must be free from defect, have a good appearance, and be, most importantly, safe to use. If a product is not of a satisfactory quality, you again may be entitled to a refund or replacement.
For using a service, it must (under The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982):
- Be carried out with reasonable skill and care – Rather self explanatory – e.g. If you hire a mechanic to fit a new clutch to your car, he has to know his flywheel from his spare wheel. Carrying out a service haphazardly can often lead to problems. Say, if that clutch wasn’t fitted entirely properly, you’re going to have problems changing gear. ..
- Be carried out within a reasonable time frame and with a reasonable charge (unless previously agreed) – Again, rather self explanatory; and goes hand in hand with the first. Yes, I’m talking to you dodgy cowboy builders!
The key element for products is the last point, and for services the first. If a product / service is deemed unsafe and has ended up harming you, you may be entitled to claim for compensation. If the product had a manufacturing flaw, say, the numerous Toyota manufacturing problems, then you may be entitled to claim for compensation if your brakes fail at 30mph and you couldn’t avoid hitting rear of the car in front.
With services, well, there are so many things that can go wrong. Your cowboy builder decides it’s a bright idea to use some prit-stick to hold up a hand rail on your stairs (an extreme example, I know – but you can see my point!). You walk down your stairs at 6:30am for a nice cup of coffee when snap! The handrail low and behold falls away because children’s glue is not suitable for a 10kg five meter long wooden rail, and you unfortunately fall down the stairs. Call an injury lawyer as soon as you get out of hospital, because you likely have a successful claim for compensation.
Or perhaps you take your car, your prized possession, to your local garage for a service. As well as being ripped off for the price, your young, inexperienced mechanic’s assistant was allowed to check your brakes and accidentally forgot to re-connect the cable. Trying to merge out of the garage forecourt and on to the road was a scary job as your brakes fail and you go straight in to the side of a passing car. Call an injury lawyer once you’ve exchanged details with the other driver, assumedly exchanged un-pleasantries with the mechanics, and been to your hospital or GP.
So, if you are injured as a direct result of a product you have bought or a service you have received; get in touch with a specialist injury lawyer to find out your rights for claiming for compensation. Make sure that if you report your injuries to the shop you bought a product from, or the provider of the service, you don’t accept any kind of compensation amount from them directly in full and final settlement of a claim.
A £10 gift voucher is not going to recover your loss of earning for any time off work you have as a result of your injuries!
More Info: http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/Consumerrights/DG_182935
