Legal Issues Arising From Non-Satisfactory Goods Supply - Consumer Rights Act 2015 Essay.

Law Coursework Assessment 3

Homespace Ltd is a multinational company, depicting itself as offering top quality goods and services at affordable prices. In recent months, due to a significant number of complaints some important legal issues have been brought to the attention of the directors of the company. Consequently, as a newly appointed business law expert, you have been asked to advise the company on their legal position in relation to the issues arising.

Arthur purchases 8 pine kitchen cabinets from Homespace Ltd (£80 each), after viewing the cabinets in the store. Upon delivery of the goods, Arthur notices that the cabinets are different from those he saw in the showroom. There are also some minor scratches on the front of one of the cabinets, some units appear to be discoloured and some doors do not close properly. It is also discovered that the cabinets are made from oak, not pine, although this makes no practical difference to the users of the cabinets.

On the same day Arthur also purchases 6 chairs and a table (£800) from Homespace Ltd. He notices that the chairs appear to be very heavy and cannot be moved around by his small children. Before buying the chairs Arthur had explained to the store manager that he needed chairs that could easily be moved around by his
small children and the manager recommend these particular chairs.

Arthur would like to return the purchased items and get his money back. However, he is not sure about his rights as he saw a notice in the shop which declared that goods would not be replaced or money refunded to customers under any circumstances.

Discuss to what extent the terms implied by the Consumer Rights Act 2015 have been breached and what possible remedies might be available to Arthur.

Is the notice that Arthur saw in the shop valid?

In your answer, you must refer to relevant case law and statutory provisions.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA

(Use this as a checklist before submission)

o Clear explanation of the relevant law including case law
o Application of the law to the relevant issues
o Good structure and clear presentation
o Relevant conclusions (legal advice) and recommendations
o Evidence of critical analysis
o Appropriate references and bibliography

Issue
The issue in this case is to determine the rights of Author in relation to then goods purchased by him under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA)

Rule
The Consumer Rights Act 2015 deals which rules and regulations relating to consumer contracts in UK. According to section 3 of the Act it is applicable on sales contracts, contract for hiring goods and contract for transfer of goods. The application of section is not done in relation to a contract for a trader to supply coins or notes.
Section 9 to 18 of the CRA deals with provisions related to statutory rights in relation to a goods contract. Section 9 of the CRA provides that goods have to be of a satisfactory quality. According to the provisions of this section all contract in relation to supply of goods include a term that the quality in relation to such gods have to be satisfactory.
The quality of the goods is to be considered as satisfactory such goods comply with the standards of what a reasonable person would think that such goods are of a satisfactory quality taking into consideration the description of the goods, the price or other considerations in relation to the goods and all other revenant circumstances.
The quality of the goods take into consideration the condition and state with respect to fitness for the purposes for which the goods is supplied, the finish and appearance, freedom from minor defects, durability and safety.
It has been provided through subsection 9(4) that if anything which has been particularly drawn to the attention of the customer before the contract was formed, the goods had been examined by the consumer before the purchase and the examination would have revealed the true nature of the goods, in relation to supply with sample it would be clear via a proper examination of the sample the true nature of goods than such situations are not covered by section 9(1).
The relevant situations which have been provided for via the provisions of section 9(2) take into consideration any public statement in relation to the nature of the goods by the manufacturer, trader or their representative. The public statement may include any labelling or advertisement.
However the public statement cannot be taken into consideration on relation to circumstances where the trader was not aware about the statement when the contract for sale had been made, the statement had been withdrawn publically before the contract had been made and the decision of the consumer to purchase the goods could not have been influenced by the statement. The supply of goods contract also includes terms which are added via matter of custom.
Under section 10 of the CRA it has been provided that the section is applicable on a contract for the supply of goods in case prior to the contract being made between the parties the consumer has notified the seller expressly or impliedly any specific purpose for which the consumer is entering into the contract. The section is also applicable in situation where the sale of goods had taken place previously by a credit broker in the trade, the sum is to be payable in instalments and prior to the contract being made the consumer makes the credit broker aware about the fact that there is a particular purpose for which the contractor is getting into the contract.
As stated in subsection 10(3) of the CRA the contract for sale of goods will be considered as including a term that the goods which have been sold in relation to the contract are for the described purpose irrespective of the fact that it is a purpose of which the goods are sold in the ordinary supply of goods. However the provisions of section 10(3) are not applicable in situation where it can be seen that the consumer has not relied on or should not have reasonably relied on the skill and judgment of the seller or the credit broker.
In relation to the supply of goods contract a term in relation to fitness of goods in for a specific purpose may also be included as a matter of custom.
It has been provided in the section 11 that all contracts in relation to the supply of goods by description is to be considered as having an implied term that the goods are going to match the description which have been provided. In addition of the supply of the goods have been done by a sample along with a description, it is not adequate that that the maximum of the goods match the same if the goods do not match the description. Even if the goods have been selected by the consumer it does not deny them the right to be considered to have been sold by description.
Under the provisions of section 19 of the CRA where there has been a breach of provisions under section 9, 10 and 11 the consumer has the right to claim a refund under section 22-24 of the Act.
Section 20 of the CRA provides the right to a consumer in relation to the breach of consumer right whereby they can reject the goods and claim a refund. The provisions in relation to short term right to reject have been provided under section 22. The final right of rejection is provided under section 24 of the CA. The right to reject under section 19(6) is not limited to such sections. Under all such rights the consumer may reject the goods and claim a refund. The right will be exercised in situation where the consumer has indicated to the seller that the goods are binge rejected and the contract is brought to an end. The indication may by anything done or said by the consumer but it has to be clear for the consumer to understand.

Legal Provisions under Consumer Rights Act 2015

Application

The fact in the given situation provides that Arthur has purchased 8 pine kitchen cabinets form the company home space limited. It has been noticed by him that the cabinets are not the same which has been shown in the showroom. This means that the goods are not confirming to the sample and description as it is required under the provisions of section 11 of the CRA. There have been minor scratches which have been identified in relation to the cabinets which suggest that they do not meet the requirements of goods having reasonable quality under section 9 of the Act. It has been stated in the section that the quality of the goods is to be considered as satisfactory such goods comply with the standards of what a reasonable person would think that such goods are of a satisfactory quality. The quality of the goods take into consideration the condition and state with respect to fitness for the purposes for which the goods is supplied, the finish and appearance, freedom from minor defects, durability and safety. Thus the minor defects will be enough for the purpose of breaching the provisions of section 9 of the CA. It also appears that the cabinets’ doors are not properly closing which signifies that they are not of a satisfactory quality in terms of a reasonable person. Thus the provision of section 9 has further been violated. In addition the provisions of section 11 has been violated as the cabinets which were described as being made of pine are actually made of oak and thus the actual goods do not conform to the description of the goods.
The facts in the given situation also provided that Arthur has purchased 8 chairs form the company worth 00. He has notified the seller before the purchase that the chairs need to be light so that they can be moved by children. However it is depicted through the facts that the chairs are actually not light and thus they cannot be moved by children. It has been provided via the provisions of section 10 of the CRA that the section is applicable on a contract for the supply of goods in case prior to the contract being made between the parties the consumer has notified the seller expressly or impliedly any specific purpose for which the consumer is entering into the contract. Thus section 10 will be applicable in the situation. Further under subsection 10(3) the contract for sale of goods will be considered as including a term that the goods which have been sold in relation to the contract are for the described purpose irrespective of the fact that it is a purpose of which the goods are sold in the ordinary supply of goods. Thus even if the chairs are heavy in relation to ordinary supply of goods they have to be light as the it was already informed by Arthur to the trader that he needs the chairs to be light. Therefore where the chairs are not light the provisions under this section have been breached.
Where there is a reach of this section under the provisions of section 19 and 20 Arthur has the right to reject the goods and claim a refund. Thus under these provisions he can make a claim for a refund form Homespace Ltd which they are obliged to give.

Conclusions
Consumer rights of Arthur have been breached in relation to section 9-11 of the CRA and thus he is eligible to reject the goods and claim a refund under section 19 and 20.