For those of us still hooked on the TV show, “The Apprentice”, you are bound to have noticed that nothing invokes the scorn of Lord Sugar more than when candidates describe their goods or services with a dash of creative licence.
Whether it be organic burgers that aren’t so organic or French mussels which are more at home in Brighton than Brittany there is a real legal reason why Lord Sugar has to come down hard when candidates push the truth a little too far.
The primary legislation governing this area is called the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and this lays out the various rights consumers in Britain enjoy when buying goods and services. When it comes to the description of goods, the law requires that every contract is deemed to have an implied term that the goods will match the description given by the seller. It doesn’t matter if the goods were available for inspection or if the seller later amends the description; if the original description is false then the buyer has certain legal rights.
In general these rights entitle a consumer who has been mis-sold a product to either reject the goods (subject to certain time-scales); obtain repair or replacement of the goods; or, have the purchase price reduced to reflect the mis-description.
The law further protects consumers by presuming that any mis-description discovered by the consumer within 6 months from when the goods were delivered existed at the time when the product was originally bought and it is up to the seller to prove otherwise.
In addition to these civil legal rights that consumers enjoy, Trading Standards Officers also have the power to bring quasi-criminal proceedings against those who have deliberately or recklessly mis-sold goods and services. Accordingly, it is hardly surprising that Lord Sugar keeps a careful eye on the activities of his candidates and hopefully this reinforces the point that mis-selling goods is no light matter.
If you have been mis-sold goods or services or have any questions arising from the contents of this blog please contact our Dispute Resolution Team who will be happy to assist you.
Brodies LLP invite you to join their annual food and drink conference at Perth Racecourse.
This year’s conference theme will be growth, and will be held Friday, 03 November from 09:30 – 15:30.
We are witnessing a period of unprecedented prosperity in the Scottish food and drink sector, with exports valued at £1.2 billion for the first three months of 2017 – a year-on-year increase of £124 million. 2016 was a record year for food and drink and this trend shows every sign of continuing.
Scotland Food & Drink’s strategy to grow the sector to £30 billion by 2030 will require investment across all areas, including people, skills development, supply chain management and innovation.
Our conference will provide an opportunity to hear from industry experts on how they have grown their businesses and plan further expansion, whether by achieving their own strategic objectives or through greater industry collaboration.
Further speakers and the full conference programme will be announced in due course, but in the meantime we are delighted to confirm the following industry experts:
• James Withers, Chief Executive – Scotland Food & Drink
• Ton Christiaanse, UK Chief Executive – Brakes Group
• Dougal Sharp, Founder & Chief Brewer – Innis & Gunn
• Tony Lamb, Head of Food & Drink – Department for International Trade
RSVP here for your free place now!
