Consumer Issues
As an independent non-governmental organisation, CPB stands as your advocate in safeguarding consumer rights and ensuring fair business practices. We are dedicated to empowering you by helping assert your statutory rights and providing effective remedies when needed.
Consumer Rights
The law protects your consumer rights when you buy goods or services. You can get help if you’re treated unfairly or when things go wrong. below are the issues that we can help you with:
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Credit and store cards
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Faulty goods
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Counterfeit goods
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Poor service
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Contracts
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Builders
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Rogue traders
Online Shopping
Online Shopping is convenient, but it can be harder to sort out problems, especially if
you buy from online locally or internationally.
How it works
Online shopping includes buying things through:
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Websites or smartphone apps
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Emails
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Text messaging
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Social media
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Daily deal and group buying websites.
The Fair Trading Act and the Consumer Guarantees Act apply to offers and sales made through all of these channels, except when you buy from a private seller. When you buy something online, you and the seller have entered into a contract electronically. You're bound by the same rules and laws as if you received a paper contract.
Tips for Buying Vehicles
In the UK we have strong consumer law, and if you’ve bought a new car, you’re well protected by comprehensive legislation. Not everyone knows just how far-reaching this legislation is, though, meaning if a car is faulty, both buyers and dealers can make assumptions that can potentially undermine customer satisfaction.
if you signed a contract to buy a blue car with a sunroof and a self-parking system, the car should be blue and come with these features. Adverts for secondhand cars should accurately reflect their condition and features.
While secondhand cars bought privately are exempt from the ‘fit for purpose’ and ‘of satisfactory quality’ clauses, if you’ve bought from a dealer and any one of these conditions isn’t met, you have the following options under the Consumer Rights Act:
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Finding the right car
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Before buying a used car
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Pre-purchase inspections and checks
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Paying for, registering and insuring your car
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Private parking tickets, clamping and towing
Property Renovation and Repair
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Emergency repairs Steps to make your building safe and what to check before you make repairs.
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Estimates and quotes an estimate is a best guess of how much a job might cost.
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Building contracts you must have a written contract for any building work that costs.
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Plan a renovation Things to check and consider for your building project before you can start hiring designers.
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Building materials, fixtures and fittings before choosing any materials or fixtures, talk to your contractor and do your research.
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Keeping projects on track when building work is about to start, make sure everyone knows what is happening.
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Communicate for a smooth job Keep things on track with your tradesperson with regular, open communication.
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Sign off and certificates Collect proof that work completed is authorised and safe.
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Dealing with disputes how to resolve issues with a tradesperson and how to take your dispute further.
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Report a tradesperson If you think a tradesperson is unregistered, has behaved unethically or done a poor job.
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Issues after your building work has finished you have rights if things go wrong – the law provides protection if building work
Faulty Products
It's good to know your rights on faulty products.
Any products you buy should be of acceptable quality. This means the products should:
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Be satisfactory in look and finish
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be free from small faults
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Last for a reasonable time
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be safe to use
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Do everything they are commonly used for.
These factors are used to test whether a reasonable person would think a product is faulty or not, taking into account:
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Who supplied the products, eg an established chain vs flea market trader
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Age and type of products — second-hand products are more likely to show signs of use and may be less durable
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Price — poor-quality products are usually cheaper
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Statements made about quality or condition by the salesperson or in advertising.
If you are specifically told about any faults when you buy the product, you can’t claim because of them later on.
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Loans & Debt Rights
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Loans and debt Solve problems when you owe money for loans, fines or if you buy on credit.
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Payment problems What to do if it's hard to repay loans, credit contracts, fines and other debt.
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Debt collection and repossession Your options when debt collectors act on overdue debt from loans, credit contracts or fines.
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Unfair fees Banks and other lenders can charge fees. What's fair and when do common fees apply?
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Credit checks, scores and history How credit scores work, the impact of bad credit, and how to improve your score.
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Loans and lenders Secured and payday loans, guarantors and overdrafts. Understand the best credit options for you.
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Mortgages and home loans Your rights and choices in this common and complicated financial arrangement, and what to do...
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Guarantors A guarantor repays someone's debts if they don't pay. It's risky, so know your rights.
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Bankruptcy and insolvency If you're in serious debt and cannot meet your repayments, insolvency can be an option....
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Credit contracts: Plain English definitions Loan documents set out rules you and your lender must follow until money is repaid...
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What lenders must do Rules banks and other lenders must follow to make sure loans and credit are affordable...
Repair, Replace & Refund
If a customer has ‘accepted’ an item, but later discovers a fault, you may have to
repair or replace it. The customer can still reject the item after it’s been repaired or
replaced.
A customer has accepted an item if they’ve:
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told you they’ve accepted it (having had enough opportunity to inspect the item before confirming they’ve received it) altered the item
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You must repair or replace an item if a customer returns it within 6 months - unless you can prove it was not faulty when they bought it.
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You can ask a customer to prove an item was faulty when they bought it if they ask for a repair or replacement after 6 months.
Scam Safe
Common financial scams
Scams are increasingly sophisticated – but if it sounds too good to be true, it probably
is.
Scammers will usually call you out of the blue, but contact can also come by email, text
message, post, word of mouth or at a seminar or exhibition.
Always be wary if you’re contacted unexpectedly, pressured to act quickly or give
personal financial details, or promised returns that sound too good to be true.
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fake FCA emails, letters and phone calls (phishing) pension and investment scams
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banking and online account scams
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foreign money transfer scams
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insurance and warranty schemes
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loan fee fraud
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money transfer scams
CONTACT US
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