Consumer Protection Act 1987
Encyclopedia
The Consumer Protection Act 1987 (1987 c. 43) is an Act
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
that made important changes to the consumer law of the United Kingdom
. Part 1 implemented European Community (EC) Directive 85/374/EEC
, the product liability directive, by introducing a regime of strict liability
for damage arising from defective products. Part 2 created government powers to regulate the safety of consumer product
s through Statutory Instruments. Part 3 defined a criminal offence of giving a misleading price indication.
The Act was notable in that it was the first occasion that the UK government implemented an EC directive through an Act of Parliament rather than an order under the European Communities Act 1972
.
for damage
caused
wholly or partly by a defect in a product. Liability falls on:
Liability is strict and there is no need to demonstrate fault or negligence
on behalf of the producer. Liability cannot be "written out" by an exclusion clause
(s.7)
Damage includes (s.5):
— but damage to the product itself is excluded, as are other forms of pure economic loss
.
and includes products aggregated into other products, whether as component part
s, raw material
s or otherwise (s.1(2)(c)) though a supplier of the aggregate product is not liable simply on the basis of that fact (s.1(3)). Building
s and land are not included though construction materials such as brick
s and girder
s are. Information and software are not included though printed instructions and embedded software
are relevant to the overall safety of a product.
The original Act did not apply to unprocessed game
or agricultural produce (s.2(4)) but this exception was repealed on 4 December 2000 to comply with EU Directive 1999/34/EC which was enacted because of fears over BSE
.
s to property as well as risks of death and personal injury (s.3(1)).
The standard of safety that "persons generally are entitled to expect" is to be assessed in relation to all the circumstances, including (s.3(2)):
— but the fact that older products were less safe than newer ones does not, of itself, render the older products defective.
. Claims under the Act are barred three years after the date when damage occurred or when it came to the knowledge of the claimant. However, no claim can be brought more than 10 years after the date the product was put into circulation.
to show that:
This defence was allowed to member states as an option under the Directive. , all EU member states other than Finland
and Luxembourg
had taken advantage of it to some extent. However, the concept had been criticised and rejected by the Law Commission
in 1977, particularly influenced by the thalidomide
tragedy, and by the Pearson Commission
in 1978.
The UK implementation differs from the version of the defence in Art.7(e) of the Directive:
The directive seems to suggest that discovery of the defect must be impossible while the UK implementation seems to broaden the defence to situations where, while it would have been possible to discover the defect, it would have been unreasonable to expect the producer to do so. This difference led the Commission of the European Union to bring legal action against the UK in 1989. As there was at that time no UK case law on the defence, the European Court of Justice
found that there was no evidence that the UK was interpreting the defence more broadly than the wording of the directive. This is likely to ensure that the UK legislation is interpreted to be consistent with the directive in the future, as was the case in A & Others v. National Blood Authority where the judge referred to the directive rather than the UK legislation.
The first claim under the Act was not brought to court until 2000, 12 years after the Act came into force and, , there have been very few court cases. This pattern is common in other EU member states and research indicates that most claims are settled out of court. Exact information on the impact of the Act is difficult to obtain as there is no reporting requirement similar to that under the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Act
.
ed when its effect was superseded by the broader requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005
.
Section 11 gives the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the power to make, after consultation, regulation
s by way of Statutory Instrument
to ensure that:
Regulations under this section cannot be made to apply to (s.11(7)):
has a duty to enforce, as an enforcement authority, the safety provisions in addition to the law on misleading price indications though these duties can be delegated by the Secretary of State (s.27). Enforcement authorities have the power to make test purchases (s.28) and have powers of entry and search (ss.29-30). Further, a customs officer
can detain goods (s.31). There are criminal offences of obstructing an officer of an enforcement authority or giving false information, punishable with a fine (s.32) and recovery of the costs of enforcement (s.35).
Appeal against detention of goods is to the Magistrates' Court
, or in Scotland
the Sheriff
(s.33) and compensation can be ordered (s.34). There is a further right of appeal to the Crown Court
in England and Wales, the County Court
in Northern Ireland (s.33(4)).
, punishable on summary conviction by up to 6 months' imprisonment
and a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale
(s.12).
on any person (s.13):
An enforcement authority can serve a suspension notice prohibiting supply of a product for up to 6 months (s.14). The supplier can appeal
a suspension notice to the Magistrates' Court, or in Scotland the Sheriff (s.15).
Breach of any such notice is a crime, punishable on summary conviction by up to 3 months' imprisonment and a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale (ss.13(4), 14(6)).
In Scotland a sheriff may make an order for forfeiture where there has been a contravention of safety regulations (s.17):
Appeal against forfeiture is to the Crown Court in England and Wales, the County Court in Northern Ireland (s.16(5)), or the High Court of Justiciary
in Scotland (s.17(8)).
Failure to provide information is a crime, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale. Provision of false information is a crime, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to the statutory maximum and on indictment
in the Crown Court of an unlimited fine (s.18(4)).
an indication that is misleading as to the price
at which any of the following is available (s.20):
An offender can be sentenced, on summary conviction to a fine of up to the statutory maximum for Magistrates' Courts or, on conviction on indictment in the Crown Court to an unlimited fine (s.20(4)).
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
that made important changes to the consumer law of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Part 1 implemented European Community (EC) Directive 85/374/EEC
Directive 85/374/EEC
The Product Liability Directive, formally Council Directive 85/374/EEC of 25 July 1985 on the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning liability for defective products is a directive of the Council of the European Union that created a...
, the product liability directive, by introducing a regime of strict liability
Strict liability
In law, strict liability is a standard for liability which may exist in either a criminal or civil context. A rule specifying strict liability makes a person legally responsible for the damage and loss caused by his or her acts and omissions regardless of culpability...
for damage arising from defective products. Part 2 created government powers to regulate the safety of consumer product
Consumer product
A consumer product is generally any tangible personal property for sale and that is used for personal, family, or household for non-business purposes. The determination whether a good is a consumer product requires a factual finding, on a case-by-case basis...
s through Statutory Instruments. Part 3 defined a criminal offence of giving a misleading price indication.
The Act was notable in that it was the first occasion that the UK government implemented an EC directive through an Act of Parliament rather than an order under the European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972
European Communities Act 1972 can refer to:*European Communities Act 1972 * European Communities Act 1972...
.
Product liability
Section 2 imposes civil liability in tortTort
A tort, in common law jurisdictions, is a wrong that involves a breach of a civil duty owed to someone else. It is differentiated from a crime, which involves a breach of a duty owed to society in general...
for damage
Damages
In law, damages is an award, typically of money, to be paid to a person as compensation for loss or injury; grammatically, it is a singular noun, not plural.- Compensatory damages :...
caused
Causation (law)
Causation is the "causal relationship between conduct and result". That is to say that causation provides a means of connecting conduct with a resulting effect, typically an injury. In criminal law, it is defined as the actus reus from which the specific injury or other effect arose and is...
wholly or partly by a defect in a product. Liability falls on:
- Producers;
- Persons holding themselves out as producers, for example by selling private labelPrivate labelPrivate label products or services are typically those manufactured or provided by one company for offer under another company's brand. Private label goods and services are available in a wide range of industries from food to cosmetics to web hosting...
products under their own brandBrandThe American Marketing Association defines a brand as a "Name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from those of other sellers."...
("own-branders"); and - ImportImportThe term import is derived from the conceptual meaning as to bring in the goods and services into the port of a country. The buyer of such goods and services is referred to an "importer" who is based in the country of import whereas the overseas based seller is referred to as an "exporter". Thus...
ers into the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(EU) for commercial sale.
Liability is strict and there is no need to demonstrate fault or negligence
Negligence
Negligence is a failure to exercise the care that a reasonably prudent person would exercise in like circumstances. The area of tort law known as negligence involves harm caused by carelessness, not intentional harm.According to Jay M...
on behalf of the producer. Liability cannot be "written out" by an exclusion clause
Exclusion clause
An exclusion clause is a term in a contract that seeks to restrict the rights of the parties to the contract.Traditionally, the district courts have sought to limit the operation of exclusion clauses...
(s.7)
Damage includes (s.5):
- DeathDeathDeath is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
; - Personal injuryPersonal injuryPersonal injury is a legal term for an injury to the body, mind or emotions, as opposed to an injury to property. The term is most commonly used to refer to a type of tort lawsuit alleging that the plaintiff's injury has been caused by the negligence of another, but also arises in defamation...
; - Damage to property, including landReal propertyIn English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
, provided that:- The property is of a type usually intended for private use;
- It is intended for private use by a person making a claim; and
- The value of the damage is more than £275;
— but damage to the product itself is excluded, as are other forms of pure economic loss
Pure economic loss
Economic loss refers to financial loss and damage suffered by a person such as can be seen only on a balance sheet rather than as physical injury to the person or destruction of property...
.
Product
A product is any goods or electricityElectricity
Electricity is a general term encompassing a variety of phenomena resulting from the presence and flow of electric charge. These include many easily recognizable phenomena, such as lightning, static electricity, and the flow of electrical current in an electrical wire...
and includes products aggregated into other products, whether as component part
Part
Part may refer to:*Part *Part , a relation in mereology*Part , the music played or sung by an individual instrument or voice*Parts , a 1997 children's book by Tedd Arnold...
s, raw material
Raw material
A raw material or feedstock is the basic material from which a product is manufactured or made, frequently used with an extended meaning. For example, the term is used to denote material that came from nature and is in an unprocessed or minimally processed state. Latex, iron ore, logs, and crude...
s or otherwise (s.1(2)(c)) though a supplier of the aggregate product is not liable simply on the basis of that fact (s.1(3)). Building
Building
In architecture, construction, engineering, real estate development and technology the word building may refer to one of the following:...
s and land are not included though construction materials such as brick
Brick
A brick is a block of ceramic material used in masonry construction, usually laid using various kinds of mortar. It has been regarded as one of the longest lasting and strongest building materials used throughout history.-History:...
s and girder
Girder
A girder is a support beam used in construction. Girders often have an I-beam cross section for strength, but may also have a box shape, Z shape or other forms. Girder is the term used to denote the main horizontal support of a structure which supports smaller beams...
s are. Information and software are not included though printed instructions and embedded software
Embedded software
Embedded software is computer software that plays an integral role in the electronics it is supplied with.Embedded software's principal role is not Information technology , but rather the interaction with the physical world. It's written for machines that are not, first and foremost, computers...
are relevant to the overall safety of a product.
The original Act did not apply to unprocessed game
Game (food)
Game is any animal hunted for food or not normally domesticated. Game animals are also hunted for sport.The type and range of animals hunted for food varies in different parts of the world. This will be influenced by climate, animal diversity, local taste and locally accepted view about what can or...
or agricultural produce (s.2(4)) but this exception was repealed on 4 December 2000 to comply with EU Directive 1999/34/EC which was enacted because of fears over BSE
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy , commonly known as mad-cow disease, is a fatal neurodegenerative disease in cattle that causes a spongy degeneration in the brain and spinal cord. BSE has a long incubation period, about 30 months to 8 years, usually affecting adult cattle at a peak age onset of...
.
Defect
Section 3 defines a defect as being present when "the safety of the product is not such as persons generally are entitled to expect". Safety is further defined as to apply to products that are component parts or raw materials in other products, and to riskRisk
Risk is the potential that a chosen action or activity will lead to a loss . The notion implies that a choice having an influence on the outcome exists . Potential losses themselves may also be called "risks"...
s to property as well as risks of death and personal injury (s.3(1)).
The standard of safety that "persons generally are entitled to expect" is to be assessed in relation to all the circumstances, including (s.3(2)):
- The manner in which, and purposes for which, the product has been marketedMarketingMarketing is the process used to determine what products or services may be of interest to customers, and the strategy to use in sales, communications and business development. It generates the strategy that underlies sales techniques, business communication, and business developments...
; - Its "get-up";
- The use of any mark in relation to the product;
- Any instructions for, or warnings with respect to, doing or refraining from doing anything with or in relation to the product;
- What might reasonably be expected to be done with or in relation to the product; and
- The time when the product was supplied by its producer to another;
— but the fact that older products were less safe than newer ones does not, of itself, render the older products defective.
Limitation
Schedule 1 amends the Limitation Act 1980Limitation Act 1980
The Limitation Act 1980 is a British Act of Parliament. It is a statute of limitations which provides timescales within which action may be taken for breaches of the law. For example it provides that breaches of an ordinary contract are actionable for six years after the event whereas breaches of...
. Claims under the Act are barred three years after the date when damage occurred or when it came to the knowledge of the claimant. However, no claim can be brought more than 10 years after the date the product was put into circulation.
Development risks defence
Section 4(1)(e) states that, in civil proceedings, it is a defenceDefense (military)
Defense has several uses in the sphere of military application.Personal defense implies measures taken by individual soldiers in protecting themselves whether by use of protective materials such as armor, or field construction of trenches or a bunker, or by using weapons that prevent the enemy...
to show that:
This defence was allowed to member states as an option under the Directive. , all EU member states other than Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Luxembourg
Luxembourg
Luxembourg , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg , is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. It has two principal regions: the Oesling in the North as part of the Ardennes massif, and the Gutland in the south...
had taken advantage of it to some extent. However, the concept had been criticised and rejected by the Law Commission
Law Commission
A Law Commission or Law Reform Commission is an independent body set up by a government to conduct law reform; that is, to consider the state of laws in a jurisdiction and make recommendations or proposals for legal changes or restructuring...
in 1977, particularly influenced by the thalidomide
Thalidomide
Thalidomide was introduced as a sedative drug in the late 1950s that was typically used to cure morning sickness. In 1961, it was withdrawn due to teratogenicity and neuropathy. There is now a growing clinical interest in thalidomide, and it is introduced as an immunomodulatory agent used...
tragedy, and by the Pearson Commission
Pearson Commission
The Royal Commission on Civil Liability and Compensation for Personal Injury, better known as the Pearson commission was a United Kingdom royal commission, established in 1973 under the chairmanship of Lord Pearson...
in 1978.
The UK implementation differs from the version of the defence in Art.7(e) of the Directive:
The directive seems to suggest that discovery of the defect must be impossible while the UK implementation seems to broaden the defence to situations where, while it would have been possible to discover the defect, it would have been unreasonable to expect the producer to do so. This difference led the Commission of the European Union to bring legal action against the UK in 1989. As there was at that time no UK case law on the defence, the European Court of Justice
European Court of Justice
The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...
found that there was no evidence that the UK was interpreting the defence more broadly than the wording of the directive. This is likely to ensure that the UK legislation is interpreted to be consistent with the directive in the future, as was the case in A & Others v. National Blood Authority where the judge referred to the directive rather than the UK legislation.
Other defences
- The defect is attributable to compliance with a requirement imposed by law (s.4(1)(a));
- The defendants did not at any time supply the product to another (s.4(1)(b)), for example where the product is stolenTheftIn common usage, theft is the illegal taking of another person's property without that person's permission or consent. The word is also used as an informal shorthand term for some crimes against property, such as burglary, embezzlement, larceny, looting, robbery, shoplifting and fraud...
of counterfeitCounterfeitTo counterfeit means to illegally imitate something. Counterfeit products are often produced with the intent to take advantage of the superior value of the imitated product...
ed; - Supply by the defendants is not in the course of business (s.4(1)(c));
- The defect did not exist in the product when it was put in circulation (s.4(1)(d)), for example, where the product is damaged or altered;
- The supplier of a component or raw materials may plead that it was solely the design of the finished product into which his product was incorporated that was defective or that the defect in his product arose solely from compliance with the instructions of the designer of the finished product (s.4(1)(f)).
Impact of the Act
The UK was one of only a few EU member states that implemented Directive 85/374 within the three year deadline. There is a view that the Act "probably represents the truest implementation" of the directive among member states. The UK did not take the option of applying a ceiling on claims for personal injury and in certain respects it goes further than the directive.The first claim under the Act was not brought to court until 2000, 12 years after the Act came into force and, , there have been very few court cases. This pattern is common in other EU member states and research indicates that most claims are settled out of court. Exact information on the impact of the Act is difficult to obtain as there is no reporting requirement similar to that under the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Act
Consumer Product Safety Act
The Consumer Product Safety Act was enacted in 1972 by the United States Congress. It established the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission as an independent agency of the United States federal government and defined its basic authority...
.
Consumer safety
Section 10 originally imposed a general safety requirement on consumer products but this was repealRepeal
A repeal is the amendment, removal or reversal of a law. This is generally done when a law is no longer effective, or it is shown that a law is having far more negative consequences than were originally envisioned....
ed when its effect was superseded by the broader requirements of the General Product Safety Regulations 2005
General Product Safety Regulations 2005
The General Product Safety Regulations 2005 is a 2005 Statutory Instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that demands that "No producer shall [supply or] place a [consumer] product on the market unless the product is a safe product" and provides broad enforcement powers...
.
Section 11 gives the Secretary of State, the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, the power to make, after consultation, regulation
Regulation
Regulation is administrative legislation that constitutes or constrains rights and allocates responsibilities. It can be distinguished from primary legislation on the one hand and judge-made law on the other...
s by way of Statutory Instrument
Statutory Instrument
A Statutory Instrument is the principal form in which delegated or secondary legislation is made in Great Britain.Statutory Instruments are governed by the Statutory Instruments Act 1946. They replaced Statutory Rules and Orders, made under the Rules Publication Act 1893, in 1948.Most delegated...
to ensure that:
- Goods are safe;
- Unsafe goods, or goods which would be unsafe in the hands of certain persons, are not made available to persons generally;
- That appropriate, and only appropriate, information is provided in relation to goods.
Regulations under this section cannot be made to apply to (s.11(7)):
- Growing crops and other things which are part of landReal propertyIn English Common Law, real property, real estate, realty, or immovable property is any subset of land that has been legally defined and the improvements to it made by human efforts: any buildings, machinery, wells, dams, ponds, mines, canals, roads, various property rights, and so forth...
because they are attached to it; - WaterWaterWater is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
, foodFoodFood is any substance consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. It is usually of plant or animal origin, and contains essential nutrients, such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals...
, feeding stuff and fertiliser; - GasNatural gasNatural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
supplied under the Gas Act 1986 or the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996; - Controlled drugControlled DrugThe United Kingdom Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 aimed to control the possession and supply of numerous listed drugs and drug-like substances as a controlled substance. The act allowed and regulated the use of some Controlled Drugs by various classes of persons The United Kingdom Misuse of Drugs Act...
s and licensed medicinal productMedicinal productA medicinal product is defined in the European Union as any substance or combination of substances presented for treating or preventing disease in human beings...
s.
Enforcement authorities
Every weights and measures authority in England, Wales and Scotland and every Northern Ireland district councilLocal government in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is divided into 26 districts for local government purposes. In Northern Ireland local councils do not carry out the same range of functions as those in the rest of the United Kingdom, for example they have no responsibility for education, for road building or for housing...
has a duty to enforce, as an enforcement authority, the safety provisions in addition to the law on misleading price indications though these duties can be delegated by the Secretary of State (s.27). Enforcement authorities have the power to make test purchases (s.28) and have powers of entry and search (ss.29-30). Further, a customs officer
Customs officer
A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government.-Hong Kong:4 931 posts, of which nine are directorate officers, 3 804 are members of the Customs and Excise Department, 504 are Trade Controls Officers and 614 are staff of the General and Common...
can detain goods (s.31). There are criminal offences of obstructing an officer of an enforcement authority or giving false information, punishable with a fine (s.32) and recovery of the costs of enforcement (s.35).
Appeal against detention of goods is to the Magistrates' Court
Magistrates' Court
A magistrates' court or court of petty sessions, formerly known as a police court, is the lowest level of court in England and Wales and many other common law jurisdictions...
, or in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
the Sheriff
Sheriff
A sheriff is in principle a legal official with responsibility for a county. In practice, the specific combination of legal, political, and ceremonial duties of a sheriff varies greatly from country to country....
(s.33) and compensation can be ordered (s.34). There is a further right of appeal to the Crown Court
Crown Court
The Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
in England and Wales, the County Court
County Court
A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of county courts held by the High Sheriff of each county.-England and Wales:County Court matters can be lodged...
in Northern Ireland (s.33(4)).
Breach of regulations
Breach of regulations is a crimeCrime
Crime is the breach of rules or laws for which some governing authority can ultimately prescribe a conviction...
, punishable on summary conviction by up to 6 months' imprisonment
Imprisonment
Imprisonment is a legal term.The book Termes de la Ley contains the following definition:This passage was approved by Atkin and Duke LJJ in Meering v Grahame White Aviation Co....
and a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale
Standard scale
The standard scale is a system whereby financial criminal penalties in legislation have maximum levels set against a standard scale. Then, when inflation makes it necessary to increase the levels of the fines the legislators need to modify only the scale rather than each individual piece of...
(s.12).
Prohibition notices, notices to warn and suspension notices
The Secretary of State may serveService of process
Service of process is the procedure employed to give legal notice to a person of a court or administrative body's exercise of its jurisdiction over that person so as to enable that person to respond to the proceeding before the court, body or other tribunal...
on any person (s.13):
- A prohibition notice prohibiting the supply of a product;
- A notice to warn requiring that a notice be published at the person's expenses warning about unsafe products.
An enforcement authority can serve a suspension notice prohibiting supply of a product for up to 6 months (s.14). The supplier can appeal
Appeal
An appeal is a petition for review of a case that has been decided by a court of law. The petition is made to a higher court for the purpose of overturning the lower court's decision....
a suspension notice to the Magistrates' Court, or in Scotland the Sheriff (s.15).
Breach of any such notice is a crime, punishable on summary conviction by up to 3 months' imprisonment and a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale (ss.13(4), 14(6)).
Seizure and forfeiture
In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an enforcement authority may apply to a Magistrates' Court for a forfeiture order to seize unsafe products where (s.16):- There has been a contravention of regulations;
- An appeal has been made against a suspension order or ...
- A complaint has been made to the magistrates.
In Scotland a sheriff may make an order for forfeiture where there has been a contravention of safety regulations (s.17):
- On an application by the Procurator FiscalProcurator FiscalA procurator fiscal is a public prosecutor in Scotland. They investigate all sudden and suspicious deaths in Scotland , conduct Fatal Accident Inquiries and handle criminal complaints against the police A procurator fiscal (pl. procurators fiscal) is a public prosecutor in Scotland. They...
; or - Where a person is convicted of an offence under the Act, in addition to any other penalty.
Appeal against forfeiture is to the Crown Court in England and Wales, the County Court in Northern Ireland (s.16(5)), or the High Court of Justiciary
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court of Scotland.The High Court is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal. As a court of first instance, the High Court sits mainly in Parliament House, or in the former Sheriff Court building, in Edinburgh, but also sits from time...
in Scotland (s.17(8)).
Provision of information
The Secretary of State may require information of any person in order to (s.18):- Make, vary or revoke any safety regulations; or
- Serve, vary or revoke a prohibition notice; or
- Serve or revoke a notice to warn.
Failure to provide information is a crime, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to level 5 on the standard scale. Provision of false information is a crime, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to the statutory maximum and on indictment
Indictment
An indictment , in the common-law legal system, is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that maintain the concept of felonies, the serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that lack the concept of felonies often use that of an indictable offence—an...
in the Crown Court of an unlimited fine (s.18(4)).
Misleading price indications
The Act creates a crime of giving a misleading price indication where a person, in the course of business gives, by any means whatever, to a consumerConsumer
Consumer is a broad label for any individuals or households that use goods generated within the economy. The concept of a consumer occurs in different contexts, so that the usage and significance of the term may vary.-Economics and marketing:...
an indication that is misleading as to the price
Price
-Definition:In ordinary usage, price is the quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services.In modern economies, prices are generally expressed in units of some form of currency...
at which any of the following is available (s.20):
- Goods;
- Services or facilities, including (s.22):
- CreditCredit (finance)Credit is the trust which allows one party to provide resources to another party where that second party does not reimburse the first party immediately , but instead arranges either to repay or return those resources at a later date. The resources provided may be financial Credit is the trust...
or banking or insuranceInsuranceIn law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...
services, and incidental facilities; - Purchase or sale of foreign currencyForeign exchange marketThe foreign exchange market is a global, worldwide decentralized financial market for trading currencies. Financial centers around the world function as anchors of trading between a wide range of different types of buyers and sellers around the clock, with the exception of weekends...
; - Supply of electricityElectric powerElectric power is the rate at which electric energy is transferred by an electric circuit. The SI unit of power is the watt.-Circuits:Electric power, like mechanical power, is represented by the letter P in electrical equations...
; - Provision of parkingParkingParking is the act of stopping a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied for more than a brief time. Parking on one or both sides of a road is commonly permitted, though often with restrictions...
for motor vehicleMotor vehicleA motor vehicle or road vehicle is a self-propelled wheeled vehicle that does not operate on rails, such as trains or trolleys. The vehicle propulsion is provided by an engine or motor, usually by an internal combustion engine, or an electric motor, or some combination of the two, such as hybrid...
s or caravanTravel trailerA travel trailer or caravan is towed behind a road vehicle to provide a place to sleep which is more comfortable and protected than a tent . It provides the means for people to have their own home on a journey or a vacation, without relying on a motel or hotel, and enables them to stay in places...
s, not including permanent residential caravan sites; or
- Credit
- Accommodation, but not an interest in land unless (s.23):
- It was created or will be disposed of in the course of business; or
- It involves the sale of a new dwelling to a resident.
An offender can be sentenced, on summary conviction to a fine of up to the statutory maximum for Magistrates' Courts or, on conviction on indictment in the Crown Court to an unlimited fine (s.20(4)).
Misleading
A price indication is misleading if it conveys, or if consumers might reasonably be expected to infer, that (s.21):- The price is less than in fact it is;
- The applicability of the price does not depend on facts or circumstances on which its applicability does in fact depend;
- The price covers matters in respect of which an additional charge is in fact made;
- Some person, who in fact has no such expectation, expects the price to be:
- Increased or reduced, whether or not at a particular time or by a particular amount; or
- Maintained, whether or not for a particular period; or
- The facts or circumstances by reference to which the consumers might reasonably be expected to judge the validity of any relevant comparison made or implied by the indication are not what in fact they are.