Can’t get no…satisfaction

In today’s competitive market, we often hear the mantra that ‘the customer is always right’.

And businesses pride themselves on the way they ‘keep the customer satisfied’.

But most traders would accept they sometimes fall short, and they are sometimes faced with legal action by disgruntled customers.

So, what rights do your customers have when they claim that purchases are faulty or sub-standard, or – like The Rolling Stones – they just ‘can’t get no satisfaction’?

The law entitles buyers to receive goods of satisfactory quality, taking into account how they were described when sold, the price, and other factors that may be relevant to a particular purchase.

If an item has a hidden fault that was present at the time of sale, your customer is entitled to bring a claim at a later stage when the fault has become apparent. However, customers cannot claim for problems caused by fair wear and tear, misuse, or damage caused by an accident beyond your control. And they have no legal right to return an item simply because they no longer want it.

If a faulty product is returned fairly quickly, the customer can usually expect to receive a full refund, or a reasonable amount of compensation. Since March 2003, non-trade customers, known in law as “consumers”, have been able to choose between a repair, a replacement, or a refund.

Generally speaking, the buyer needs to show the goods were faulty at the time of sale. But if the buyer is a consumer and returns the goods within six months of the date of sale, the law assumes the goods were faulty when sold – the consumer does not have to prove that. It is for you to prove the goods were of satisfactory quality at the time of sale.

Cars, in particular, are a common source of woe. We deal with lots of four-wheeled disputes in Foot Anstey’s busy litigation practice.

If you sell a brand new car and it develops a series of faults which create potential safety problems – and which you are unwilling or unable to put right – then the law may require that you take the car back and provide a full refund.

That said, the customer would be expected to give credit for any benefit they have had from using the car in the time they have owned it, including an allowance for the mileage covered.

However, the law recognises that cars (and for that matter many other items of technical equipment) are mechanically complex, and buyers cannot necessarily expect absolute perfection. So long as you, as the supplier, are willing to carry on putting the car right free of charge, the customer would be expected to bear with you for a reasonable period rather than trying to reject the car the moment the first problem arises.

With legal jargon such as ‘rescission’, ‘misrepresentation’ and ‘implied terms’, the law in this area can also seem complex.

But if you seek timely legal advice, there’s no need for anyone to suffer the maudlin dissatisfaction of Mick Jagger and his ageing rockers.

Published 29/07/2006.