By Melissa Higham - 30 Jul 2014
The law now better reflects modern commercial and retail
practices and seeks to bring our consumer laws into line with those
of Australia. We set out eight key areas, with links for
greater detail to the Commerce Commission's website.
- Contracting Out - There is now a
limited ability to contract out of certain parts of the Act.
- Unsubstantiated representations -
There is a prohibition on making unsubstantiated
representations. For those in advertising, you will be happy
to know that this does not mean that all "puffery" must
stop. However, it does mean that any person making a
representation must be able to show that they had reasonable
grounds for believing the representation was true, at the time the
representation was made. It is not sufficient to come up with
evidence of truth at a later date.
- Product Safety - All product
recalls must be notified to the Minister of Consumer Affairs and
there are new provisions relating to Compulsory Product
Recalls.
- Layby Sales - There is now a
definition of what constitutes a "layby sale" and there are
specified disclosure requirements for layby sales.
- Uninvited Direct Sales - Are
now covered by the Act (which replaces the Door to Door Sales Act)
and specifically includes telephone sales. There are now
disclosure requirements for sales over $100.
- Extended Warranties - In
addition to new disclosure requirements and rights to cancel, an
extended warranty must clearly identify what additional rights a
consumer is getting over and above their rights under the Consumer
Guarantees Act.
- Unsolicited Goods and
Services - Rules relating to unsolicited goods and
services have been clarified.
- Auctions - Auctions are now
specifically covered by the Act (including online auctions). The
procedural aspects of auctions have also been
clarified. Vendors must give notice of their status as traders
and vendor bids must be clearly identified.
If you would like to know how any of the above changes may
affect you, please email Melissa Higham.
Significant reform is also coming in relation to Unfair Contract
Terms. This is due to come into force in March 2015. We will
discuss these changes in upcoming blogs.
Contact
Melissa
Higham