Consumer Protection Law - Report Example

consumer protection law Each government has some responsibilities towards its citizens, As such there are certain regulations formed by the ities all over the world to protect the interests of the consumers. The regulations also cover the rights that people have as consumers of various facilities. Most governments around the world also involve various non-government organizations, for enforcing the consumer protection laws, through consumer activism. Under the consumer protection law also called as consumer law is a public law that regulates the private law relationship between companies that sell goods and services to consumers and the individuals (customers). The topics that are covered under this law cover, among other things, fraud, product liability, privacy rights, and unfair business practices and other business transactions that involve consumer interaction. These laws also deal with credit and debit repair and liability, service contracts, warranty and guarantee obligations, consolidation of personal loans as well as bankruptcy proceedings. In United States, there are a number of laws to protect consumer rights. These are described briefly below, categorized according to their areas of jurisdiction. Various laws for consumer protection are listed below: Consumer product safety act Federal trade commission act Pure food and drug act Do not call registry act Fair credit reporting act Fair debit collection practices act Real estate settlement purchasers act Health insurance portability and accountability act Digital media consumers act. While most of he acts are for consumer protection only, the individual explanation of each may not be required as the case of every consumer may be different. However, a few acts like those in the communication area and Mass warranty for the goods and serviced purchased will be described here briefly. There are established US laws and codes with regard to the warranty for any product or service. In broader terms, a warranty is an obligation to the seller that the product or services sold is as per the factual statement of the seller with regard to that sale. The Us code defines written warranty as This relates to the confirmation of the promise in writing made towards the nature of the product material or towards its workmanship, made by the seller to the purchaser. Such written affirmation by the supplier further promises that the product and the material used for the manufacture of same is free of defects and it will work as per the specified level of performance until a certain specified period. Warranty will also mean any other undertaking given in writing by the supplier promising to refund, replace or repair any product in case such product does not meet the set specifications as mentioned in the above said undertaking....(1) Ref: (1) US code # 2301... definitions These are various types of warranties: Implied warranty Express warranty Limited warranty Full warranty Implied Warranty This warranty rises from the implied understanding of the buyer rather than the representations of the seller. This type of warranty is mainly concerned with the nature of the transaction between the seller and the buyer. The following subcategories explain different types of implied warranty Warranty of Merchantability: Generally, goods that are “merchantable” must conform to the overall expectation of the buyer. Unless this warranty is disclaimed by the supplier in clear terms like “sale for goods as it is” or goods sold “with all the faults” at the time of sales< the merchantability warranty is an obligation towards the seller that the goods sold meet the required standard of the product. Household goods sold to consumers are also covered under this warranty in most of the states. Warranty of fitness This type of warranty arises when a buyer puts his confidence in the seller by relying on him to select a particular product, which suits the buyer’s requirements. An example can be that a buyer gets a Pc with the linux operating system instead of winnows O.S. as asked by the buyer. However this like the above given type of implied warranty can be disclaimed, by name, thereby shifting the obligation to the buyer. Warranty of title This implies that the rightful owner of the goods and none else.This means that the goods are not stolen or there is not any infringment of patent rights etc. on the product sold. This saves the buyer from the legal hassles if the product is found to be a stolen one. (ref: Us code for warranty # 2308 ) Express Warranty This warranty as created by the seller will mean: Express warranty by affirmation That the goods shall confirm towards the affirmation of the promise made by the seller relating to the goods and such promise being the part of the bargain between the seller and the buyer. Express warranty by description Any further amendment required in the specification of the product as agreed upon the bargain between the buyer and seller shall create an express warranty that the product shall conform to the amended description, thus agreed upon.. Express warranty by sample Purchase made based on any sample or model shall create an express warranty that the sold product or goods conform to the sample in totality. (Ref: US laws Code # 1302.26 (UCC 2-313)) Limited Warranty The minimum standard of warranties set forth by the federal authorities as in section 2304 of US Code. are clearly specified. If the goods sold do not meet such warranty conditions, then the warranty is said to be a “Limited Warranty” This type of warranty is an individual agreement between the buyer and the supplier and the written document will cover certain parameters of the transaction like duration of warranty, the conditions for replacement of the product, the cost of repairs to be born by whom etc. Full Warranty The seller as a warrantor shall clearly indicate in the written warranty the nature of the warranty as being full or limited. This has to be given covering all parameters including the period of warranty. Where the written conditions meet the minimum standards for warranty as mentioned in the federal code 2304 in full, such warranty is called full (statement of duration) warranty. This type of warranty expressly binds the supplier towards all the obligations of the product performance for the full time of the warranty period, without any cost, what so ever, to the buyer. Such warranty implies that the seller without any further charges should replace the goods, in case they are found to be substandard or are not repairable beyond a certain point. (ref : Us Code # 2303 and 2304 ) Sources used Department of consumer protection, state of Connecticut, USA http://www.ct.gov/dcp/cwp/view.asp?a=1646&Q=276146&PM=1 Connecticut Lemon law regulations Cornell University Law School, US Code Collection Read More