Legal Issues in Consumer Protection - Essay Example

Running Head: Consumer Protection Consumer Protection - The Sales of Goods Act In APA format Consumer protection is critical in upholding the rights of consumers while they indulge in business transactions. This paper evaluates whether the Sales of Goods Act can protect the interest of consumers in case of unfair business practises, keeping in perspective a hypothetical scenario involving an American businessman engaged in a lawsuit vs the Government of Brunei for compensation following an unfair business deal transacted in Brunei. Hypothetical claims ranged from direct issues like compensation for damaged goods to issues indirectly linked to the transaction, like unplanned extended stay and hospitalisation in Brunei, and even certain social costs. Detailed analyses raised serious questions on the extent to which the law in Brunei can protect consumer rights. There were also certain ambiguities related to the actual people accountable for the faulty transaction. Hence, the author stresses on the need for stringent laws to protect the consumers' interests in business transactions. In addition, there appears to be an urgent need for a watchdog which would ensure that all laws are adhered to, in turn facilitating fair business practises. Consumer Protection - The Sales of Goods Act Introduction a. Background In the language of ecology, consumers are defined as those organisms who survive by depending on others around them (Consumer, AbNature, n.d.). This dependence could be for any day to day necessity, which they themselves are incapable of producing. And there are instances when triggered by the acute need of the consumer, this dependence on the producer has transformed into a form of exploitation, thus giving a freehand to the producers to make a kill. This definition and example might seem a little far fetched at the moment, but surprisingly both are in a way applicable in our day to day lives. There appears to be no end to our needs - material or spiritual and there are providers for all our needs. From the time we wake up each morning till the time we go back to sleep, knowingly or unknowingly, willingly or unwillingly, all of us tend to depend on one fellow human being or other for various reasons - hence, in a sense of speaking we all are consumers. Till the time all transactions happen in good faith and to the satisfaction to all parties involved, the world is a dreamland! However, the problem arises when the transactions do not happen in the true sense of fair practises. And considering that there are so many transactions happening, the possibility of exploitation cannot be ruled out. So, if we agree that we have advertently or inadvertently involved ourselves in one business transaction or the other, there have been at least one or two instances in our lives when we have felt that we as consumers have been given an unfair deal by the providers/salesman and the deal has not been concluded in the manner it should have been; in other words, our rights as customers have been infringed. The deal could be anything ranging from sale of faulty products, refusal to replace faulty products, unsatisfactory post-sales maintenance to poor service. And most often than not, in spite of continuous follow ups we have failed to get our issues addressed or resolved and the inconvenience compensated. Consumer protection is the current buzz word worldwide. There has been an increased awareness about the enormity of this need and there has been an increase in awareness among customers about their rights. Policies are being formulated, traders practising their trade unfairly are being implicated and there is a worldwide movement towards ensuring that the consumers get their due in all business transactions. However, in the absence of clear directions, policies and guidance on the grievance redressal systems, it is not always that the consumer is protected from unfair business practises. b. Objectives The need for consumer protection persists worldwide and it is no different in Brunei Darussalam. The Government of Brunei already has in place the Sales of Goods Act. The Act gives an elaborate insight on the guidelines for conducting business transactions, responsibilities of each party involved in the transactions, the terms and conditions related to the products, topics related to damage and compensation and some other key elements. It provides an opportunity to the enforcers of the law to come down heavily on the defaulters. However, the true and effective impact of the Act in the current context of consumer protection needs further evaluation. In this paper, we will be putting into perspective a hypothetical case study of a business transaction gone wrong. The multi-directional aspect of the scenario under discussion will give us the opportunity to ponder on the different stakeholders, their accountabilities, the points that lack clarity and the various intriguing issues that need immediate redressal in most customer rights cases. The discussion of this case study will also assist in emphasising on the necessity of laws ensuring consumer protection. c. Significance Although consumer protection is now a key topic of discussion, there is still a long way to go before the topic receives the true attention it deserves. Unfair business practises and non-uniform guidelines on grievance redressal have many a times left a bitter taste in the mouth of the consumers. In spite of the existence of consumer protection laws, deviations from the good trade practises have been observed frequently. There could be multiple reasons for this and the current paper highlights how these cases usually are associated with confusions related to jurisdictional aspects of the regulatory bodies. Some key information on consumer protection laws has been highlighted. In addition, the discussion is focussed on how difficult it is to zero in on the person(s) accountable for the inconvenience and the extent to which damages can be claimed. The paper also asks probing questions on how effectively the current laws in Brunei can resolve issues of consumer protection in faulty business dealings. And finally, it re-affirms the need to have a regulatory overseeing agency that would act like a watchdog to ensure consumer rights are protected. d. Limitations The limitation of this paper lies in the fact that the discussion is initiated based on a hypothetical scenario. In addition, one case study may not be able to encompass all elements related to the whole gamut of unfair business practises. However, we should take into consideration the fact that it was not the sole basis of the topics covered. The case study was just a trigger point to give us a sense of direction on how a single case of unfair business practise can have a lot of complexity involved. It gave the audience a fair opportunity to visualise the possible outcomes under similar circumstances. 2. Discussion on Case Study Consumer protection can be broadly defined as rules and regulations formulated and implemented by the government with the aim to protect the rights of the consumers at the time of business dealings. Consumer protection laws cover a wide range of topics, including but not necessarily limited to product liability, privacy rights, unfair business practices, fraud and other consumer business transaction (Sales of Goods law, Laws of Brunei, n.d.). The formulation of these regulations have been necessitated following reports of rampant unfair trade practises that deviated from business ethics and violated the basic expectations of the consumers involved. These rules enable the regulatory authorities to complete mandatory background checks of all agencies conducting business. This ensures that a prospective customer is doing business with only agencies that have a clean track record, with no history of lawsuits, disputes or consumer dissatisfaction. Implementation of such legislations has begun showing signs of improvement in consumer satisfaction. In the context of Brunei, the questions we are dealing with are - how important is consumer protection and has the Sales of Goods law implemented by the Government of Brunei (Sales of Goods law, Laws of Brunei, n.d.) been able to resolve complaints and disputes arising from unfair business practises and ensured consumer protection Let us use a hypothetical case study of a foreign businessman engaged in a lawsuit VS the Brunei government, for compensation following an unfair business deal transacted in Brunei. Summary of the hypothetical case study: An American businessman visiting Brunei and during his visit, he visited one of the shopping malls at Bandar Seri Begawan and bought a Japanese brand laptop. While leaving the store after his purchase, the business man slipped on the semi-dry floor outside the store. In the bargain, he fractured his ankle which required hospitalisation for a few days. In addition, the strap of the laptop snapped. As a result, his ankle broke and he had to be hospitalized for a few days. A month after the incident, a letter from a law firm in the USA with proofs enclosed, informed the store that the businessman was suing them for quite a substantial amount of money! Some facts to be considered before we start focusing on consumer protection - firstly, the components of the laptop were from different manufacturers outside Brunei (assembled in Singapore, made available in a leather strap bag made in Thailand); secondly, the shopping complex was owned by a Brunei-Malaysia partnership while the super store chain was owned by a Brunei-Taiwan investing partnership. And to aid in our discussion, we could refer to the presentation on consumer protection law by Terrell Hogan (Terrel Hogan, n.d.). As evident from Terry's presentation, consumer protection law has brought about a lot of positive changes - for products of critical importance like food, public safety instruments, precision instruments, medicines, medical devices and others, there has been strict enforcing of parameters to ensure that the lives of the consumers remain safe and their rights are protected. Certain things that are evident in our everyday lives are the ones that most commonly come under the purview of these laws. In addition, these consumer protection laws play an important part in protecting our families and serves as a valuable ally for every one of us. Keeping the learning from the consumer laws into perspective, let us now evaluate the extent of the claims made by the businessman under various heads/topics of the consumer protection law as well as try and identify the people who should be accountable and should be facing the hypothetical lawsuit. Firstly, the American businessman wanted to make a full claim on the price of the laptop that he bought from the store providing pictures of the edges of the machine being damaged due to the fall. At the first instance, it looks like an open and shut case - of course the store owners are accountable. But wait! The store claimed that the computer was placed by Brunei agent, who in turn said that the computer was sent by a manufacturer in Singapore, which they actually sell on commission basis. So now the question is, from whom did the American businessman actually buy the laptop Could it be the store in Brunei or the agent's manufacturer from Thailand Also, who manufactured the computer bag with the defective strap This is the real challenge! It is really confusing now to narrow down on one offender who could be implicated since the stakeholders are many and considering their locations across Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan, it would be difficult to determine which law they should be prosecuted under; the law of Brunei may not be applicable to them after all. The second claim the American businessman made was with respect to the Transport/Hotel and Medical expenses. As claimed by him, he had to bear the huge expenses for the treatment and stay at the hospital following his injury. In addition, his hotel charges became exorbitant since he had to extend his stay way beyond what was previously planned, and he had to cancel and re-book the return flight tickets to the US. Hence, he wanted to make a claim on all the unplanned expenditure on transport, hotel and medical treatment. But do we have any guidance on this issue from the law in Brunei Are these three claims that he made covered under the consumer protection law in Brunei And are these provisions covered under the laws of other countries mentioned previously Now let's move to the third claim that the American businessman have made. These claims have been made on the grounds of loss of business opportunity. We understand that in the hypothetical case, the reason for the businessman's visit to Brunei was to attend a business meeting. He intended to have business meetings with companies in Brunei for a contract worth "10 Millions dollars", following which he had planned to attend another business meeting which was in Singapore, also for a contract worth "10 million dollars". His lawyer claimed that if the businessman had not been hospitalized in Brunei because of the injury, he would have proceeded well with all the deals in these meetings. This would have led him receiving the contracts and would have also allowed him to earn profits worth millions of dollars. As is evident, it is difficult to estimate, forecast or extrapolate with definite conviction his claim of a business opportunity lost. So the big question is - are consumers protected against these forms of losses which are hard to evaluate and may not be directly linked to the unfair business practise but are in fact resultant of such dealings And finally, what estimates can we make on the social costs that the American businessman wanted to claim These are well estranged from the business transaction but not easy to ignore. His social cost according to his lawyer included his frustration for not being able attending his daughter's 17th birthday, the anger, the shame and his disappointment What does the Brunei law say about this And how do we quantify the cost of this social loss $2 $5 Or $20 millions Once again, are consumers protected against this This hypothetical case maybe an exaggeration of what may happen in a real life setting. However, we have to admit that such complicated problems do happen and in such cases it is extremely difficult to conclude on accountabilities, magnitude of the compensation claimed and may involve huge amounts of money. However, the more important question is whether the consumer's rights are protected and not infringed upon in any manner. And as mentioned previously, the applicable laws on consumer protection vary across countries, which make it difficult to file lawsuits against specific offenders. There could also be a slight variation from this hypothetical case study, another angle wherein the shopkeeper or building owner may be subjected to heavy fines or asked to compensate dissatisfied consumers due to lack of awareness or insufficient knowledge of their liabilities. 3. Conclusion and Recommendation Consumer protection is a key issue in the minds of authorities worldwide. In our everyday lives, the necessity of implementing consumer protection laws is immense. The importance of such laws is evident all the more while dealing with products that could be life threatening if not manufactured as per specifications. The consumers around the world too are slowly realising that it is their right to demand a fair deal while proceeding with a business transaction. Hence, taking into consideration the inconveniences and lack of redressal faced by consumers around the world, it is only fitting that a mechanism is put in place to protect the rights of the consumers. This is where the role of a watch dog is critical. A watchdog that is empowered to ensure compliance to policies and guidelines for fair trade practises; a watchdog that will educate the consumers about their rights, will help them avoid exploitation by traders, and will provide redressal to their grievances in quick time. On the other hand, a watchdog will also encourage and enlighten the business houses on the advantages and goodwill associated with fait business practises and facilitate compliance to them. Speaking in the context of consumer protection laws in Brunei Darussalam, empowering a competent watchdog can protect all consumers from misadventures in business deals. The purpose of this watchdog will be to protect the consumers, retailers and manufacturers alike from exploitation and in addition, to support and facilitate a legally sound business transaction mechanism. Such a watchdog will also be empowered to ensure continued and better business prospects for the country and in turn assist in a futuristic economic growth. In conclusion, what is required is more awareness on the consumer protection laws, increased clarity on the accountability of defaulters and a watchdog that will ensure adherence to the laws and timely and just resolution to all unfair business practise related conflicts. This paper aimed to bring into focus this key issue that plagues consumers worldwide and it would be heartening to see some constructive steps in the right direction in the near future. References Definition of consumer (n.d.). Retrieved 28 February, 2010 from www.abheritage.ca/ abnature/glossary.htm Sale of Goods Act, Laws of Brunei Video on Consumer Protection by Terrel Hogan (n.d.). Retrieved 28 February, 2010 from http:// www.youtube.com/watchv=tpq7X7hj7Ak Definition of Consumer Protection (n.d.). 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