Consumer law
Consumer law regulates consumer related transactions and aims in forming an unbiased balance between the seller and the buyer in the marketplace. It also aims in preventing sellers from using dishonest, unconscionable, aggressive, misleading, or manipulative tactics. Any individual who purchases goods or services sold by manufacturers, wholesalers, or retailers acquires the status of “consumer”.
EU legislation
Both local and EU laws regulate consumer law. Protection of European consumers has a central part in the functioning of the EU internal market. Article 169 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union enables the EU to pass laws to protect consumers’ health, safety and economic interests and promote rights to information, education and to organise themselves in order to safeguard their interests. Outside specific sectors, there are four main EU Directives that regulate consumer law:
- The Product Liability Directive: It creates strict enterprise liability for all producers and retailers for any harm to consumers from products, as a way to promote basic standards of health and safety. Any producer or, if the producer is insolvent, any Supplier of a product is strictly liable to compensate a consumer for any damage caused by a defective product. It includes what most would consider as consumer goods and extends to agriculture and fishery products. Any product falling below the safety standard that a reasonable consumer is entitled to expect i.e. be safe for its purpose is considered to be a defect. The only defence of a producer is to demonstrate that the defect could not be known by any scientific method but it has never been successfully invoked since producers don’t like to make risks of their activities public.
- The Directive on certain aspects of the sale of consumer goods and associated guarantees: This obliges the seller to deliver goods to the consumer that conform to the contract of sale and makes the seller liable to the consumer for any lack of such conformity. It also obliges the seller to make repair or replacement within a reasonable time and without any significant inconvenience to the consumer. It regulates guarantees and the associated advertising by making the conditions laid down in them legally binding on the seller. On request by the consumer, the guarantee must be made available in writing.
- The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Directive: A term is unfair, and not binding, if it was not individually negotiated and not in good faith and it causes a significant imbalance in the contractual rights and obligations of the parties to the detriment of the consumer who is deemed to be in a weaker position than the seller or supplier in both bargaining power and level of knowledge.
- The Unfair Commercial Practices Directive: It regulates unfair business practices and deals with the standards of behaviour required of traders. Unfair commercial practices are prohibited.
- These are practices that are contrary to the requirements of professional diligence and that are likely to materially distort the economic behaviour of the average consumer. The effect of commercial practices on particular kinds of consumers, especially those who are unusually vulnerable, can replace the “average consumer” test if the practices are directed at those kinds of consumers or will foreseeably affect them.
- There are two major categories of unfair commercial practices, those that are measleading and those that are Aggressive:
- Misleading, if it omits material information that the average consumer needs, according to the context or it contains false information and is therefore untruthful or in any way, including overall presentation, deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer, even if the information is factually correct, in relation to one or more elements of the product, and in either case causes or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise.
- Aggressive, if, in its factual context, taking account of all its features and circumstances, by harassment, coercion, including the use of physical force, or undue influence, it significantly impairs or is likely to significantly impair the average consumer's freedom of choice or conduct with regard to the product and thereby causes him or is likely to cause him to take a transactional decision that he would not have taken otherwise.
- The Consumer Rights Directive: aims to achieve a high level of consumer protection and competitive businesses giving consumers the same minimum rights wherever they shop across the EU. It harmonizes rules on the information that the consumers should be given before they purchase something wherever they shop in the EU e.g. Hidden charges & Price Transparency, and their right to cancel online purchases and to withdraw from a transaction.
Cyprus Legislation
Cyprus has a specific law regarding the sale of goods in retail or consumer situations i.e. the Sale of Goods Law 10(I).1994. This law makes provisions for:
- The conditions for the formation of the contract: Such as what is a contract of sale, formalities of the contract, the subject-matter of the contract, the price of the goods, difference in the effect of conditions and warranties.
- The effects of the contract: Such as transfer of property as between seller and buyer and conditions for the transfer of title to the goods.
- Performance of the contract.
- Rights of the unpaid seller against the goods: Such as the unpaid seller's lien on the goods, stoppage in transit of the goods, transfer of title by buyer and seller and effects to bona fide third party purchasers.
- Actions for breach of the contract, and
- Miscellaneous matters.
Cyprus has also transposed all the above European Directives and as such there is now a whole bundle of specific Laws that provide Cypriot consumers with wide-ranging rights in contracts between them and businesses.
Our Services:
Consumers can often find themselves in need of legal help after falling victim to an online scam, to purchasing a car without being told of hidden defects, to buying any electrical appliance or electronic product without been given proper service or warrantees.
If you or your business is involved in consumer disputes, you shall need expert legal advice to resolve the matter as rapidly and as efficiently as possible. Our commercial litigation and dispute management team has years of experience in this area of law.
Our services include all consumer protection law matters, claims and disputes such as:
- Legal Opinions.
- Claims relating to misleading practices.
- Claims relating to aggressive practices.
- Issues, disputes and litigation between businesses and customers such as:
- Product liability issues and disputes
- Unfair contract terms issues and disputes
- Service and warrantees issues and disputes
- All consumer disputes
- Appeals etc.