introduction
Everyone is a consumer. A consumer is someone who buys things for their personal use. It doesn't matter how much you spend or how old you are.
If you have pocket money or earnings from work, you may like spending it on comics, sweets, CD's, buying clothes, going to the cinema or playing sports.
Sometimes you may feel that you aren't getting good value for your money or even worse, that you have been cheated or conned.
As a consumer you have the right to be treated fairly. You also have the right to complain and to have your complaint heard.
There are laws which protect you. We will tell you about them and how to go about making sure that you get a fair deal.
If you buy something from a shop and it goes wrong, the law says that the person who sold it to you has to sort out your complaint.
There are three very important legal rules which all shops must obey:
- Goods sold by a trader must be of "satisfactory quality". It means that they must work properly and, if they are new, they must not be broken or damaged. So a pair of trainers shouldn't fall apart the first time that you wear them.
- Goods sold by a trader must be described properly. Traders must not tell lies or mislead you about what they are selling. For example, a plastic jacket should not be described as leather.
- Goods sold by a trader must be "fit for their purpose". This means that they should do the job they are meant to do. For example, if a shop tells you that "Globbo Glue" will stick your model aeroplane together, then it should.
If you want to find more about your rights this section will give you more detailed information.
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