CRA 2015 LAW PAPER 3

• If a trader and a consumer make a contract under which the trader is to supply goods and/or services to the consumer, then the consumer is protected by a member of statutory rights.
• The CRA applies whether the contract is written, oral, implied from the conduct of the parties or some mixture of these.
• Trader: a person acting for purposes relating to that persons trade, business, craft or profession.
• Consumer: An individual acting for purposes wholly or mainly outside that individuals trade, business, craft or profession.
• Section 9 CRA 2015 : Satisfactory quality. S9(1) implies a term in every contract for the supply of goods that the goods will be of satisfactory quality. S9(2) Satisfactory quality means the goods are what a reasonable person would consider was satisfactory given the price, the description and all other relevant circumstances. S9(3) SQ includes their state and condition, and the following are relevant: fitness for all common purposes, appearance and finish, freedom from minor defects, safety of the goods, and durability.
• Defences for the trader. s9(4) does not apply if a). the fault is drawn to the consumers attention before the contract is made. b). the consumer makes an examination before the contract and the examination should have revealed the faults. c). the goods are supplied by sample, and the fault would have been revealed by any reasonable examination of the sample.
• Section 10 CRA: Fitness for purpose. S10(3) implies a term that if the consumer makes known to the trader (impliedly or expressly ) a particular purpose for those goods, the goods must be fit for that purpose even if it is a purpose for which these goods are not normally supplied. In these circumstances there is an implied term that the goods are reasonably fit for that purpose. BALDRY V MARSHALL- the court agreed that the car was not fit for purpose.
• O.I.R Where the purchaser has an abnormal sensitivity that is not known to the seller as long as the goods are fit for purpose to most people there will be no breach of the requirement. GRIFFITHS V PETER CONWAY
• Goods to be as described


  S11(1) Implies a term that when the goods are supplied by description the goods will match that description
• Description

  • Can be implied description where the goods are on display and the customer selects for himself
  • Where the supply of goods is by reference to a model seen or examined by the consumer then the goods supplied must match the model
  • Where a website provides information about the main characteristics of the goods that are being sold on the website
• Cases

  • BEATLE V TAYLOR- car didn't match description
  • RE MOORE & LANDAUER- wrong packaging
• REMEDIES- SUPPLY OF GOODS. In addition to the remedies introduced by the CRA below the consumer can still use any normal contract remedy such as damages especially if there has been any consequential loss.
• S19 Goods which do not conform to the contract at any time within a six month period beginning with the day the goods are delivered are presumed to not have complied with the contract on the day of delivery.
• If a trader, when supplying goods, breaches one of the above implied terms , S19 CRA 2015 makes available for the following remedies: S20 short term right to reject, S23 right to repair or replacement, S24 right to a price reduction or a final right to reject.
• S20: Short term right to reject. The consumer has a short term right to reject the goods and claim full refund within 30 days of delivery (shorter if goods are perishable). The trader must bear any reasonable costs of returning the goods. A refund must given within 14 days.
• S23 The right to repair or replacement. If s20 is not excersised by the consumer, he has a right to claim a free repair or replacement. A replacemt would have to be identical, so if the same make and model were no longer available replacement would be impossible. This must be done in a reasonable time. After any repair or replacement, the consumer can still excersise the short term right to reject.
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  If S23 does not bring satisfaction the consumer can exercise either final right to reject and claim a refund or right to a price reduction, If one of the following three situations exist:
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  • After one repair or replacement, the goods do not conform to the contract
  • The consumer cannot exercise the right to a repair or a replacement because both are impossible or disproportionate to the trade
  • The consumer has requested a repair or replacement, but the trader has not done so within a reasonable time and without a significant inconvenience to the consumer
• CONTRACT FOR THE SUPPLY OF SERVICES- A contract to supply services involves the performance of a task rather than the delivery of the goods.
• S49 Reasonable care and skill. S49 implies into a contract for the supply of a service a term that the trader will perform the service with reasonable care and skill. The test is whether the supplier is excersising the ordinary skill of an ordinary competent person supplying the particular service. The standard will be higher if the supplier holds himself out as having any special skill or knowledge. THAKE V MAURICE
• S52 Reasonable time. S52 implies into a contract for the supply of a service, a term that the trader will perform the service within a reasonable time. What is a reasonable time is a question of fact.
• Remedies- Supply of services. S55 Right to require repeat performance. S56 Right to a price reduction. In addition to the remedies introduced by the CRA below the consumer can still use any normal contract remedy such as damages especially if there has been any consequential loss.
• S55 Right to repeat performance. The trader must repeat performance: to the extent necessary to comply with the contract, within a reasonable time and without signficant inconvenience to the consumer, and must bear any costs such as materials and labour.
• S56 Right to a price reduction for the traders failure to perform the contract. A right to require the trader to reduce the price by an appropriate amount for the traders failure to perform the contract. This may result in a refund, up to the full contract price.
• S56 continued. Where the consumer has a right to repeat performance, he can only seek a price reduction if either the repeat performance is impossible or if the trader has not done so within reasonbale time and without significant inconvenience to the consumer. Any refund should be within 14 days, be by the same method as the original payement and must not be subject to any fee.
• EXCLUSION CLAUSES. In the context of trader/ consumer contracts, exclusion/ limitation clauses are now controlled by the CRA. .
• There are 3 main sections of the act which set out the bars of exclusion clauses: S31, S57, S65.
• S31 Prohibits a term excluding or limiting liability for the following in respects to sale of goods: goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose, as described.
• S57 Prohibits a term excluding or limiting liability for the supply of services: service to be performed with reasonable care and skill, service provided in a reasonable time, information about trader or service to be binding.
• S65 Prohibits exclusion or restriction of liability for death or personal injury resulting from negligence.
• An exclusion/ limitation clause is a term in a contract that in some way excludes or limits the liability of one of the parties should he fail to perform his side of the bargain properly. Exclusion/ limitation clauses can be very powerful weapons in the hands of those with a strong bargaining position. It is therefore very important that they are limited by law.
• Consequently, a variety of controls have been developed:

  • rules relating to the incorporation of the clause
  • statutory control of exclusion clauses
  • the effect of exclusion clauses on third parties to the contract.