How do the Consumer Contracts Regulations differ to the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and do car buyers have the same rights under the two pieces of legislation?
All car buyers have protection under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a key piece of consumer law in the United Kingdom. The Act says that any goods purchased by customers must meet certain standards, including that they must be of satisfactory quality considering their age, description and condition – amongst other factors, fit for purpose and meet any description given of them. The Act also sets out the remedies to which a consumer may be entitled if they buy faulty goods.
For people who buy their cars at a distance, normally online, they have additional rights under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. This is because people buying products at a distance don’t have the opportunity to view and inspect them before making their decision to buy, so the Regulations mean consumers have an opportunity to decide whether they’d like to keep the product or not, and can return it if they don’t want it without having to prove it’s in some way faulty or misdescribed.
