Last week a new bill of rights – to borrow a phrase – was rolled out for Irish consumers. Did you notice? Should you care? These are just two of the questions that have been prompted by the new law. Here are a whole lot more – along with some answers.
Okay, so, what happened last week?
Well, the Government published a Consumer Rights Bill 2022 which, it said, would consolidate and modernise consumer law. The Minister of State with responsibility for consumer protection legislation Robert Troy said the Bill was "the biggest overhaul of consumer rights law in 40 years".
And is he right?
While the Minister is not wrong to say the new laws will have a dramatic impact on the rights consumers have in Ireland, it is also right to say that many of the elements that will be contained in the Bill are already part of EU-wide law. What the Bill does is enshrine a whole raft of consumer-friendly rules into Irish law too, which should make seeking redress easier in the future.
Does Irish consumer law really need consolidating and modernising?
It absolutely does. For starters, many of the laws in place to protect Irish consumers were drawn up before the age of the internet which means that there are all manner of practices, which would be considered entirely unacceptable in the real world, that have been happening in the virtual world for donkey's years with little or no protections for consumers.
What are you talking about?
Well, when you buy a physical product and it breaks, you have certain rights. You have a right to a refund, a repair or a replacement if something you buy fails you in some significant way shortly after you buy it. It is a whole lot more nebulous in the online world and you don't have the same rights if you spend money on a digital product as you do if you spend on a physical one. But this is going to change. Under the new law, consumers will have the same rights and protections over digital content and digital services, such as streaming, downloads, cloud products, as they do currently with any other products or services.
What will that mean in practice?
Among the enhanced digital rights people will have will be the right to a full refund, exchange or repair when goods or services are not as described or not fit for purpose. You will also be entitled to any upgrades to the product or service that are needed to ensure the goods continue to work as expected and agreed, free of charge.
Okay, so those are rights I thought I had already. Will I have any extra rights?
You will, as it happens. While consumers will have the right to a refund, a replacement or a repair, the new law will see more redress options put on the table. People will also be entitled to agree a price reduction on faulty goods and they will be entitled to withhold payment for goods partially paid for if they are not satisfied with the quality of the item received. In effect that gives you more power to determine outcomes and that empowerment will be enshrined in law. The new law also makes it clear that any form of redress must be free of charge and must be carried out as soon as possible.
Anything else?
Oh, we are only getting started. You know the way you do due diligence on Dan's Dodgy Deals by looking him up on Google to see what other people are saying about his service before you spend your life savings on one of his products? And you know the way you might be relieved to see all the reviews he gets are five-star raves so you plough on? Well, sometimes, those reviews might not be entirely legit. They may even have been written by Dodgy Dan himself. The new law will put manners on Dan and should spell the end to the practice of some entirely dodgy operators writing glowing reviews of themselves on various platforms to make it seem they are a whole lot better than they are.
Hang on, is that not already illegal?
Weirdly, no. Immoral? Absolutely, but against the law? Nope. In the future, companies that engage in "misleading and aggressive" commercial practices, such as fake reviews, could be subject to fines imposed by the courts following enforcement action taken by the consumer watchdog.
Who is the consumer watchdog?
We have quite a few of them in Ireland. Some are good. Some are not. In this instance, the watchdog will most likely be the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC).
Is there more?
There is. The law will stop companies using certain terms and conditions which are "automatically regarded as unfair when put in a contract".
Like what?
Well any condition which allows a trader to unilaterally change the terms of a contract, or any provision which would indemnify a trader from harm caused by a product or service will not be allowed. Businesses will also have to clearly set out a description of the goods or services being provided, the total price of the item and the cost of delivery before entering into a contract with a consumer.
So what is the story with the CCPC?
It will now be able to take enforcement action against traders who refuse or fail to provide consumers with a remedy for faulty goods or services and against traders who fail or refuse to make a reimbursement to which consumers are entitled under the Act.
And is that a big deal?
It is probably one of the most important parts of the new law, to be honest. One of the biggest problems with all the consumer protection measures in Ireland over recent decades has been the absence of a State wielded stick with which miscreants could be beaten. The role of the CCPC is to give us a voice and answer any consumer-related queries we might have and to enforce competition and consumer protection law in Ireland.
It won’t help you if you have a problem with a specific company and, up until now, has not legally been allowed to intervene on behalf of consumers or to make contact with companies that have made life difficult unless the issue is widespread and pervasive. But with new enforcement powers available to it, it should become much more active in protecting consumers.
So it is good news then?
We couldn't help but agree with the Minister for Enterprise Leo Varadkar when he said the new law is "good for consumers and good for business". When he was unveiling the new law he noted that "most businesses are responsible and treat their customers fairly when things go wrong" and pointed out that the businesses who don't do the right thing often have "an unfair advantage over their competitors".
So all these changes are the law now, right?
Um, no, not quite. The Bill has been signed off by the Cabinet but it has to make its way through the Oireachtas, which will take a few months. The best case scenario should see it become law by the summer which means Dan's Dodgy Deals will be able to post some dodgy reviews for a few months yet.
