Businessman vs. Consumer Rights
As we enter the month of March, it is only right that we prepare for March 15th as that’s when the World Consumer Rights Day is celebrated. This day marks the date on which President John F. Kennedy first outlined what are Consumer Rights, and what we have known them to be since 1962. During the Presidents’ speech, he outlined four basic consumer rights: to inform, to choose, the right to safety, and the right to representation.
Most internet shops have an offer that’s aimed at a wide spectrum of recipients – businessmen and consumers alike. By limiting sales to professional entities only, many potential and valuable clients can be omitted. However, on the other side, when it comes to businesses (B2B) there is a lot of freedom concerning contractual regulations, whereas in consumer (B2C) contracts, the consumer is protected by law regulations.
Who is a consumer?
A consumer is defined as a physical being that takes a legal action that is not affiliated with their personal of professional activity. This means that in most everyday cases all of us are consumers, in e.g. by making purchases for personal use via the Internet. If the case is that there is a sale of goods or services between professionals, it is customary to assume that both sides of the contact are equal, however in the case of a consumer he is treated as the legally lesser party and what follows that – the better protected one.
What should be taken into consideration when targeting sales at consumers in the European Union area?
- The laws and regulations concerning customers in the European Union are regulated by the directive of European Parliament and the 2011/83/EU Council.
- Countries belonging to the European Union had the responsibility of implementing a directive which defines the absolute minimum rights of a consumer. Every country is able to give better rights to consumers, that is why the rights of a consumer from the particular country we’re targeting must also be checked.
- In the case of a sale and a hypothetic dispute with a consumer in the event of a precept conflict – legal regulations pertaining the consumer must be undertaken.
- The law also protects against “price trap” – sellers are obliged to show the entire (real) price of a product or service that they are selling, as we as additional fees.
- The directive prohibits internet websites from checking boxes in advance.
- A consumer has 10 days to change his decision about a purchase and to withdraw from an agreement.
- If a consumer decides to withdraw from an agreement, the seller Is obliged to return money to the consumer with a 14 day period.
- If an agreement is terminated in the case of a digital purchase, like a movie or music file, the consumer can only withdraw from a contract up until the moment of downloading the said file.
- The warranty period when the seller is responsible for any damages or defects in the sold good is 24 months.
Outside the European Union borders
As mentioned before, we have to take into consideration the regulations present in a specific country and more often than not, not just the country but the area in particular. For example , in the USA specific states have their own regulations concerning the safety of consumers.
We must also remember that behind those consumers are organizations created specifically for the purpose of protecting the consumers laws, like the Consumer Federation or The European Consumer Centre.
Taking all of this into account, we now see that consumer rights are strictly protected and must be taken into account. Not just the governing area’s regulations but also the countries, union’s or specific consumer type’s laws.
