Emmanuel Ghunney UNIT 3: Introduction to marketing P2

Limitations and constraints

(Sale of Goods Act 1979, The Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading
Regulations 2008, Consumer Credit Acts 1974 and 2006, Consumer Protection (Distance Selling)
Regulations, Data Protection Act 1998);

Sale of goods act 1979

This act requires trader to sell goods that are as they are described and are of satisfactory quality. This directly
affects marketing activities because it means that any marketing should describe the product accurately and be
able to substantiate any claims.

Mac Donald’s sale products to members and therefore should be accurate according to the information they state
and the quality it’s said it will be. As Mac Donald’s is a fast food industry selling products should not be
deceiving according to the sale of goods act 1999, the pictures and information should be accurate to a certain
extent. The amount of calories, fat, carbohydrate listed on the package should not be false information as it
could lead to fines and imprisonment. If a customer complains that they didn’t acknowledge that the burger
contained a lot of fat and tries to sue the Mac Donald’s then the company will be able to tell the customer that it
was stated on the product when you purchased it.

Tesco sales all type of products and services. They range from bread, phones, clothes, insurance, toys etc. All
services and products sold must require vital information about the product and information. There product
which are seen on television and catalogues cannot be false. A good example of this is the Tesco iphone; the
way Tesco has advertised this product should be the way it is received. Basically what they have described and
the functions which have stated it do should all be correct. So if any claims come about they are able to say it
was stated on the information therefore customers was made aware before they purchase the iphone.

Display: high resolution retina display 960 by 640 resolution, 326 ppi
Video calling: face time iphone 4 to iphone 4 over wifi
Camera: 5 megapixels, LED flash, Auto focus, Tap to focus
Front camera with VGA recording
Video recording: HD video recording, Tap to focus video, LED light
Other features gyro, Multitasking, Folders, ibooks
Height 4.5 inches (115.2 mm)
Width 2.31 inches (58.6 mm)
Depth 0.37 inch (9.3 mm)
Weight 4.8 ounces (137 grams)
Capacity 16 GB or 32 GB flash drive
Battery life: 7 hours talk time, 10 hours video playback, 40 hours audio playback, 300 hours stand
by time

Consumer protection from unfair trading regulations 2008

This act entitles all customers to fair treatment and honesty from business they deal with. This relatively recent
piece of legislation should not have affected most business, but was targeted at businesses they do not always
treat their customers well
Emmanuel Ghunney UNIT 3: Introduction to marketing P2

Under this act, businesses offering goods or services on credit, or companies that lend money to consumers.
Businesses in these categories need to be licensed by the office of fair trading (OFT) and any complaints
between the business and customer are settled by the financial ombudsman service ( FOS)

The act requires businesses that provide credit or loans to give their customers regulate updates on their account.
(for example an annual statement). If a customer falls into arrears (falls behind on repayments), the FOS may
extend the period of time for the customer to repay the debt. This helps to prevent predatory lending, where a
business quickly resorts to bailiffs or threatening tactics when a customer struggles with payments

Mac Donald’s customer as a fast food industry cannot make misleading price indications. This is when they
make additional charges which are not specified in the price. For example happy meal originally is £1.99, put
when it comes to the final purchases they have added an extra pound due to the toy which is inside the happy
meal. This will mean they have made additional charges to the product, and this law states additional cost
should be mentioned at front so the customers don’t mislead things. There trading should be fair and honest.

Another example from a different company is Tesco. As Tesco provides services which customers can pay on
credit states that they must be licensed by the office of fair trading (OFT). A service which Tesco provide is
loans, as they are lending money to customers for this type of service they are required to have the consumer
protection 2008 law. They must constantly inform the customer’s updates on their account, Such as an annual
statement. This law will benefit customers so they can also be protected, if a problem arises whereby customer
falls into arrears, this law gives the customers more time to repay the debt. Instead of Tesco taking things into
their own power and making threatening tactics in order to receive the payments.

Consumer protection (distance selling) regulations 2000

Distance selling is any form of selling where there is no face to face contact between the customers and
business, for example an e-commerce website or a mail order catalogue. The regulations require the business to
provide clear information so customers can make informed decisions about their purchases

The business must give the consumer information about the

- Business
- Goods or services they are selling
- Payment arrangements
- Delivery arrangements
- Consumer right to cancel their orders where appropriate

Tesco being a place where you can purchase products online must operate by the consumer protection (distance
selling) regulations 2000. As ordering something online is not done face to face they have to provide vital
information for the consumer to be aware of. For example a laptop from Tesco can easily be purchased online,
for them to be obeying by the regulation they must state the business which they are operating in, what product
they are selling, how the payment will be arranged, delivery etc. Not being aware of these things can cause a
problem; such as not being aware of the how the payment is going to be handled. If the customer was not aware
on step by step payments or full payment then he is left unusual of when the money will be deducted.
Furthermore, not being aware of the delivery time can cause a problem, if they are not aware when the product
will be arriving then they could complain that the product was not received yet or arrived late however if they
are aware of the duration then they can’t complain as they have agreed to this.