Consumer Legislation in Ireland

Grace O’Brien
23/01/2019
This essay will examine consumer legislation in Ireland and discuss what rights consumers

have and how businesses implement these laws. Consumers in Ireland are protected by Irish

and European laws. These laws are set out to ensure that consumers have adequate

information about the prices and quality of the products and services they are buying, so that

they can make an informed decision when purchasing. Consumer laws also ensure that goods

are of suitable standard and are safely manufactured.

Consumer Rights only take place in certain circumstances where there is a specific contract

between the consumer and the business selling goods or services. A consumer is defined as,

“a natural person who buys goods or a service for personal use or consumption from someone

whose business it is to sell goods or provide services.” (Citizensinformation.ie, nd)

A consumer is not a person who receives goods as a gift, buys goods for commercial use,

buys goods for private use that are usually used for business purpose, or buys goods from a

person who is not in that business, for example buying something second hand from a person

on Adverts.ie/Gumtree etc.

A contract is an agreement between two or more people that is enforceable by law and comes

into effect when a consumer buys goods or services from a business. There are some general

rules to what should be in a consumer contract however these may differ from business-to-

business, but terms should always be clear for the customer. Contracts can also be written or

verbal. It is easier to know what is in a written contract, but an oral contract is also

enforceable by law.

Consumers are protected under the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act 1980. This act

states that consumers have the right to goods of saleable quality, that are fit for purpose, and

as described. For example, a business cannot exaggerate or make up details about a product

that are not true in order to sell it. The act also states that a consumer must have the same
rights for sale items. If a consumer is purchasing a service rather than goods, they have the

right to a provider that has the skills necessary for the job, and that any goods used to carry

out the service are of merchantable quality.

If a consumer has an issue with an item whether it be faulty or dissatisfactory in some way,

the onus is on the seller to correct the fault. If the item is faulty the seller can usually either

replace, repair or refund the item. It is always a good idea for the consumer to keep the

receipt of the item if returning as they may not be entitled to a refund otherwise. Other ways

in which a consumer may not be entitled to a redress are; If the item was damaged by the

consumer, the item is simply a wrong colour or size (most businesses will offer a

discretionary refund or exchange for this but legally they are not obliged), the consumer

knew about the fault when buying, or if the consumer simply changes their mind.

The Consumer Protection Act 2007 was written to protect consumers from false claims and

advertising about products and services. It is an offence to sell goods with false or misleading

advertising and pricing, and all labels must include every ingredient or product used to

produce the item. All services must truthfully advertise the time, manner, and place in which

a service is provided.

The act also includes legislation on fair and transparent pricing. “Actual prices, previous

prices and recommended prices of goods and services must be stated truthfully.”

(Citizensinformation.ie, nd) If a company makes a mistake and advertises the wrong price for

an item the consumer is not entitled to the goods at the shown price, however some

businesses may make a discretionary decision and offer the product at the price shown.

In 2018 there were some long awaited changes made to EU consumer legislation which will

benefit the consumer such as Geo-Blocking, ‘Roam like at Home’, online subscription
content, and revised payment services directive. The main changes that will benefit most

consumers are geo-blocking regulations, roam like at home and online subscription content.

The new rules to geo-blocking will mean that it will be against the law to block customers

from buying products from retailers in different countries. For example, if an Irish customer

wants to buy a new pair of jeans from Topshop and they are cheaper to buy from the U.K site

they will no longer be redirected from the U.K site to the EU site. Similarly, the changes to

online subscription content will be mean that an Irish customer will still be able to access

subscription services like Spotify and Netflix in any of the member states even though they

are billed in Ireland. The changes to ‘roam like at home’ will mean that customers will no

longer have to pay extortionate roaming charges when travelling in the EU. The bill meant

that customers with ‘unlimited data’ packages will now have an allowance of 6-7GB of data

while travelling cross-border.

In conclusion, consumer legislation is there to protect the consumer and offer clear guidance

on what the consumer should expect when buying a product or service from a business. The

guidelines are continually being updated and revised, and Irish consumers are protected by

both Irish and EU legislation.

Bibliography
Citizensinformation.ie. (n.d.). Citizens Information. [online] Available at:
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/consumer_protection/consumer_rights/consum
ers_and_the_law_in_ireland.html [Accessed 23 Jan. 2019].

En.wikipedia.org. (n.d.). Consumer protection. [online] Available at:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consumer_protection [Accessed 23 Jan. 2019].

European Consumer Centre (ECC) Ireland. (n.d.). Five consumer rights changes that will make a
difference in 2018. [online] Available at: https://www.eccireland.ie/five-consumer-rights-changes-in-
2018/ [Accessed 23 Jan. 2019].

Consumers’ Association of Ireland. (n.d.). Know your Rights - Consumers’ Association of Ireland.
[online] Available at: https://thecai.ie/your-rights/your-rights/know-your-rights/ [Accessed 23 Jan.
2019].