Consumer Rights Acts 2015 (CRA 2015)
The Consumer Rights Acts 2015 (CRA) governs your rights as a consumer. This piece of legislation sets out the rights that any individual acting as a consumer of goods or services are afforded by law. This means if the business providing goods or services fails to provide these in a reasonable manner and to an acceptable standard, you may be within your rights to seek a remedy for this.
The CRA provides protection for consumers on goods and services that fail to meet basic standards. This can be essential in times where consumers rely on the goods and/or services of a business. Many of the clients that we work with are unaware of the CRA, and the benefits it affords them. Once instructed, our role is to utilise our experience and knowledge to pursue the best possible outcome for our clients.
One common example of this is the infamous ‘cowboy builder’. It’s not unusual for people to want to improve their homes, however, a combination of a lack of time and skills means that people will often contract with a builder to make these home improvements.
Regardless of the project size, the consumer more often than not rely upon the builder to make the desired improvements using reasonable care and skill and within a reasonable period of time.
As with most tradespeople, the builder may have a busy calender of jobs lined up. Occasionally a small delay is to be expected. If, however, your six week job turns into an eight month job, with your home upturned and in disarray due to unfinished work, then this may be a situation where the CRA will be able to assist you.
Additionally, the quality of the goods and services provided are likely to be covered under the CRA. If the goods or services provided to you, as a consumer, are not of satisfactory quality or fall below the reasonable standard expected then the CRA will enable us to seek a remedy on your behalf.
Our dispute resolution team helps clients in difficult situations such as these every day. Our focus is getting the best result for our clients and we do this by taking the time to understand the issues of the matter and, crucially, to understand your objectives and work with you to agree our scope and budget.
