The Sale of Goods Act 1979 (as amended)
This legislation is mainly concerned with civil remedies available to consumers whereas much of the other law with which sales staff should be familiar relates to criminal offences that can be committed under “compliance legislation”.
All retailers, managers and supervisors should have a sound knowledge of the legislation and more “in-depth” training should be undertaken by them. The purpose of this information sheet is to give general sales staff a basic understanding of the law.
Consumers are entitled to expect that the goods they purchase will be of satisfactory quality. If the goods are faulty at the time of sale the consumer is entitled to.
· a full refund if this is within a reasonable time of the sale, or
· compensation if a fault occurs subsequently and is not the result of fair wear and tear, misuse or accidental damage.
Every retail business should have a clear policy for dealing with complaints about faulty goods and all sales staff should be trained in the procedures involved.
Under the Sale of Goods Act it is required that:
· Goods should match any description given to them (e.g. on the label)
· They should be of satisfactory quality (meeting the standard a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory taking into account any description of the goods, the price and all other relevant circumstances.
· The quality of the goods includes their state and condition and can be assessed on
a. fitness for purpose
b. appearance and finish
c. freedom from minor defects
d. safety
e. durability
· Goods should be reasonably fit for any particular purpose made known to the retailer (unless he disputed their appropriateness for that purpose at the time)
Sales staff should take seriously any complaint of faulty goods and proceed in accordance with the policy laid down by management to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion.
See Training for more information.
All PBS information sheets are designed to provide the detail you need to implement best business and employment practices. They are not a detailed commentary on the current law and where advice is needed in a specific case you should contact PBS for expert consultation.
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