Consumer Protection Act Article 13: The agreement between the supplier and consumer Part 2

In our previous article, we discussed the agreement between the supplier and consumer commencing with contractual capacity, that being the legal capacity to enter into an agreement.

In this article, we shall continue to discuss the agreement between the supplier and consumer but in regards to pre-contractual requirements.  

Pre-authorisation of repair or maintenance service:

When, for example, a consumer takes a motor vehicle in for maintenance or repairs, the supplier is restricted from charging the consumer for doing work or fitting any parts unless the supplier was authorised by the consumer.

The supplier may furthermore not charge the consumer for deviating from an estimate unless the consumer has given prior approval.

Therefore, when an estimate is given the costs may not exceed that estimate unless authorisation is received beforehand.

Right to information in plain and understandable language:

For the purposes of the Act, a notice, document or visual representation is in plain language if it is reasonable to conclude that an ordinary consumer of the class of persons for whom the notice, document or visual representation is intended, with average literacy skills and minimal experience as a consumer of the relevant goods or services, could be expected to understand the context, significance and import of the notice, document or visual representation without undue effort, having regard to-

   (a)   the context, comprehensiveness and consistency of the notice, document or visual             representation;

   (b)   the organisation, form and style of the notice, document or visual representation;

   (c)   the vocabulary, usage and sentence structure of the notice, document or visual                            representation; and

   (d)   the use of any illustrations, examples, headings or other aids to reading and understanding.

The requirement of plain language also extends to the contents of any written agreement entered into between the supplier and consumer.

Sales record:

Regardless of whether a written agreement is entered into between the supplier and consumer a written record must be kept of the sale of goods or supply of services by the supplier.

***Kindly note that the contents of this article are intended for information purposes only and do not constitute legal advice. Consult your attorney.

In our next article, we will continue to discuss the agreement between the supplier and consumer but in relation to the terms of an agreement.