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Sue Chetwin: “Know your rights”
Consumer NZ chief executive Sue Chetwin has kindly penned a guest post about the upcoming changes to consumer law that kick in later this month.
Your rights as a consumer are about to get stronger but unless you know what they are, you might still be ripe for a rip-off.
Starting here at Trade Me, a vocal supporter of consumer law reform, you are about to get a bunch of rights as a buyer (and obligations as a seller) you never had before. From 17 June, no matter how you buy something on this site – auction or Buy Now – if it’s from a business you will have rights if something goes wrong. Also businesses will have to identify themselves so you’ll know if you’re buying from a professional or from some bod who’s clearing out his flat.
You still won’t have any comeback if you buy something and later decide you don’t like it. But if it doesn’t work, or doesn’t work as the trader said it would, you will be entitled to a refund, replacement or repair.
A particular bugbear – extended warranties – are about to get a lot harder to sell. These are usually expensive warranties which deliver nothing more than you are owed under the Consumer Guarantees Act. From June, businesses will need to explain to you in plain English, before you buy the warranty, what extra protections it gives you. And you can cancel it within five working days.
There’s heaps of good stuff in this law reform. Visit the Consumer website to learn about how to exercise your rights.
More info:
Trade Me Help section: "In trade disclosure"
Commerce Commission Fact sheet: "Buying and selling online"