Consumer

Shoppers Beware!

about 8 years ago tevan

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This article is for general informational purposes only and is not meant to be used or construed as legal advice in any manner whatsoever. All articles have been scrutinized by a practicing lawyer to ensure accuracy.

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Be careful when you’re shopping!

Last time we found out how handy the Sale of Goods Act 1957 (SOGA) is when it comes to protecting you when you go on a shopping spree.

But, it doesn’t mean that you can throw all caution to the wind when you’re doing your shopping rounds!

The general rule is:

if you have the right to inspect the quality and conditions of that pair of shoes or handbag you want to buy, you’d better just say no!
If after you've bought it and it turns out to be unsatisfactory AND you've inspected it prior to buying it, you’ll lose any legal rights against the seller.

In legal terms, this rule is called ‘LET THE BUYER BEWARE’.

AND This can be a problem...

What if you’re buying a bottle of cooking oil? How would you reasonably inspect that?
What if you’re buying your first car and you have to rely on the seller’s expertise to know whether it is good enough?

SOGA steps into the picture to solve this problem by implying a number of terms in sale of goods contract as either conditions or warranties:

	CONDITION	WARRANTY
Meaning	Important to the main purpose of the contract	Secondary to the purpose of the contract
Section	Section 12 (2) of SOGA	Section 12 (3) of SOGA
What is it?	Directly associated with the objective of the contract	Secondary to the object of the contract.
Result of breach	Right to terminate contract	No right to terminate contract
Available remedies	Terminate the contract and claim for damages	Claim damages only
Example	You bought a cooking oil. The label stated it as pure olive oil. It turned out to be mixed with palm oil. You can return the oil and claim a refund.	The car dealer stated the car you’re buying can run at 150 km per hour. The car gives only 90 km per hour. You can only claim damages for breach of warranty BUT, if you specified beforehand that you only wanted a car that’s capable of running at 150 km per hour, this will be a breach of condition.

Have a great shopping experience ahead, and take note what your rights are!

Pic credits: tm586.com

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tevan