House of Commons Amendments

Session 2013 - 14
Internet Publications
Other Bills before Parliament

Public Bill Committee: 27 February 2014
50

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

55

Clause  52,  page  31,  line  12,  at end insert—

‘(3A)
For the purposes of this Act, where the service provides assistance to the

consumer for what can reasonably be considered serious loss of—

(a)
livelihood,

(b)
primary living accommodation, or

(c)
household earnings


and such a service would be considered their primary redress for such a loss, the

impact of any delay in provision of this service on their quality of life can be taken

into account in determining what timeframe is considered reasonable.

(3B)
Considerations under subsection (3A) do not affect the right of consumers to seek

other remedies for a breach of contract at a later date regarding delay in provision

of compensation.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

56

Clause  54,  page  31,  line  30,  at end insert—

‘(2A)
The trader shall provide the consumer with full details of their relevant statutory

rights under a services contract before the point at which the consumer seeks to

challenge whether these rights have been met. This shall be done within an

appropriate, retainable format and within a reasonable time of contact with the

trader for this purpose to enable the consumer to exercise their rights.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

57

Clause  54,  page  31,  line  34,  at end insert—

‘(3A)
Where the conduct of the service can be reasonably considered to lead to a risk to

the personal safety of the consumer, the consumer has a right to—

(a)
a full refund of the cost of the contract, and

(b)
any additional fees associated with the service.

(3B)
Any action taken under subsection (3A) will not prevent the consumer from

seeking other remedies or further compensation for the consequences of this

installation.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

58

Clause  54,  page  32,  line  6,  at end insert—

‘(6A)
In seeking to enquire about the terms of their contract, possible breaches of their

statutory rights or enforce terms about service, a trader cannot charge the

consumer for seeking to communicate with them.’.

Public Bill Committee: 27 February 2014
51

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

59

Clause  55,  page  32,  line  19,  at end insert—

‘(1A)
Where the quality of provision of services has been deemed to be hazardous or so

poor as to cause the consumer to reasonably lose confidence in the trader’s ability

to provide services which they would wish to purchase, the consumer may refuse

a repeat performance and exercise their right to price reduction under section 56.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

62

Clause  56,  page  32,  line  34,  at end insert—

‘(1A)
When considering what is an appropriate amount for the purpose of this section,

consideration shall be given to reasonable steps that will return the consumer to

the position they would be in if the trader had not breached the contract in the first

place.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

61

Clause  56,  page  32,  line  36,  at end insert—

‘(2A)
The consumer is entitled to this refund within 30 days of agreeing that a refund is

to be paid using the same payment method used in the original transfer.

(2B)
Where the trader fails to ensure this refund is provided within this timeframe the

consumer is entitled to seek damages from the trader commensurate with the

impact of any loss caused by this delay unless the consumer has decided to waive

this right to a refund within this timeframe.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

60

Clause  56,  page  32,  line  43,  at end insert—

‘(c)
the consumer has exercised their right under section 55(1A).’.

Jenny Willott

44

Schedule  1,  page  49,  line  30,  at end insert—

‘Consequential repeal and revocation

55
In consequence of the amendments made by this Schedule—

(a)
omit paragraph 5(9) of Schedule 2 to the Sale and Supply of Goods

Act 1994, and

(b)
omit paragraph 97 of Schedule 2 to the Consumer Protection from

Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (SI 2008/1277).’.

Member’s explanatory statement

This amendment repeals or revokes provisions which are redundant because they amend provi

Public Bill Committee: 27 February 2014
52

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

sions which are in turn repealed by Schedule 1 to the Bill.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

63

Clause  62,  page  35,  line  32,  at end insert—

‘(2A)
For the purposes of this Act, consumer notices are considered to be any

information or requirements about the contract conveyed to the consumer before

or during the commissioning of the contract by the trader which may reasonably

be considered designed to influence the behaviour of the consumer.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

70

Clause  63,  page  36,  line  25,  at end insert—

‘(1A)
Where a contract includes a term which is included in either Part 1 or Part 2 of

Schedule 2 of this Act, the trader must draw to the attention of the consumer these

terms and their rights to challenge these under this legislation prior to purchase.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

66

Schedule  2,  page  51,  line  10,  at end insert—

‘(14A)
A term (including those within the scope of paragraph 22 of this Schedule) which

has the object or effect of permitting a trader to increase the price of, or alter

unilaterally any characteristics of goods, digital content or services during any

minimum contract period or before the end of a contract of a specified duration

without a valid reason or where it is reasonably foreseeable that the consumer

would not be free to dissolve the contract without being disadvantaged.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

64

Schedule  2,  page  51,  line  37,  at end insert—

‘(21)
A term which requires a consumer to pay a charge for or be liable for an element

of a good or service that another party has also been charged for in the course of

the same transaction.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

65

Schedule  2,  page  51,  line  37,  at end insert—

Public Bill Committee: 27 February 2014
53

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

‘(22)
A term which seeks to restrict the ability of a consumer to access information to

enable them to ascertain whether the contract they are being offered could

undermine their statutory rights.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

67

Schedule  2,  page  51,  line  37,  at end insert—

‘(23)
A term which has the object or effect of enabling a trader to increase the price of

the contract unilaterally without a valid reason and where the consumer is unable

to—

(a)
enter into a new regulated mortgage contract or home purchase plan or

vary the terms of an existing regulated mortgage contract or home

purchase plan with the existing mortgage lender or home purchase

provider; or

(b)
enter into a new regulated mortgage contract or home purchase plan with

a new mortgage lender or home purchase provider.


The terms “regulated mortgage contract” and ‘home purchase plan’ have the

same meaning as in the Financial Services and Market Act 2000 (Regulated

Activities) Order 2001 as amended.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

68

Schedule  2,  page  51,  line  37,  at end insert—

‘(24)
If the contract is for a financial service, a term that directly causes financial

detriment to the consumer such that it can be seen to reasonably alter the capacity

of the consumer to pay the costs of the contract.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

69

Schedule  2,  page  51,  line  37,  at end insert—

‘(25)
Where the service provided is for an additional assistance service as set out in

section 51, a term providing for charges unless the original provider of the service

has approved this service and range of costs for its provision within which this

charge is included.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

72

Clause  64,  page  37,  line  19,  leave out from ‘that’ to end of line 23 and insert ‘the

assessment is of the appropriateness of the price payable under the contract by comparison

with the goods, digital content or services supplied under it, but only where the price

payable does not relate to future variable fees or charges payable under the contract.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

71

Clause  64,  page  37,  line  30,  after ‘term’, insert ‘and it would form part of their

purchasing decision.’.

Public Bill Committee: 27 February 2014
54

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

73

Clause  64,  page  37,  line  32,  after ‘circumspect’, insert ‘, taking into account social,

cultural and linguistic factors.’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

74

Clause  68,  page  38,  line  41,  after ‘trader’, insert ‘, which for these purposes

includes a provider of financial services,’.

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

75

Clause  68,  page  39,  line  2,  at end add—

‘(3)
Whether that notice is a general statement of the consumer’s legal rights or

specifically with regard to the obtaining of legal advice or assistance by an injured

consumer it shall be drafted by and shall only recommend or direct an injured

consumer to bodies that are wholly independent of the trader or anyone connected

to the trader.’.

New Clauses

Consumer protection for small business operations

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

NC1

To move the following Clause:—

‘The Government shall publish a report within three months of the enactment of

this Act to set out how businesses with fewer than 250 employees can secure

appropriate consumer protection in their purchase of goods and services for use

within their business operations.’.

Right to corrective action

Mark Durkan

NC2

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
This section applies if either—

Public Bill Committee: 27 February 2014
55

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

(a)
the responsible economic actor has identified that goods supplied present

a health and safety risk to the conusmer, or

(b)
the appropriate authority has identified that goods supplied present a risk

to the public safety, and


as a result, the product is subject to corrective action by either party (a “recall

action”).

(2)
The consumer has the right to expect that the responsible economic actor for any

goods supplied subject to a recall action must take all reasonable steps to inform

all persons affected, or likely to be affected by the safety risks from the goods,

within the shortest period of time practicable.

(3)
The consumer, if placed at risk by goods subject to a recall action, has the right

to prompt and effective action by the economic actor of that product to ensure

that—

(a)
the defect posing a safety risk to any persons affected or likely to be

affected is eliminated;

(b)
the actions required to achieve (a) do not cause significant inconvenience

to the consumer; and

(c)
all costs associated with the recall action are borne by the reponsible

economic actor.

(4)
The Secretary of State will periodically gather and make publicly available

information relating to safety incidents caused by recalled goods, and estimates

of how many such goods still remain unaccounted for.

(5)
The effectiveness of recall actions, and the procedures in place to achieve

successful recalls, will be the subject of periodic review by the Secretary of State,

with reference to public information on recalls in subsection (4) and any other

relevant data.

(6)
For the purposes of subsections (4) and (5), the Secretary of State must consult

with—

(a)
market regulators;

(b)
relevant authorities; and

(c)
any other bodies he thinks appropriate.

(7)
For the purposes of this section “economic actor” means—

(a)
a “trader” as defined in section 2(2), or

(b)
a manufacturer of “goods” as defined in section 2(8).’.

Right to supply unique goods

Stella Creasy

Stephen Doughty

NC3

To move the following Clause:—

‘(1)
A trader offering unique goods for sale must provide the consumer with

information to enable the consumer to directly identify the unique qualities of the

good they are purchasing.

(2)
Where a consumer cannot confirm the goods are unique in person, the consumer

has the right to reject these goods at any point prior to consumption.

(3)
Where the goods are for use in relation to an event of national significance the

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport shall reserve the right to designate

Public Bill Committee: 27 February 2014
56

Consumer Rights Bill, continued

further restrictions and conditions on the sale and resale of these goods in relation

to their unique qualities.

(4)
For the purposes of this section unique goods are defined as having distinct

characteristics which would affect—

(a)
the enjoyment of the goods by the consumer;

(b)
the use of the goods by the consumer; or

(c)
the inherent value of the goods in question.

(5)
For the purpose of this section an event of national significance is one which is

designated for this purpose as such by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media

and Sport under the provisions of section 299 (categorisation of listed events) of

the Communications Act 2003.’.

Order of the House [28 JANUARY 2014]

That the following provisions shall apply to the Consumer Rights Bill:

Committal

1.
The Bill shall be committed to a Public Bill Committee.

Proceedings in Public Bill Committee

2.
Proceedings in the Public Bill Committee shall (so far as not previously

concluded) be brought to a conclusion on Thursday 13th March 2014.

3.
The Public Bill Committee shall have leave to sit twice on the first day on

which it meets.

Consideration and Third Reading

4.
Proceedings on Consideration shall (so far as not previously concluded) be

brought to a conclusion three hours after the commencement of the

proceedings.

5.
Proceedings on Third Reading shall (so far as not previously concluded) be

brought to a conclusion four hours after the commencement of proceedings

on Consideration.

6.
Standing Order No. 83B (Programming committees) shall not apply to

proceedings on Consideration and Third Reading.

Other proceedings

7.
Any other proceedings on the Bill (including any proceedings on

consideration of Lords Amendments or on any further messages from the

Lords) may be programmed.

Order of the Committee [11 February 2014]

That—

(1)
the Committee shall (in addition to its first meeting at 8.55 am on Tuesday 11

February) meet—

(a)
at 2.00 pm on Tuesday 11 February;

(b)
at 11.30 am and 2.00 pm on Thursday 13 February;

(c)
at 8.55 am and 2.00 pm on Tuesday 25 February;

(d)
at 11.30 am and 2.00 pm on Thursday 27 February;

(e)
at 8.55 am and 2.00 pm on Tuesday 4 March;



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