David Naulls

A major review of consumer law is underway to see whether the main consumer Acts can be consolidated and improved.

We have some concerns about exposing the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) and the Fair Trading Act (FTA) to further legislative scrutiny as they’re world-leading Acts that give Kiwi consumers a high degree of protection. But the upside is that the review offers an opportunity to redress some major oversights and failings in our current laws.

Selling extended warranties needs improvement. We think consumers should get greater disclosure about any benefits the extended warranty has over their CGA rights, that the price of the warranty is advertised with the goods, and that there are extensive “cooling-off” and “opting-in” periods.

The Door to Door Sales Act would better protect vulnerable consumers in their homes by some simple changes. We would like to see the cooling-off period extended to 10 working days, so that older people can consult their families (who may be overseas). During this period the goods wouldn’t be supplied so there would be no need to return them if the deal was cancelled. These protections should extend to any form of cash and credit payment, which is not the case currently.

Internet auctions and competitive tenders are the other major area where the review offers some useful approaches. A new definition of online auctions so that it applies to consumer transactions for personal use from a trader will be a huge step forward. We also think each auction should clearly state whether it’s subject to the protections of the CGA.

The Carriage of Goods Act is outside the CGA and it’s time carriers had to offer consumers the same legal protections about service quality as any other supplier.

The enforcement powers of the Commerce Commission also need beefing up. The Commission should have the power to ban repeat-offender traders, have a wider range of infringement and public-warning notices at its disposal, and be able to require that claims by traders be substantiated.

David Naulls
Editor
Consumer Magazine 

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