When you can sue under consumer law

If you buy something which is not of satisfactory quality or not as described, or not fit for the purpose you bought it for then you can sue the seller for breach of contract.

If the seller told you something about the goods and you believed the seller and decided to buy the goods, you can sue the seller if what he or she has told you later turns out to be untrue. This is called "misrepresentation".

This includes any public statements on the specific characteristics of the goods which has been made by the seller, manufacturer or their representative, particularly in advertising or labelling.

The seller may be able to argue in his defence that:

  1. At the time the contract was made he was not (and could not) reasonably have been aware of the public statement, or
  2. Before the contract was made the statement had been withdrawn in public or corrected, or
  3. The decision to buy the goods could not have been influenced by the public statement.

If you pay for a service and it is not carried out with reasonable care and skill in a reasonable time and for a reasonable price you can also sue for breach of contract.

If you have entered into a credit agreement which has been broken you can sue under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 for breach of contract. This Act allows you to sue not just the seller, but also the person / organisation that granted you credit through the seller.

How to sue as a consumer

Consumer Law