The Consumer Protection Act received Royal Assent on December 13, 2002 but the legislation could not be proclaimed in force without the regulations which detail the many requirements. After drafts of regulations in 2003 and 2004, a final regulation was introduced in 2005 and passed. So, although the legislation was in place in 2002, it did not come into force as law until July 30, 2005.
A consumer agreement is an agreement between a supplier and a consumer in which the supplier agrees to supply goods or services for payment. The agreement is typically drafted by the supplier. The new Act sets out many rights and obligations which now apply to all consumer agreements. The Act provides that any ambiguity that allows for more than one reasonable interpretation of an agreement will be interpreted in favour of the consumer. “Fine print” is pretty well abolished. If a supplier is required to disclose information in the agreement, the supplier cannot hide it in fine print. The information must be delivered in a form which the consumer can easily read.
The goods sold to a consumer are subject to an implied warranty that they are fit for the purpose intended. In other words, if a supplier sells a “forever” sharp bread knife that is rust-free, it had better work. Prior to the new Act, suppliers of personal development services, such as services for fitness and diet, were not subject to an implied warranty. Now the supplier is deemed to warrant that the services supplied under a consumer agreement are of a reasonably acceptable quality.
If a consumer agreement includes an estimate, the supplier cannot charge the consumer an amount that exceeds the estimate by more than 10 per cent. If the supplier tries to charge more, the consumer may demand that the supplier provide the goods and services at the estimated price.