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Consumer Awareness, Consumer Rights and Responsibilities
Consumer Awareness is an act of making sure the buyer or consumer is aware of the information
about products, goods, services, and consumers rights. Consumer awareness is important so that
buyer can take the right decision and make the right choice. Consumers have the right to information,
right to choose, right to safety. Let us learn more about Consumer rights, responsibilities and
consumer awareness in detail.
Who is a Consumer and why does it matter?
With the rise of conscious consumerism making consumers more discerning than ever before, making
purchasing decisions influenced by sustainability, value for money and ethical choices, putting the
consumer and what is important to them at the heart of the business, requires more than just
consideration, now more than ever.
In this article, we look at some legal definitions of consumer within the consumer protection
landscape, along with some of the additional considerations that make a consumer so much more
than just a legal definition for a business. Getting it right for not only current, but also potential
consumer-base is a crucial and ongoing factor for any business and inclusive policies are a cornerstone
to this.
Why does a consumer need additional protection and where do these rights come from?
The history of contract law, from its nineteenth century origins in horse sales had no regard to uneven
bargaining positions. Apart from scenarios where a buyer could not inspect goods (usually because
they were being shipped from abroad), contracts when entered into freely and voluntarily were held
sacred and enforced by the courts of justice.
The Sale of Goods Acts 1893 enshrined common law into statute and still retained application until
the 1970s, nearly a century later. Alongside domestic developments, much of the impetus for
consumer rights has arguably, been driven by the EU where the role that consumer activity plays was
considered integral in the success of the single market. Thus one of the stated aims was to protect
consumers from abuse of powers from sellers or service providers and emphasis on quality accessible
hence the need for enhanced rights, aimed to protect consumers more explicitly and create a level
playing field to ensure consumer rights are a prominent and initial consideration when a business
considers who their consumers are and why their rights matter.
For the purposes of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, a Consumer is an individual acting for purposes
which are wholly or mainly outside of their trade, business, craft or profession which has implications
for those to whom the often enhanced consumer remedies are available.
For the purposes of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Contracts Regulations 2008, an Average
Consumer is defined by reference to their being reasonably well informed, reasonably observant and
circumspect whereas a Vulnerable Consumer comes from a clearly identifiable group who may be
susceptible to the practice or underlying product because of their mental or physical infirmity, age or
credulity in a way which the trader could reasonably be expected to foresee, for example hearing aid
products advertised to customers with hearing impairments.
Vulnerability is a continually shifting reality and should be viewed through a broad lens, not as
separate and distinct groups, because anybody can face circumstances that make them vulnerable –
either temporarily or permanently. These might include physical or mental health problems, debt or
unemployment, bereavement or becoming a victim of crime. This is all the more prevalent in the
current cost of living crisis where people’s circumstances can change very quickly, making people even
more careful about their purchasing decisions.