Online Legal…

Many people view the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA or “the Act”) as the Bill of Rights for consumers - probably rightly so, as consumers will have ample rights in terms of the Act, once in operation. One of these rights is the Right to Choose as contemplated in Chapter 2, Part C of the Act.

What does the right
to choose really entail?

The Right to Choose actually deals with all of the following issues:

1. The Consumer’s right to select suppliers;
2. Expiry and renewal of fixed-term agreements;
3. Pre-authorisation of repair or maintenance services;
4. The Consumer’s right to a cooling-off period after direct marketing;
5. The Consumer’s right to cancel advance reservation, booking or order;
6. The Consumer’s right to choose or examine goods;
7. The Consumer’s rights with respect to delivery of goods or supply of service;
8. The Consumer’s right to return goods;
9. Unsolicited goods or services.

The right to select suppliers by implication excludes bundling of products or services.

The Consumer’s right to select suppliers

Section 13 of the CPA prohibits a supplier of goods or services to require (as a condition of offering to supply goods or services or to conclude an agreement with a consumer) that the consumer purchases other goods or services from that supplier or a specific third party supplier. In practice, this means that it is against the law to bundle

Suppliers that breach section 13 may face an administrative fine up to 10% of annual turnover or R 1 000 000.

Similar:

• Consumer protection provisions of the ECT Act
• Consumer Protection in electronic transactions: ECT v CPA
• When a retailer displays the wrong price
• Info that must be on your web site
• Regulatory bodies responsible for the regulation of e-commerce