New Consumer Rights Bill to come in to force soon

As reported in October 2014, the government has recently undertaken a number of legislative steps to simplify and update UK consumer law.

Under the Consumer Rights Bill it intends to give consumers better rights when they buy goods and services that are faulty and also new rights when buying digital content. The Bill proposes significant reform and consolidation of UK consumer law.

We wanted to bring you up-to-speed on developments as the Bill has now completed its journey through the House of Lords (in December 2014). The House of Commons considered the amendments proposed by the Lords for the first time on 12 January, agreeing all but one of them. This rejection will go back to the Lords for further consideration.

The UK Department for Business, Information and Skills (“BIS”) expects that the Bill will come into force on 1 October 2015, subject to parliamentary approval. The BIS intends to publish guidance on it in April 2015 – this will give businesses 6 months to make the changes required to inform consumers of their new rights.

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