Borderwise Booklets
Issue 1
10TH January 2007
Going South – Consumer Issues
©
NIACAB (Northern Ireland Association of Citizens Advice Bureaux)
This booklet aims
to provide a general overview of consumer advice for those who have a problem
with goods or services they bought, or paid for, in the Republic of Ireland.
S 10 Going South - Consumer Issues
If you live in
Northern Ireland (NI) and you want to go to the Republic of Ireland (ROI) to
live or to shop this factsheet provides a general overview of your rights as a
consumer of goods and services. It describes the various agencies to which you
may complain and outlines the procedures involved. It does not deal with
transactions between businesses. You may get further information from the
addresses and websites listed.
The information
in this leaflet was compiled in October 2007. Subsequent changes may affect the accuracy of the
content.
Consumer Rights
In general,
consumer law in ROI is broadly similar to consumer law in NI. In Ireland, the rights of consumers of goods
and services are protected by Irish and EU laws. Consumer law aims to ensure
that consumers have enough information about prices and quality of products and
services to make suitable choices on what to buy. Consumer law also aims to
ensure that goods are safe and are manufactured to an acceptable standard.
How to complain?
If you are not
satisfied with the quality of goods or services you receive you should:
·
Know what your rights are
·
Return the goods to
the supplier who sold it to you (you should not return the goods to the
manufacturer)
·
Deal with the issue as
soon as possible
·
Do not attempt to
repair the item yourself or give it to anyone else to repair it
·
Make sure that you
have a proof of purchase
Consumer
Protection Organisations
If you are still
unhappy after complaining to the retailer or service provider there are a
number of statutory and voluntary consumer bodies in Ireland. Your rights as a
consumer in ROI are the same regardless of whether you live there or in NI. These
bodies are there to inform you of your rights as a consumer and to help you
enforce these rights. The following information describes the main
organisations that can advise you of your rights as a consumer.
The National Consumer Agency
The National Consumer Agency
(NCA) is a statutory body established by the Irish Government in May 2007. It
aims to defend consumer interests and to embed a robust consumer culture in Ireland.
The main functions of the NCA
are:
·
To promote and protect
the interests and welfare of consumers
·
To enforce the
relevant consumer law
·
To encourage
compliance with the relevant law
·
To investigate
suspected offences under any of the relevsnt laws
·
To refer cases to the
Director of Public Prosecutions where appropriate
The NCA is an independent office
with responsibility for providing advice and information to consumers. In
addition the NCA is responsible for the enforcement of a wide range of consumer
protection laws including:
·
Laws on deceptive
trading practices
·
Package travel
·
Food labelling
·
Product labelling
·
Price displays
·
Unfair contract terms
Further information can be
obtained by contacting the NCA:
National Consumer
Agency
4 Harcourt Road
Dublin 2
Helpline: 1890
432 432
Visit ConsumerConnect.ie for consumer
information and consumer contact details
European
Consumer Centre
The European
Consumer Centre provides free information and advice on your rights and
entitlements as consumer within the European Union and may be able to help you
if your complaint has a cross border dimension:
European Consumer
Centre
13a Upper O’Connell St.,
Dublin 1
Tel (01) 809 0600
E-mail:
info@eccdublin.ie
www.ecic.ie
Consumers
Association of Ireland
The Consumers’
Association of Ireland is a voluntary body which aims to inform, represent and
protect Irish consumers. It provides an advice and information service for
consumers. The Consumers' Association also campaigns for improved consumer legislation.
Consumers'
Association of Ireland
43-44 Chelmsford Road
Ranelagh
DUBLIN 06
IRELAND
Tel:+353 (0)1 4978600
Fax:+353 (0)1 4978601
http://www.consumerassociation.ie/
cai@consumerassociation.ie
The
advertising Standards Authority for Ireland
The Advertising
Standards Authority is a voluntary self-regulatory body of advertising
practitioners, which deals with complaints about standards of advertising.
Further information is available at: www.asai.ie
Small Claims Court
The Small Claims
Court is particularly important for dealing with consumer complaints. It is
not a separate court but is a special procedure which is available in the
District Court in cases where the claim is less than €2,000. The procedure
involved is simple and you do not need legal assistance. You go to the Small
Claims Registrar at your local District Court. You fill out an application
form and you pay a fee of €15. The Registrar then tries to solve the dispute
without a court hearing. If this does not succeed, the case goes to the
District Court for a hearing. There is no further charge for a hearing and you
do not need legal assistance for the hearing.
If the amount of
money involved is more than the Small Claims Court limit, then you may have to
take your case to District Court (for amounts up to €6,348.69), the Circuit
Court (for amounts up to €38,092.14) or the High Court (no limit).
Standards for Goods and Services
Goods which are offered for sale in the
course of business must be off merchantable quality, fit for their intended
purpose and as described.
Merchantable
quality means that they
must be of an acceptable standard and as durable as is reasonable to expect in
the circumstances.
Fit for their
intended purpose – they
must be able to do what they are supposed to do. As described – the
description must not be misleading or inaccurate. If there is a sample, then
the goods must be in accordance with the sample. Labels must be accurate –
some goods are required to have lists of contents and/or labels specifying
safety standards.
If something you
bought does not meet these general conditions, you may be entitled to have it
repaired or replaced or to get your money back. If the seller agrees that you
are entitled to some redress, there may be a dispute about what form it should
take. There are no absolute rules about which is the appropriate redress – it
depends on the circumstances. If you and the seller cannot agree about the
redress which should be provided, you can get further redress only by using
some form of dispute resolution (if it exists) or by going to Court.
You are entitled
to redress only if there is something wrong with the goods – you are not
entitled to redress if you do not like the goods when you get home. Many shops
operate a policy of taking back goods and giving you a refund or credit note in
these circumstances but they are not obliged to do this.
Signs in shops
such as “No refunds” followed by “This does not affect your statutory rights”
are completely meaningless. If you have a statutory right to a refund, you
must get one.
Goods which are
sold in sales must meet the same general conditions and the seller may not
refuse a refund just because they were sale goods.
Guarantees
Many goods have a
guarantee for a set period. You may pursue the people who gave the guarantee
if the goods do not perform in accordance with the guarantee. If the goods do
not meet the general conditions set out above, you should bring them back to
the seller. You may also invoke the guarantee but the guarantee is not a
substitute for your basic rights to receive quality goods.
General Standards for Services
If you contract with someone to supply services – for example, a plumber or
carpenter, then, in general, you are entitled to expect that the supplier:
- Has the skill
to provide the service and to carry out the service
properly,
- Will provide
the service with due care and diligence
- Will use
materials that are sound and fit for their purpose, and,
- Will use goods
which are of merchantable quality.
If these
conditions are not met, you are entitled to have the problem put right or to a
refund or compensation. Some service providers belong to a professional or
trade organisation to which you can complain.
The statutory
consumer rights relating to goods and services described above also apply to
online shopping and other forms of distance selling and there are additional
regulations relating to these forms of shopping in particular a ‘cooling-off’
period of seven days during which a consumer can withdraw from the contract
without giving any reason.
Prices
In general, the
prices of goods and services are not controlled. This means that retailers and
service providers may charge any price. Previously retailers were prevented
from engaging in what is usually called “below cost” selling – this means they could
not charge less than the invoice showed they had paid for the item in
question. This rule has now been abolished.
Some prices are
regulated. This means that the providers must apply to the industry regulator
for approval for any price increase. The most notable examples are electricity
and gas. In these cases, the suppliers must apply to the Commission for Energy
Regulation for approval for price changes. The suppliers may not charge more
than the approved prices.
If you consider
that, for example, the price charged by a particular retailer is too high, you
may complain to the retailer. Your most effective remedy is to refuse to shop
there. There is no external body to which you can complain as there is no law
being broken. If all the retailers are charging the same amount for a
particular product, you may consider that they are acting in a non competitive
way and you can complain about that to the Competition Authority.
Competition Authority
14 Parnell Square, Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 804 5400
LoCall: 1890 220 224
www.tca.ie
Display of Prices
The prices of most
consumer goods must be displayed. The price shown – whether it is the actual
price being charged, the “recommended” price or the previous price – must be
accurate and not misleading. In the case of a sale, the previous price shown
must be the price at which the goods were offered for at least 28 successive
days in the three months before the sale.
In the case of
products which are sold by weight, volume or measure (for example, vegetables,
cloth) the unit price for a relevant unit – a kilogram, a litre, a metre, a
square metre or a cubic metre must be displayed. This is the case for almost
all goods. There are exceptions for traders who do not have equipment for
printing shelf edge labels or for point of sale scanning – in effect, people
selling in open air markets do not have to display unit prices.
Goods in Shops
and Supermarkets
The price of
products sold in shops and supermarkets must be displayed either on the product
itself or on the shelf edge label. In practice, as bar coding becomes more
common, the price is usually displayed on the shelf in supermarkets.
Drink Prices
All drinking
areas in pubs must have a clearly visible and easily read list of the prices of
all drinks on sale. The prices of 16 of the most popular drinks must be on display
immediately outside the entrance and immediately inside each entrance to the
premises.
There is no
control over the price of drinks and it is legal to charge more in some areas
than in others. It is also legal to charge different prices at different times
but the prices must be in accordance with the displayed prices.
Restaurants
Restaurants and other
places where food is served (including pubs) must have a comprehensive price
list which is clearly visible and capable of being read by you when you go into
the premises – it should be either outside the premises or immediately inside
the door. Charges such as minimum charges, service charges and cover charges
must also be displayed.
Other Prices
Other prices
which must be displayed include:
- Petrol and
diesel prices (they must be displayed in large format and clearly visible
from the road).
- Public concert
and theatre performance (advertisements must show the admission price and
any other charges)
- Hairdressing
prices
- Airfares (must
show the total price in advertisements and the currency involved)
If the price
is not correctly displayed
If the price
which is displayed is the wrong price, you may complain to the Office of the
Director of Consumer Affairs (ODCA) and the ODCA may take action against the
retailer. You are not necessarily entitled to get the product at the lower
price. If you are told the correct price before you buy, then you have no
redress. If you are not told the correct price before you buy, you may claim
against the retailer (and complain to the ODCA). The ODCA’s role is to ensure
that the retailer displays the correct price; rather than to enable consumers
to claim compensation..
Office of the
Director of Consumer Affairs
4 Harcourt Road
Dublin 2
Tel (01) 402 5500
www.odca.ie
Safety standards
General
Product Safety
Manufacturers,
importers and traders are required to ensure that the products they put on the
market are safe. This requirement applies when the products are used under
reasonably foreseeable conditions. Unsafe products must be recalled and taken
off the market.
Specific
product safety
There is specific
legislation relating to the safety requirements for a number of products. It
is illegal to sell products which do not meet these requirements. The products
concerned include
- Toys
- Low voltage
electrical equipment – this covers almost all electrical
equipment used in the home or in offices
- Gas appliances,
for example, cookers, patio heaters, gas fired
barbeques
- Personal
protective equipment – for example, bicycle helmets, life
jackets
- Furniture must
have specific labels for fire safety purposes – they
must give information on how the fabric
and other parts are
resistant to fire.
The rules are
detailed and technical. The ODCA is responsible for implementing product
safety rules.
Liability for
defective products
If goods are
defective and the defect causes injury or damage, the manufacturer is liable
for the damage caused. You do not have to prove that the manufacturer was
negligent; you have to show that the product was defective and that the defect
caused damage.
Labelling
There are specific
regulations and standards which cover the labelling of certain household and
electrical goods including plugs, sockets and light fittings.
Food
There is a range of
legislation governing food production – in particular, it deals with hygiene in
the food production process and in the selling of food. There is also legislation
dealing with the labelling of food.
The Food Safety
Authority of Ireland (FSAI) is the principal body involved in implementing food
safety legislation so, if you are not sure where to lodge your complaint, go to
the FSAI. Its principal function is to take all reasonable steps to ensure
that food produced, distributed or marketed in Ireland meets the highest
standards of food safety and hygiene and complies with legal requirements or
recognised codes of good practice. It co-ordinates the activities of all the
food safety agencies – it has agreements about the implementation of food
safety legislation with a large number of agencies. These agencies include
- The Health
Service Executive – they employ Environmental Health Officers who have a
range of duties including food hygiene. If you want to complain about food
you have bought or a premises in which food is sold or stored (including
shops, restaurants), you should contact an Environmental Health Inspector
at your local HSE office.
- The Office of
the Director of Consumer Affairs - advertising of food,
- The Department
of Agriculture and Food - meat hygiene (including all the major abattoirs
and meat manufacturing and processing plants), milk and milk products, egg
and egg products, pesticide control service, animal identification and
tracing, the National Beef assurance scheme and animal welfare generally.
- The Department
of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources and the Marine Institute
– sea food
Medicines are
subject to a licensing system which requires that they go through various
testing processes before they are allowed to be sold. Medicines are regulated
by the Irish Medicines Board.
Food Labelling
The rules on food
labelling apply to pre packaged products. The rules are quite detailed but
they deal mainly with listing the ingredients and quantities, stating the “best
before” and “use by” dates and giving information on the origin of the food.
It is not illegal to sell products whose sell before date has passed unless
they constitute a risk to health. Food containing genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) must be clearly labelled. GMOs are subject to an EU licensing
system.
Details of the
food legislation are available on the FSAI website.
Food Safety Authority of Ireland
Abbey
Court, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1.
Tel:
(01) 817 1300 Fax: (01) 817 1301
Advice
Line: 1890 336 677
www.fsai.ie
Specific Services
Some industries
are regulated and the Regulators have certain responsibilities towards consumers
but consumer protection is generally not their primary function.
Water
Local authorities
are responsible for water supply. At present, there are no charges for water
supply.
Electricity
and Gas
The CER is the statutory
regulatory authority for the electricity and gas industries. It has a number
of functions which include the protection of the final consumers of electricity
and gas.
Commission for Energy Regulation (CER)
Plaza House, Belgard Road, Tallaght, Dublin 24
Tel: (01) 400 0800
Fax: (01) 400 0850
www.cer.ie
Domestic
consumers may get their electricity supply only from ESB and their piped gas
supply from Bord Gais but green suppliers may supply any customer. The non ESB
suppliers of non green electricity only supply to large businesses – they do
not supply to domestic customers. From 19 February 2005, the non ESB suppliers
will be entitled to provide supply to any customers. Information on other
suppliers may be had from the Commission on Energy Regulation.
Airlines, Tour
Operators and Travel Agents
The Commission
for Aviation Regulation is the statutory regulator of certain aspects of the
aviation and travel trade sectors. Among other things, it licences Irish
airlines, tour operators and travel agents and administers the bonding scheme
for them – the grant of a licence is dependent on entering a bond. It is
responsible for ensuring that your rights are enforced in the event of flights
being overbooked and delays.
Commission
for Aviation Regulation
Alexandra House,
Earlsfort Centre, Earlsfort terrace, Dublin 2
Tel: (01) 661
1700
www.aviationreg.ie
Telecommunications
(Telephone, cable TV and post)
ComReg is the
statutory regulatory authority for the telecommunications sector – this sector
includes telephone service providers (fixed line and mobile), cable and MMDS
(television) providers and the postal service. .
Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg)
Abbey Court, Irish Life Centre, Lower Abbey Street, Dublin 1
Tel: (01) 804 9600
Consumer line:
1890 229 668.
www.comreg.ie
Further
Information
Where to
Complain is a guide for
consumers and service users to the various agencies which help you enforce your
rights and the appropriate bodies to which complaints are made within
particular sectors. It is available from Citizens Information Centres and on www.comhairle.ie