Minister welcomes select committee report on consumer law reform
Tuesday 2 October 2012, 3:26PM
By Simon Bridges
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Consumer Affairs Minister Simon Bridges has today welcomed a select committee report on the Consumer Law Reform Bill.
“I want to acknowledge the Commerce Select Committee which has done a comprehensive job of reviewing the complex draft legislation and considering a wide range of views on the proposed changes to our consumer laws.
“Consumer laws in New Zealand are over 25 years old and have had few changes since they were enacted. While the laws are fundamentally sound, they need updating to adequately deal with modern transactions such as internet trading and self-service checkouts.”
The Bill amends a number of laws, including the Consumer Guarantees Act (CGA) and the Fair Trading Act (FTA).
Key changes to the Bill as reported back are:
- The CGA’s protections will now cover all transactions between traders and consumers. This means that the Act will apply to all types of auctions (including online) and competitive tenders, effectively making consumer law mode of sale neutral.
- The CGA will be amended to better protect consumers who receive goods via courier. The sender will be responsible for the goods, up to the point of delivery.
- The FTA will be amended to include new provisions preventing unfair contract terms in standard form contracts. These have been modelled on the provisions in Australian consumer law.
- The FTA will be amended to provide for compulsory interview powers to assist the Commerce Commission when investigating serious breaches of the Act.
“The main objectives of the Bill are to strengthen consumers’ rights, to simplify business compliance and to make consumer legislation up to date and more accessible and understandable for both consumers and businesses.
“This reform will help promote confident, well-informed consumers who demand high quality and make good choices. This, in turn, drives competition, innovation and growth.”
Parliament will soon debate the Bill for a second time.
More information on the Consumer Law Reform Bill can be found here: http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/legislation-policy/policy-development/consumer-law-reform.