Sample of a business law assignment

Requirement

Question Two Jack is a salesman dealing in solar heating systems. A month ago, his boss had told him that his sales figures were poor. He decided to become more aggressive in his sales tactics. He visited all his friends and tried to persuade them to purchase a system from him. Knowing that his friend Simone was away on a long trip, he visited her home to speak to her parents to try and make a sale. Simone’s father was an alcoholic and her mother did not understand English very well. Jack became very friendly with them and got her father to have a few drinks that he brought along. After a while, the father became quite drunk. Jack then told them that he was selling them a very cheap system that would save them a lot of money on their bills. The father, despite being quite drunk, said they would need to consult someone before making the purchase. Jack then told them that it was not necessary. He also told them that they would not be able to get it at the special price if they wanted to do that, as it was a one-day deal. When the mother became a little apprehensive, Jack became very aggressive and said she would regret it if she did not make the purchase. Simone’s parents then signed the $5,000 contract and paid $2500 for it. The installation was to take place after five days and the remaining $2,500 was to be paid after completion of the installation.

Simone returned in the meantime and found out what had happened. She read through the contract and found terms that stated that no action could be brought against the company for faulty installation and that the customers would have to pay double charges if they called for repairs to be done on any day except Monday and Wednesday. She also found that it was the most expensive system in the range of similar systems offered by other companies. Advise Simone’s parents as to their rights under Australian Consumer Law. (20 marks)

Solution

An individual who commits herself to buying a  product or a service for personal use instead of resale or to use it as raw materials is known as a customer. However, under Australian consumer law, consumers are protected by certain rights given to them through the Acts and laws manifested through consumer protection like the Australian Consumer Act 1992. Thus, the following are some of the basic rights of consumers.

1, the right to be informed. As a consumer of the heating system, Simone’s father had the right to receive full and basic information about the product, influencing the selection or even the rejection of the same product. In this case, a salesperson or a company cannot force any consumer to buy their product or service without having to inform them of complete details of the products beforehand. In this case, the salesperson didn’t provide full information about the product to the buyer, considering that the buyer was under the influence of alcohol.

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2, the right to choose. In the modern days, there are different and wide products, substitutes, and brands to select that are available. Here, the scope of the consumer is broad, and they maintain the right to be allowed to select the product they want to buy from different sources. Therefore, the law states that no company or firm representative should have the right or privilege to force the customer to buy their products. Thus, in the case study, the salesperson appears to be forcing Simone’s father to accept and sign the deal.

3, the right to be heard. Consumers have the right to be heard if they are unhappy with the product or service they buy from a company. In addition, the company needs to listen to consumers and take the appropriate actions, such as replacing the product or taking other measures that will lead to customer satisfaction.

4, the right to have issues and problems addressed. This means that a consumer who has already paid for the product has all the rights to get any problem that might have developed in the product addressed or corrected. Therefore, if the store or even the manufacturer fails to provide customers with a solution to the problem, consumers have the right to seek justice from the necessary agency or authority.

Thus, in relation to the case, Simone’s parents can seek compensation or virtue based on the following consumer protection rights: the right to be informed, the right to choose, the right to be heard, and the right to have the issues addressed and corrected.

Indeed, this is because it is evident that the salesperson (Jack) failed to provide the necessary information to the consumer (Simone’s parents) as he is the one who got the father drunk and took the opportunity of her mother’s inability to comprehend English. Therefore, the right to information was breached; hence, Simon has the right to request his father to cancel the agreement and get refunded the money already spent if the company will not repair any faulty.

In addition, Jack failed to allow Simone’s parents to choose the product from other types as the one they bought was costing $5000, which Simon assumed would be very expensive compared to other products in the similar group and by other manufacturers. In fact, according to ACL s 18, it is against the law for a business to engage in misleading or deceptive conduct or likely to mislead or deceive. Such a kind of practice makes the business transaction irrelevant, as was determined in the case between the Apple case and ACCC v Telstra Corporation Ltd (2007).

Furthermore, Jack failed to explain the conditions of the product that were written in the sale’s contract and especially that has the clause that stated that no action could be brought against the company for faulty installation and customers would have to pay double charges if they called for repairs to be done on any day except Monday and Wednesday’. Therefore, there was a breach of the right to be informed; hence, Simon’s father has the right to cancel the contract and seek a refund.

The above scenarios show that there are some violations of the consumer rights and thus, taking into consideration the benefit of the rights to be informed (ACL s 134), the right to be heard, as well as the right to get an issue addressed by the company, Simon’s parents can go ahead and approach the company claiming inability as well as the misleading character of Jack who is their sales representative. However, if the manufacturer or the company fails to address the issues, Simon’s parents can move ahead and approach the necessary agencies or authorities, such as the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) established by the government to handle such matters. In fact, Section 259 ACL provides that a person may take action against the supplier of goods for breach of consumer guarantees, and this was a case of breach of guarantee.