Additional rights of the buyer in consumer cases 95For example, if a consumer bought a very cheap digital watch which did not work at all,
repair of the watch would be disproportionate in relation to rescinding the contract or tak-
ing a replacement watch. Where the buyer does request repair or replacement of the goods,
s. 48D requires the seller to be given a reasonable time to perform the remedy requested.
Until this reasonable time has passed, the buyer cannot ask for any other remedy, whether
the remedy arose under ss. 48A – 48F or in some other way.
Section 48C deals with the secondary remedies, that is to say it deals with requiring the
seller to reduce the contract price by an appropriate amount and with rescission of the
contract. In this context, rescinding the contract means treating it as if it had never been
made and claiming the return of the contract price. However, this amount can be reduced
to take account of any use of the goods which the buyer has had. These two remedies
are regarded as secondary because they cannot be claimed as of right, but only in two
circumstances. The first circumstance is that the buyer cannot require repair or replacement
because both of these remedies are impossible or are disproportionate in relation to one of
the secondary remedies. The second circumstance is that the buyer has required the seller
to repair or replace the goods but the seller has not done so within a reasonable time and
without significant inconvenience to the buyer.
Section 48E gives the court additional powers when a claim is made by a buyer under ss.
48A – 48F. The court can order the seller to specifically perform an obligation to repair or
replace the goods as requested by the buyer. If the buyer requests one of the remedies set
out in the new sections, the court can instead award a different one of these remedies if it
decides that the other remedy is more appropriate. The court also has the power to adjust
any of the new remedies on such terms and conditions as it sees fit, perhaps by ordering
that damages also be paid.
Earlier in this chapter we saw that a buyer who has ‘accepted’ goods can no longer reject
those goods for breach of a condition. We also saw that s. 35 SGA deems a buyer to have
accepted goods in three circumstances: first, where the buyer indicates to the seller that the
goods are accepted; second, where the buyer does any act which is inconsistent with the
seller still owning the goods (such as consuming the goods); and third, where the buyer
keeps the goods for more than a reasonable time without letting the seller know that the
goods are rejected. It seems probable that ss. 48A – 48F will be most useful to a buyer who
cannot reject for breach of a condition on account of having accepted the goods.
Example
Mary, a teacher, bought a new radio from a shop in January. Mary did not use the radio until
she went on holiday in May. She then found that the radio did not work properly because
it could not pick up FM. Despite this problem, Mary continued to use the radio to listen to
AM stations. Section 14(2) SGA would have been breached if Mary could prove that the
radio was not of satisfactory quality when she bought it. However, as Mary kept the radio for
more than a reasonable time without rejecting it, she would be too late to reject under s.
14(2). (She could, of course, still claim damages for the breach of s. 14(2).) Mary dealt as a
consumer and the radio did not conform to the contract of sale. (As the radio did not con-
form to the contract within six months of the date of delivery, it is presumed that it did not
conform to the contract at the date of delivery.) Mary’s primary remedies under ss. 48A– 48F
would be to have the radio either repaired or replaced. Mary could choose which remedy
she wanted. If the shop did not give Mary the remedy which she asked for within a reason-
able time, and without causing significant inconvenience to her, then Mary could require one
t