Chapter 10Contracts for the supply of goods and servicesperson who is acting for purposes outside of his or her
trade, business or profession. Goods will not conform with
the contract if there is a breach of an express term of the
contract or an implied term under ss 13, 14 and 15 of the
Sale of Goods Act 1979. Where defects emerge within six
months of delivery, it is assumed that the goods did not
conform at the time of delivery. This provision has the
effect of reversing the burden of proof so that if the seller
wishes to defend a claim he or she must prove that the
goods were satisfactory at the time of delivery.
The additional rights are as follows:
1 Repair or replacement (s 48B). The buyer has the
right to require the seller to repair or replace the goods
within a reasonable time and without causing significant
inconvenience to the buyer. The seller must bear any
necessary cost associated with the repair or replacement,
e.g. cost of labour, materials or postage. The seller is not
required to undertake a repair or replacement if such
a remedy is impossible, disproportionate in relation to
other remedies or is disproportionate in comparison
to a reduction in the price or to rescission of the con-
tract. A remedy will be disproportionate to another if it
imposes unreasonable costs taking into account the
value the goods would have if they conformed with the
contract, the significance of the lack of conformity and
whether a different remedy could be used without caus-
ing significant inconvenience to the buyer. The nature
of the goods and the purposes for which they were
acquired are relevant factors in determining what is a
reasonable time or significant inconvenience.
2 Reduction of the purchase price or rescission of
the contract (s 48C). If repair or replacement are not
practicable remedies or the seller has not fulfilled the
requirement to repair or replace within a reasonable
time and without significant inconvenience, the buyer is
entitled to a partial or full reduction of the purchase
price or to rescind the contract. If the buyer decides to
rescind the contract, any refund may take into account
the use that the buyer has had of the goods since they
were delivered.
Auction sales
The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations
2002 also make some important changes to the rights of
consumers who buy goods through auctions, including
Internet auctions. The changes have been brought about
by amending s 12(2) of the Unfair Contract Terms Act
- It was the case under s 12(2) that buyers at an
auction sale or by competitive tender were not to be
regarded as dealing as consumers. This meant that the
implied terms under ss 12–15 of the Sale of Goods Act
1979 could be excluded or limited provided the reason-
ableness test was satisfied. The position now is that the
implied terms in the Sale of Goods Act 1979 cannot be
excluded or restricted in the following situations:
■where a consumer buys new goods at an auction;
■where a consumer buys second-hand goods at an
auction which he or she cannot attend (this would
include an Internet auction).
The new remedies of repair, replacement, full or
partial refund will be available to consumers buying new
goods at auction or second-hand goods at auctions
which the consumer cannot attend.
The effect of the Sale and Supply of Goods to Con-
sumers Regulations 2002 on the remedies available is set
out in Fig 10.2.Supply of goods and services
The provisions of the Sale of Goods Act 1979, including
the protection afforded to the buyer by the implied
terms contained in ss 12–15, apply only to contracts
where goods are sold for a money consideration. The
sale of goods legislation did not cover other methods of
obtaining goods (e.g. by HP, hire, barter or contracts for
work and materials), although the need for protection
was just as great, nor did it have anything to say about
the provision of services.
Implied terms as to title, description, quality, fitness
for purpose and correspondence with sample, similar to
those in the Sale of Goods Act, were put on a statutory
basis first in respect of goods supplied on HP and later
in relation to goods acquired using trading stamps. In
1979, the Law Commission recommended that the pro-
tection of statutory implied terms should be extended to
all contracts for the supply of goods. This was achieved
by the Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. The Act
also places on a statutory footing certain terms which
had hitherto been implied by the common law in con-
tracts for services.
The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982 is divided
into two main parts: Part I deals with implied terms in
contracts for the supply of goods, while Part II covers
implied terms in contracts for services. Section references321