Consumer and commercial law

291 Pages·2011·4.43 MB·xxii, 268 p. col. ill\291

by  Judith Tillson

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LAW EXPRESS: conSumER And commERciAL LAW

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consumer and
commercial law
Judith Tillson, Barrister
Senior Lecturer in Law
Staffordshire University Law School

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Pearson Education Limited
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and Associated companies throughout the world
Visit us on the World Wide Web at:
www.pearsoned.co.uk
First published 2011
© Pearson Education Limited 2011
The right of Judith Tillson to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance
with the copyright designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise,
without either the prior written permission of the publisher or a licence permitting restricted copying in the
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Ec1n 8TS.
All trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners. The use of any trademark in this
text does not vest in the author or publisher any trademark ownership rights in such trademarks, nor does
the use of such trademarks imply any affiliation with or endorsement of this book by such owners.
crown copyright material is reproduced with the permission of the controller of HmSo and Queen’s Printer
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Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third party internet sites.
iSBn 978-1-4082-2613-1
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Tillson, Judith.
consumer and commercial law / Judith Tillson.
p. cm.
includes index.
iSBn 978-1-4082-2613-1 (pbk.)
1. commercial law--European union countries. 2. commercial law--European union
countries--Examinations--Study guides. . 3. contracts--European union countries. 4.
consumer protection--Law and legislation--European union countries. 5. Sales--
European union countries. 6. Agency (Law)--European union countries. 7. Products
liability--European union countries. 8. consumer credit--Law and legislation--
European union countries. i. Title.
KJE2045.T55 2011
346.2407--dc22
2010022304
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
14 13 12 11 10
Typeset in 10/12pt Helvetica condensed by 3
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Henry Ling Ltd, dorchester, dorset
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Contents
Acknowledgements vii
Introduction ix
Guided tour xii
Guided tour of the companion website xiv
Table of cases and statutes xvi
Chapter 1: The need for consumer protection 1
Chapter 2: Law of contract 1: Formation 17
Chapter 3: Law of contract 2: Contract terms 39
Chapter 4: Law of contract 3: Misrepresentation and
discharge of contract 59
Chapter 5: Sale and supply of goods 1: Implied terms 87
Chapter 6: Sale and supply of goods 2: Transfer of
property and risk 111
Chapter 7: Sale and supply of goods 3: Performance

and remedies 125
Chapter 8: Distance selling and electronic commerce 147
Chapter 9: Product liability 161
Chapter 10: Consumer credit 179
Chapter 11: Agency law 203
Chapter 12: Liability for unfair trading practices 229
And finally, before the exam . . . 251
Glossary of terms 256
Index 262
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Supporting resources
Visit the Law Express series companion website at www.pearsoned.co.uk/
lawexpress to find valuable student learning material including:
■■ A study plan test to assess how well you know the subject before you
begin your revision, now broken down into targeted study units
■■ interactive quizzes with a variety of question types to test your knowledge
of the main points from each chapter of the book
■■ Further examination questions and guidelines for answering them
■■ interactive flashcards to help you revise the main terms and cases
■■ Printable versions of the topic maps and checklists
■■ ‘You be the marker’ allows you to see exam questions and answers from
the perspective of the examiner and includes notes on how an answer
might be marked
■■ Podcasts provide point-by-point instruction on how to answer a common
exam question
Also: The companion website provides the following features:
■■ Search tool to help locate specific items of content
■■ E-mail results and profile tools to send results of quizzes to instructors
■■ online help and support to assist with website usage and troubleshooting

For more information please contact your local Pearson Education sales
representative or visit www.pearsoned.co.uk/lawexpress.
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Acknowledgements
our thanks go to all reviewers who contributed to the development of this text,
including students who participated in research and focus groups which helped to
shape the series format.

vii
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Introduction
many students study consumer and commercial law as discrete modules. Some
students may study one rather than the other. However, this book treats them
as complementary topics by examining areas common to both. consumer and
commercial law covers a wide range of subjects so module content will vary
between institutions, but several topics will be a common feature including sale of
goods, agency law, credit, product liability and unfair trading practices. Because of
the increasing influence of online contracts and distance selling, you will likely be
expected to appreciate the legal challenges presented by this mode of contracting.
no doubt individual lecturers will emphasise particular topics in this diverse area.
You should always refer to your lecturer or tutor and your course materials with any
questions on what you will be expected to cover.
Another factor to bear in mind in preparing for the exam is that inevitably several
topics will overlap and cannot be revised as discrete units. it is important to
appreciate that studying consumer and commercial law will require that you have a
sound basis in contract law, especially misrepresentation, unfair contract terms and
remedies for breach.
The subject lends itself to problem questions which provide an opportunity for
the examiner to assess your understanding of how different aspects of consumer
and commercial law interlink. don’t be surprised to find that a problem on a topic
such as product liability may also encompass aspects of sale of goods, negligence
and privity. Likewise, questions calling for an analysis of unfair contract terms will
expect you to be able to demonstrate detailed knowledge of aspects of sale of goods,
misrepresentation and the supply of services. You will be expected to show clear
understanding of the degree of statutory protection offered to those dealing on a
commercial as well as consumer basis. When dealing with such multi-faceted problem
questions, it is easy to digress into areas that are not relevant; it is also difficult to
gauge which areas require a greater level of detailed analysis. Some questions may
help you in this respect by allocating marks to different sections. The most difficult
problems are those that include a range of issues within one detailed scenario. Always
devise an outline plan to ensure that you deal with all relevant issues in a systematic
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