Abstract:
Consumers have strong rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (“CGA”), yet some traders ignore their obligations under it and often consumers do not attempt to enforce their rights. The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is working on a “one law, one door” project to simplify consumer law and assist consumers in obtaining redress against traders. This article argues that the “one law, one door” project as presently formulated will do little to assist consumers. Instead the Act needs to be amended to better protect consumers. Those amendments should include the ability of the Commerce Commission to bring actions under the Act, an increase in remedies and fines for breaches of the Act, the facilitation of class actions and the extension of the Act to online auctions. The Disputes Tribunal process also suffers from deficiencies, which can be rectified by implementing measures such as the publication of decisions and the ordering of immediate payment of monies awarded by Referees, as well as more mundane and practical changes including assistance with writing complaints and receiving filing fees from errant traders. In addition, a system is proposed which would see the resolution of many disputes under the CGA without recourse to the Disputes Tribunal.
