Consumer Rights Act 2015- TSI publishes guidance for businesses

The Trading Standards Institute has published guidance for businesses on the Consumer Rights Act 2015 on its Business Companion website. There are four guides that explain the rules that will apply from 1 October 2015 (the date on which it is expected that the majority of the provisions of the Act will be brought into force). The guides relate, respectively, to the sale and supply of goods, services, digital content, and unfair contract terms.

Businesses that supply digital content will find the digital content guide particularly helpful as it also deals with a number of issues specific to this new category introduced by the Act. It provides an explanation of when digital content is classed as "free" and how the Act treats free content. It also summarises the obligations on businesses that provide modifications and updates to digital content, and the rights and remedies that apply when a business supplies goods and digital content together ("mixed contracts"). There is also a summary of the remedies a business must offer where digital content causes damage to consumers' devices or other digital content.