Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Overview of Lesson
The Consumer Protection Act 2007:
Established the National
Consumer Agency
Deals with misleading claims about
goods, services and prices
Deals with EU Directives on unfair,
aggressive, misleading and
prohibited commercial practices
Functions of
National Consumer Agency
The main functions of the NCA are to:
Inform consumers of their rights through
consumer information
Promote a strong consumer culture through
consumer education and awareness
Help businesses comply with consumer law through its
enforcement activities, and,
Represent consumer interests at all levels of local and
national consumer policy development through targeted
research and forceful advocacy
Activities of
National Consumer Agency
In carrying out its functions, the NCA
performs various activities, e.g.
Work with and consult consumer groups
Conduct or commission research into areas of
consumer interest
Promote public awareness and conduct consumer
rights information campaigns
Raise awareness of consumer rights in young people through
educational initiatives (Shop Smart, quizzes)
Prepare and publish guidelines for traders
Perform the functions previously carried out by the Director of
Consumer Affairs
Powers of
National Consumer Agency
In carrying out its functions, the NCA has
various powers, e.g.:
To advise and make recommendations on any
legislation or policy which is likely to impact on
consumer protection
To make proposals for new legislation
To appoint authorised officers to enforce consumer legislation.
These officers have the right to enter premises, get
documentation and other evidence in relation to any trade or
business which is being investigated. They have the right to be
accompanied by the Gardai, if necessary and apply to the courts
for search warrants
Misleading Claims
Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2007 it is a an
offence for any retailer, service provider,
manufacturer or advertiser to make a false or
misleading claim about themselves (e.g. that they are
members of a trade association when they are not),
or goods, services or prices
It is an offence to sell goods that have a false or
misleading description
It is also an offence to omit to give a consumer
material information about a product or service (e.g.
not telling a buyer that a car has been crashed
because they didnt ask the question)
EU Directives
The Consumer Protection Act 2007 brings
into Irish law an EU Directive on unfair,
misleading and aggressive commercial
practices
In short, sellers may not use practices that
may lead to consumers buying products or
services that they would not buy under
normal circumstances
Elements of the
Consumer Protection Act
2007
Role Play
In pairs, read the role play scenarios
Choose one and prepare a likely
conversation that would take place between
the main parties involved
Each role-play should last no longer than one
minute