Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Consumer definition

What does Consumer mean? A consumer is, in practice, an individual who acquires goods, services or digital content for personal use, not for the purposes of a trade, business, craft or profession. The precise meaning is statutory and context‑specific. England & Wales and Scotland: The Consumer Rights Act 2015, s2(3), defines a consumer as an individual acting for purposes wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession (capturing mixed‑purpose purchases where the business purpose is not predominant). The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 instead asks whether a party “deals as consumer”, a distinct test relevant to exclusion and limitation clauses. The Sale of...

Before the Consumer Rights Act 2015: consumer remedies and implied terms for faulty goods and services (archived)

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Practice notes

ARCHIVED: This Practice Note is no longer updated or maintained at present. It offers an outline of the law, guidance and practice concerning defective goods and services in the UK, including consumer remedies, for consumer contracts entered into before 1 October 2015 only. For contracts concluded after 1 October 2015, consult our Consumer Rights Act 2015 materials listed in the ‘Introduction’ below as indicated.

Introduction

This Practice Note sets out the law, guidance and practice relating to faulty goods and services in the UK, including, in particular, remedies available to consumers where a trader fails to comply with a contract for the sale of goods and/or services, and applies to consumer contracts made before 1 October 2015 when the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (CRA 2015) took effect. It addresses the meaning of consumer and trader, the sources of consumers’ rights and remedies, the rights and remedies consumers may access, and clauses excluding liability.

For guidance on CRA 2015 relevant to consumer contracts made on or after 1 October 2015, see the following Practice Notes:

Consumer Rights Act 2015—summary
Consumer Rights Act 2015—goods
Consumer Rights Act 2015—services
Consumer Rights Act 2015—digital content, and
Consumer Rights...

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Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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