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SALE OF GOODS
The common problem facing a Consumer is whether
the Consumer has any rights in relation to goods
that the Consumer has purchased.
In England and Wales, Sale of Goods falls under
the governing legislation of the Sale of Goods Act
1979 (as amended by the Sale and Supply of Goods
Act 1994 and the Sale of Goods (Amendment) Act 1995)..
The Sale of Goods Act 1979 provides a consumer
with automatic protection and provides certain rights
through implied terms regarding goods sold. These
implied terms include:
- That goods will correspond with their description
- That goods will be of satisfactory quality
- That where a buyer makes known the purpose of
the purchase, the goods will be fit for that purpose
or for normal purpose
- That where the goods are sold by sample, they
will comply with that sample
These implied terms are considered to be conditions
of the contract and any breach of them would amount
to a fundamental breach of contract, entitling the
purchaser to reject the goods and seek repayment
of the purchase price and claim damages.
The duties and remedies available can differ depending
on each case. Rejection of goods and termination
of the contract, entitling the consumer to reimbursement
of the purchase price, is only available in certain
circumstances and more importantly, can be lost
due to intervening acts/events. Some of which may
not be clearly understood. This will affect a Consumer's
entitlement to a remedy.
The above is a general overview only and does not
amount to legal advice. It should not be relied
upon in any particular case and you should consider
the need for specific legal advice.
Click here to read about your Statutory
Obligations when selling a Motor Vehicle.
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PROFESSIONAL NEGLIGENCE
At some stage in personal life or during the course
of your business there comes a time and a need to
instruct a professional to provide you with advice
and assistance. A professional is someone who holds
himself out as having specialist knowledge. Examples
of such professionals would be Accountants, Surveyors,
Architects, Engineers, Doctors, Barristers and Solicitors.
Even though you are consulting a professional,
like anyone else professionals are human beings
and on occasions make mistakes. Such mistakes however
can cause significant loss and damage to individuals
or businesses that rely on such professionals for
their professional advice and assistance.
Whether you have a claim against such a professional
is not easy to show. "But he made a mistake",
you say. Whilst mistakes are made, proving that
the mistake resulted in direct loss is not as simple
as it seems. Proving Professional Negligence is
very diffiicult and requires careful consideration
of complex areas of law.
What do you need to prove you may ask?
It is necessary to show that a professional has
breached his or her professional duty of care. When
dealing with you, a professional is required to
do so with 'reasonable skill and care'. This standard
is not a high one and a professional is only required
to act as good as a reasonable professional in his
or her area of expertise.
Any claim that you may have will only succeed if
you are able to prove that the professional's lack
of skill caused you a direct loss as a result.
You must prove the actual loss you have suffered.
You may only recover loss and damage that is not
considered 'too remote'. The professional must be
aware or should reasonably be aware that such loss
and damage was a likely consequence of his/her negligence.
As this is a very difficult area of law, you should
seek legal advice on the strength of any claim that
you may have.
The above is a general overview only and does not
amount to legal advice. It should not be relied
upon in any particular case and you should consider
the need for specific legal advice.
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BREACH OF CONTRACT
Disputes concerning the performance of the contract
with either a supplier or a customer can quickly
become a problem and can end up being a distraction
to you or your business. It is important therefore
whether you are an individual or a business to address
the problem as quickly as possible in order to resolve
the situation with minimal inconvenience, disruption
and cost.
It is essential to address any dispute by concentrating
on the practicalities, to achieve the best result
and at the same time minimise such inconvenience,
risk and expense.
The Civil Litigation Team at Knight Polson recognise
that our clients' personal and commercial interests
are most important. We remember that our clients'
business is our business. Accordingly, we are able
to take control of the situation and dispute resolution
in order to deal with the problem and reach a settlement.
In circumstances where court proceedings are necessary,
the team is able to use its expertise and experience
to conduct your case from the outset through to
a final hearing, and when necessary call upon our
recognised experts and Barristers to help you.
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BUILDING DISPUTES
Knight Polson's Civil Litigation Team understand
the disruption of building work carried out to your
property or home can prove to be stressful and upsetting.
In circumstances where building work is left unfinished,
because of a dispute that has arisen with your builder,
it leaves you faced with the following questions:
- How do I deal with problems caused by a builder?
- Is the completed work of sufficient quality
to meet my expectations?
- Are remedial repairs required?
- Problems with the agreed contract?
- Do I need to get my money back?
- Worries about expensive legal fees?
- Unsure as to what to do next?
At Knight Polson, our Civil Litigation Team can
offer a service that will reduce your stress levels
and provide you with definite guidelines as to how
to achieve answers to these questions and get results.
This may include enforcing the contract to enable
the builder or tradesman to complete the work; arranging
for a surveyor to assess the quality of work completed
and advise on remedial repairs which may be required;
or alternatively to recover money that you have
paid for sub-standard work or uncompleted work.
So why not find out more about what you are entitled
to by contacting our Civil Litigation Team for professional
and friendly advice.
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ALTERNATIVE
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
Most people who have a complaint or dispute
immediately think that the only way to sort out the
complaint or dispute is to issue court proceedings.
This is not the case. Before taking any action you
should consider all of the alternatives available to
you.
Click here to read more about Alternative
Dispute Resolution.
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