For Immediate Release: November 18, 2021
The Consumer Affairs Commission’s (CAC) Consumer Protection Tribunal (CPT), a quasi-judicial body established under the amended 2012 Consumer Protection Act, has ruled that a consumer be awarded the amount of $7,587,000.00. Ms. Sacha-Gaye Russell, Legal Officer at the Consumer Affairs Commission stated that, “The award was made as a result of the consumer entering into a contract with a used car dealership to purchase a vehicle for the sum $5.4 Million”. Ms. Russell noted that, “Numerous issues occurred after the purchase which led the consumer to seek the assessment services of a motor loss adjusting and motor appraisal company. The loss adjustors concluded that the vehicle had met in a heavy collision in Japan and sections of the vehicle were evidently refinished. The consumer was also informed that there was an issue with the odometer reading and that Data Trouble Codes were observed in the vehicles fault memory”.
The consumer placed the matter before the Tribunal on the 19th of August 2020 and the ruling of the Tribunal was given on the 22nd of October 2021. The Tribunal held that section 23 (damaged goods sold to consumer) section 24 (return of defective goods) and section 30 (false or misleading representation) were breached.
Ms. Russell informed that the award, the highest to date by the CPT, is detailed as follows:
• Purchase price - $5,400,000.00;
• Loss of use - 846 days at $2,500.00 per day the sum of $2,115,000.00;
• Valuation cost and storage fees - $62,500.00; and
• Wrecker fee - $9,500.00.
She further pointed out that the vendor may apply for judicial review of the Tribunal’s decision in the Supreme Court. If the vendor is successful the decision may be overturned. If the vendor is unsuccessful the Tribunal order/decision will stand.
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) was passed in 2005 to establish the Consumer Affairs Commission, which is a government agency mandated to inform, educate and empower consumers to protect themselves in the marketplace. Year to date (April 2020 to October 2021), the CAC has secured over $14 Million in refunds and compensation on behalf of aggrieved consumers and in the previous Financial Year (April 2019 – March 2020), $21.9 Million plus $24.5 Million as ex-gratia payment for ‘bad gas’ settlement.
Mrs. Dolsie Allen, Chief Executive Officer at the Consumer Affairs Commission noted that, “The right for effective redress is one of the most fundamental consumer rights. Quite often, consumers make high value purchases like motor vehicles and think that there is no redress when something goes wrong. However, the CAC believes in value for money and in this instance we are satisfied that the ruling has enabled the consumer to get back their hard earned money”.
The Consumer Protection Tribunal as a quasi-judicial body is not a court of law, however it is a body that is empowered by legislation to hear matters and make orders that are binding. Therefore, the Consumer Protection Tribunal has the power to hear and determine matters in breach of the Consumer Protection Act, which were not settled through the Consumer Affairs Commission’s mediation process. Unresolved matters may be referred to the Tribunal.
In determining whether certain practices are in breach of the CPA, the Tribunal has been empowered to call and examine witnesses and to call for and examine documents. The Tribunal can also issue a summons for a witness to attend hearings. Currently there are seven persons appointed to the CPT and this number includes the Chairman, who is Professor Kent Pantry, CD, QC and former Director of Public Prosecutions.
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