In December 2019 the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) came into effect which heralded a new dawn as far as consumer protection was concerned as its primary objective is to protect the consumer with regard to goods and services by ensuring a fair, efficient, sustainable and transparent market place for consumers and business through the establishment of the Consumer Protection Commission and the introduction of consumer rights.

The Act's application covers all transactions for goods and services in Zimbabwe including the promotions of goods and services which also fall within the ambit of the application of the act. A consumer according to the act in section 1, is a person to whom goods or services are marketed or who has entered into transactions with suppliers or users of particular goods or recipients of services in summary. The only following three are excluded from the application of the Act;-

  1. Goods and services supplied to the State
  2. Employment contracts
  3. Sale of immoveable property

The CPA Act throughout its body provides for the following consumer rights:

  1. The right to consumer education and awareness
  2. Right to fair value, good quality and safety
  3. The right to cancel advance reservation, bookings or orders.
  4. The right to delivery of goods and services.
  5. Right to information
  6. The right to be heard, representations and redress.
  7. The right to fair and honest dealing

These rights are brought about to protect the consumers and the right to fair value, good quality and safety provided for by section 10 of the CPA is of particular interest as it is the most commonly infringed by supplier.

In terms of section 10 of the CPA a person is not permitted to sale products that are below a set minimum standard set by both law or industry, which often affects the suitability of use of the product and services. In addition to meeting standards the products and services must be free from defect and fit for purpose. Section 11 then in support of this right provides for implied warranties which serve the consumer when the goods and services fail to meet the set standards which are expected by the consumer. A supplier must replace all defective goods supplied to a consumer within the period of Six months from the date of supply. Where repairs are made to supplied item a supplier cannot void warranties provided but the CPA provides that a warranty must remain under said warranty for a period of three months from repair. All the repairs must be made at the cost of the supplier and he or she cannot force the consumer to pay for the repairs. The caveat on this however is where a consumer misuses the goods it may result in the warranty being void.

Under sections 78 to 81, the Act provides for penalties against anti-consumer practices which infringed not only the rights provided in section 10 but all the consumer rights. The Act provides for the courts of law and a Consumer Protection Commission(CPC) to have jurisdiction to hear consumer complaints and the like as well as make orders over such.As such, the provisions of these sections make it an offence for any business or person not to comply with the CPC or court.

In conclusion consumers are encouraged to take notice of their right to quality of supplied goods and refuse to pay for replacements and repairs on defect products within the minimum warranty period of six months.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.