HAAGA-HELIABASICS OF LAW4. WEEKLY ASSIGNMENT

Online course

CONSUMER PROTECTION

  • Material:
  • AapoSurakka. Access to Finnish Law. 1st edition pp. 63-72
  • Consumer Protection Act, 38/1978
  • PowerPoint slides

ASSIGNMENT

Consider the following cases and give your reasoned answers to the questions:

  1. Which of the following cases are in accordance with the regulation of marketing as stipulated in the Consumer Protection Act?

a) A sports store advertised a Finnish bike for sale at €70. The components and frame of the bike had been made in Taiwan and assembly in Estonia. The bike was of a well-known Finnish brand.

b) Face cream was sold by saying ”Rejuvenates everyone by 10 years”.

c) A department store was marketing its Easter happening. The store’shome department had an Easter table setting contest and several celebrities were invited to participate. Customers got to vote for the best setting, and while voting they also could participate in a raffle, the prize of which was a delicious Easter basket.

d) A computer game was advertised on TV. In the advertisement a young boy played the game first thing in the morning, went on playing while other children left for school and continued until the afternoon when the others came from school. The message was that this boy had a much better daythan the other children.

e) A car dealer gave every new customer a Christmas ham into the bargain.

f) A computer was on sale as follows: ”Standard retail price € 2,300, our discount price € 1,790 – now lower by € 510!”

g) A manufacturer advertised its sneakers as ”being of significantly better quality and more durable than those of the competitor XYZ Ltd.”

  1. JussiJuonio bought a television set. The TV was on sale at a store and cost € 200. The seller gave a one-year warranty. The TV worked fine for 15 months but then it went black. Jussi called an authorized repairman to have a look at it. The repairman concluded that the picture tube was broken, a new one should be installed and it would be expensive. He said that obviously there was a manufacturing defect in the product because normally a picture tube would last for over ten years. Jussi requires the seller to rectify the defect.

The seller, however, refuses saying that he has no responsibilities since

a) the warranty period has expired, and

b) the TV was on sale.

Who is correct? What are Jussi’s rights?

  1. Solve the following legal problem between buyer and seller:Bill Batter bought a used video camera for € 400 from Chuck’s Camera World Ltd. Bill, however, felt that the camera was in poor condition. The sound was lousy and the picture fuzzy. Bill went back to the shop and asked if Chuck could replace it with another similarly priced camera. Unfortunately, Chuck was reluctant to replace the camera. He hinted that the problem might be with the user and asked if he could inspect and possibly repair the camera during the next week. Bill refused and wanted his money back if he couldn’t get a new camera.
  1. Family Mäkinen had bought a wicker chair for €15 in September. In December their neighbour, a stocky gentleman, came for a visit. When he sat on the chair it immediately broke down entirely.

The Mäkinens complained to the seller and declared the contract void. The seller, referring to the cheap price of the chair and the time passed since the purchase, didn’t agree to any remedy. What can the Mäkinens do?

  1. Ville ordered custom-made Venetian blinds for his windows. The agreed deliveryperiod was 4 weeks and the delivery was due on 14 May. That day, however, there was no delivery. On the following day the sales clerk called Ville telling him that the delivery was a little delayed but Ville could come and collect the blinds the next day in the afternoon. Ville did this but the blinds still were not ready. Now the sales clerk promised to bring them to Ville on 18 May. However, Ville got so annoyed that he declared the contract void. Analyze the case.
  1. Liisa purchased a sewing machine which was on sale for € 720. On her way home she noticed another retailer advertising the same machine for € 680. She returned to the first shop and required that the deal be cancelled.

a)Does the seller have to agree to Liisa’s requirement?

b)Can Liisa present further requirements? Give your reasons.

7. Consider the situations below:

a)Matti Virtanen orders a product from a domestic mail catalogue. Having received the package, he returns the unopened package to the seller, who argues that no proper announcement of withdrawal has been sent and the sales contract is valid. Is he correct?

b)An airline advertised cheap tickets to London in a newspaper. Mr. Koivisto ordered tickets for himself and his wife. Now he regrets the purchase since he actually should have put the money aside to be finally able to upgrade his ancient car. Can he return the tickets?

c)An artist came to a university hall to sell his paintings and some students bought his artwork. What can you say about the deals?

d)Minna bought a plastic bowl at a Tupperware party. Later at home her husband was very angry because in his opinion this was a total waste of money since they didn’t need this bowl. Is there anything that can be done?

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