What to do after buying

Sometimes even careful shoppers have problems. When this happens, it is important to remain calm and be persistent. Often, smart consumers can solve their own problems. When they can’t, it is very likely that an agency or organization in their community will be able to provide the needed help.

The first thing to do after buying a product is to inspect it. If you do not receive the exact product you purchased or if some defect reduces its value to you, take it back to the seller and ask for a replacement or refund.

In addition, you should always read and follow the instructions provided and use the product only as recommended by the manufacturer. If the instructions are unclear or seem incomplete, contact the seller. Misuse of a product may be dangerous and may also cancel your legal rights! Be sure to report any problem with a product as soon as possible. Trying to fix the product yourself could cancel the warranty.

If you experience a problem with a product, you should always try to contact the seller first. All contacts should be in writing or documented in a log or journal. Reputable business people are interested in a customer’s future business, and most problems and misunderstandings can be cleared up with a face-to-face discussion or a telephone call.

Provide the seller with all the necessary information — identify the item (including model and serial number), give the date and location of purchase, describe when and how the problem arose, and explain what you want done. Be sure to bring along your sales receipt, warranty, or other pertinent information. Be polite but firm. If the seller refuses to help or gives you the runaround, send a written complaint to the owner or store manager. Mention that you will take other measures if you do not receive satisfaction within a reasonable amount of time. Be sure to date the letter and include your name, address, and a phone number where you can be reached during regular working hours. Keep a copy of the letter along with any response for your records. To complete your records, make notes about any conversations you had with the seller. Include promises made, if any, and the date of the conversation.

If the seller still refuses to help you, consider contacting the product’s manufacturer. If you don’t know the name of the manufacturer, ask your librarian for the Thomas Registry of American Manufacturers, a volume listing thousands of products and their manufacturers. If the seller is part of a chain store, consider writing to the corporate headquarters of the store. If you don’t know the address of the manufacturer or the corporate headquarters, go to your local library and look it up in Standard and Poor’s Register of Corporations.

1. Why should you follow the instructions provided and use the product as recommended?

2. Can trying to fix the product yourself cancel the warranty? Why?

3. What information should a consumer provide the seller with?

4. Why is it necessary to make notes about any conversations with the seller?

5. What can you do if the seller refuses to help?

Ex. 10. Find the equivalents of the following words and expressions in the texts:

1. пострадать от последствий, 2. неправильная маркировка, 3. продажа вредных для здоровья товаров, 4. давать список ингредиентов и информация о калорийности, 4. на местном уровне, 5. закон о правдивом меню, 6. осторожный покупатель, 7. соответствовать запросам, 8. торговые марки конкурентов, 9. крупные покупки, 10. дополнительные издержки, 11. удачная покупка, 12. беседа при встрече.

Ex. 11. Look through the texts again and supply the sentences with the missing words.

1. ______ is anyone who buys goods or services, whether an individual shopper or a large business.

2. ______ has usually decided to pay the money rather than take the risk of losing its sales.

3. ______ is mostly concerned with the rights of private individuals.

4. ______ and ______ provide assurances that a product will live up to the claims of the manufacturer.

5. ______ may decide that he must accept work which has been done, but award him damages where the work has been done badly or too slowly or at too high a cost.

6. ______ sometimes complain that they are underprotected because their interests are looked after by the same government ministry that looks after the interests of the farming and fishing industry.

7. ______ complain that they have to raise prices because of increased insurance bills to cover legal cases.

8. ______ should be consistent with their prices and the claims of manufacturers.

9. ______ and ______ are protected against unsafe goods.

10. ______ set standards for the quality, safety and reliability of many goods and services.

11. ______ have tried to use the defence that their actions were the result of being influenced by something they saw on television.

12. ______ passes laws and agencies issue rules to improve the operation of the marketplace.

13. ______ are usually full of detailed agreements about who should supply what, when, where and at what price.

14. ______ regulates advertising and administers several programs that handle deceptive claims.

15. ______ give consumers further information about product safety.

16. ______ and ______ have often used such threats in order to get money from a company.

17. ______ now have to worry about is what to do when someone threatens to put poison or glass or some other harmful substance in a product to be consumed by the public.

18. ______ must be provided with reasonable care at a reasonable cost and within a reasonable time.

19. ______ regulates business in order to promote free and fair competition.

20. ______ is responsibility for damage or injury caused by faulty goods.

21. ______ protects consumers’ economic interests.

22. ______ need to be present in decision-taking procedures on issues of concern to them at local, state, national or federal level.

Ex. 12. Find the English equivalents in the texts and translate the sentences into Russian.

1. The buyer has the right to (аннулировать контракт) — to refuse the goods — if the terms are (нарушены).

2. Consumers had to (возбудить дело) in the (деликт за халатность).

3. The legal expression (“пусть покупатель будет бдителен”) means “let the buyer beware”.

4. (Гарантии качества продаваемого товара) are written statements that promise repair, (замену товара), or a (возврат денег) if a product fails to perform as the manufacturer said it would for a certain period of time.

5. A (гарантия возврата платы за товар) promises a (возврат денег за товар по покупной цене) if the buyer is not completely satisfied.

6. An (подразумеваемая гарантия) is an unwritten guarantee that a product is suitable for the purpose for which it has been sold.

7. Consumers complain that it is extremely difficult for them to win cases, partly because rules of technological secrets allow companies to (утаивать важные сведения) about products.

8. Sellers must avoid sales and advertising practices that (вводят в заблуждение), (обманывают), or are unfair to consumers.

9. A (иск с претензиями на качество продукта) is brought against a manufacturer or seller for damage or injury that is caused by a product.

10. A (иск о профессиональной некомпетентности) is filed against an individual or a company in a service field, such as medicine or dentistry.

11. Goods must correspond to any description given to the buyer, of (качества, пригодного для торговли).

12. (Оговорки об освобождении от ответственности) are warnings to the consumer by the supplier that no responsibility will be accepted in the case of loss, damage or injury.

13. (Потребительское законодательство) prohibit unfair or (вводящую в заблуждение) trade practices, such as false advertising, unfair pricing, and (неправильную маркировку).

14. (Средства судебной защиты права) include (приказы о запрещении продолжения противоправного действия), by which an agency can require a business to stop a forbidden practice; (обоюдное согласие), which are voluntary agreements to end a practice that is claimed to be illegal; and (возмещение убытков), which is an order to refund or repay any money illegally obtained.

Ex. 13. Read through the texts and determine if the following statements are true or false. Make comments.

1. Many directories for information about local community resources also have a section in the beginning of the book that provides a comprehensive listing of government agencies.

2. Arbitration programs help with consumer complaints, arbitrate disputes between buyers and sellers who have not been able to settle a problem.

3. In some instances, the decision of the arbitrators is binding on both the business and the consumer; in others, only on the business; and in still others, on neither party.

4. Only private state and local consumer groups may give advice, investigate complaints, contact sellers, try to arrange settlements, and make legal referrals.

5. As Better Business Bureaus have no law enforcement power, they do not monitor business activity and try to promote high standards of business ethics.

6. Publicity is a powerful weapon, and many consumers find that they can settle problems simply by contacting, or even threatening to contact, the media.

7. The associations that act on behalf of the entire profession or occupation may have real legal enforcement powers over its members, so a consumer complaint may not result in pressure on, or dismissal of, the offending member.

8. Consumer protection groups are often located within the state attorney general’s office, consumer affairs bureau, consumer protection agency, public advocate’s office, or public utilities commission.

9. Careful consumers compare prices and products before buying and purchase the product only after considering other products that could also meet their needs.

10. Once you have determined what product you need and discovered that it is available at more than one store, it makes good sense to buy especially important purchases from a store with cheaper prices.

11. Sometimes a shopper may even spend a little more money to purchase an item from a store with an outstanding reputation for service or the ability to deliver the item quickly and install it free of charge.

12. Before making a purchase, you needn’t read the warranty (also known as the guarantee) carefully, because different manufacturers and stores always provide the same warranty coverage on very similar products.

13. If you have trouble understanding the contract, ask the store for permission to take the contract to someone who can help you understand it after you sign it.

14. If you do not receive the exact product you purchased or if some defect reduces its value to you, try to fix the product yourself, first.

15. Reputable business people are interested in a customer’s future business, and most problems and misunderstandings can be cleared up with a face-to-face discussion or a telephone call.

16. Provide the seller with all the necessary information — identify the item (including model and serial number), give the date and location of purchase, describe when and how the problem arose, and explain what you want done.

Ex. 14. Read the text below and give its summary in English. Translate paragraph 4 into English.

Принятое в Венской конвенции (ООН, Конвенция 1980 г. “О договорах международной купли-продажи товаров”) построение, при котором предписания о возмещении убытков отделены от норм о средствах правовой защиты сторон и выделены в отдельный раздел, является необычным для белорусского предпринимательства.

В первую очередь необходимо оговорить порядок возмещения убытков.

Убытки возмещаются независимо от вины. Конвенция рассматривает этот вопрос не в рамках традиции системы гражданского права, а в рамках подхода общего права, в котором любая объективная невозможность исполнения стороной своих обязательств влечет за собой право другой стороны на возмещение убытков. По мнению одного из комментаторов Венской конвенции В. Кнаппа, несмотря на трудности, которые могут возникнуть у компаний в странах гражданского права при применении нового для них принципа, они постепенно оценят его роль в ускорении совершения сделок. Данный принцип смягчен исключениями — в статьях 79 и 80 Конвенции содержатся условия освобождения от ответственности.

Основные принципы регламентирования возмещения убытков изложены в статье 74 и состоят в следующем. Прежде всего, цель возмещения убытков заключается в том, чтобы поставить потерпевшую сторону в положение, в котором она находилась бы, если бы договор был исполнен контрагентом.

Дата добавления: 2014-12-23