This book is the most comprehensive and up-to-date source of information about ways in which consumer activism has reshaped the economic and political well-being of citizens in the United States and around the world. This all-encompassing collection of information about consumer activism and the consumer movement will provide students, public officials, business groups, and other activists with a one-stop source of facts and insights. The contributors explore hundreds of major consumer protections that have significantly enhanced the quality of life and safety for all Americans, showing how these protections were won through the skillful and determined work of leading activists and activist organizations. Many of the stories told here are related by the activists themselves, often for the first time. More than 140 entries offer a comprehensive treatment of the consumer activism of specific organizations, their leaders, and strategies. The book also includes more than 40 entries about consumer movements in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Latin America. A timeline of key events and a listing of the most important books on the subject of consumer activism help provide context for the individual entries as do two introductory essays. Cross references in each entry establish linkages among topics. Provides the single most comprehensive source available of information about consumer activism and advocacy Shows how activism has influenced laws and regulations affecting more than 40 consumer issues Shares personal accounts from activists about their work on these issues Details information on U.S. national consumer organizations and many state and local consumer groups, including their goals, strategies, leaders, finances, and impact Offers insights into the ways consumer activist groups have interacted with other nonprofits, policymakers, regulators, and business groups

The recent introduction of the Consumer Protection Act revolutionised consumer rights in South Africa. Along with that, it also fundamentally altered the way in which businesses are required to treat their clients, imposing a new set of obligations – or at least a formalised set of responsibilities – that had been easily circumnavigated or simply ignored before. Marketing campaigns, returns policies, contracts, quality issues, and a host of business practices had to be reviewed and reappraised. Some businesses have done this, while many blithely continue as if nothing has changed, little appreciating the risks of non-compliance and – perhaps more importantly – failing to appreciate that treating consumers fairly is simply a sound business practice. This new work provides a comprehensive overview of consumer law – not just the Act – in a way that follows the typical chain of consumer transactions. It serves to guide, educate and enlighten the professional, the business person and the consumer alike. No business or professional adviser should be without it. Written by a leading specialist in the field, it is simple, clear, comprehensive, authoritative and accessible.

This book analyses the founding years of consumer law and consumer policy in Europe. It combines two dimensions: the making of national consumer law and the making of European consumer law, and how both are intertwined. The chapters on Germany, Italy, the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom serve to explain the economic and the political background which led to different legal and policy approaches in the then old Member States from the 1960s onwards. The chapter on Poland adds a different layer, the one of a former socialist country with its own consumer law and how joining the EU affected consumer law at the national level. The making of European consumer law started in the 1970s rather cautiously, but gradually the European Commission took an ever stronger position in promoting not only European consumer law but also in supporting the building of the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC), the umbrella organisation of the national consumer bodies. The book unites the early protagonists who were involved in the making of consumer law in Europe: Guido Alpa, Ludwig Kramer, Ewa Letowska, Hans-W Micklitz, Klaus Tonner, Iain Ramsay, and Thomas Wilhelmsson, supported by the younger generation Aneta Wiewiorowska Domagalska, Mateusz Grochowski, and Koen Docter, who reconstructs the history of BEUC. Niklas Olsen and Thomas Roethe analyse the construction of this policy field from a historical and sociological perspective. This book offers a unique opportunity to understand a legal and political field, that of consumer law and policy, which plays a fundamental role in our contemporary societies.

It has long been thought that fairness in European Consumer Law would be achieved by relying on information as a remedy and expecting the average consumer to keep businesses in check by voting with their feet. This monograph argues that the way consumer law operates today promises a lot but does not deliver enough. It struggles to avoid harm being caused to consumers and it struggles to repair the harm after the event. To achieve fairness, solutions need to be found elsewhere. Consumer Theories of Harm offers an alternative model to assess where and how consumer detriment may occur and solutions to prevent it. It shows that a more confident use of economic theory will allow practitioners to demonstrate how a poor standard of professional diligence lies at the heart of consumer harm. The book provides both theoretical and practical examples of how to combine existing law with economic theory to improve case outcomes. The book shows how public enforcers can move beyond the dominant transparency paradigm to an approach where firms have a positive duty to treat consumers fairly and shape their commercial offers in a way that prevents consumers from making mistakes. Over time, this 'fairness-by-design' approach will emerge as the only acceptable way to compete.

When faced with tackling food-borne illness, regulators have a number of competing goals. They must investigate in order to discover the source of the illness. Once the source is identified they must take action to prevent further cases of illness occurring. Finally, once the illness is under control, they may wish to take enforcement action against those responsible. Regulating Food-Borne Illness uses interviews and documentary analysis to examine the actions of regulators and considers how they balance these three tasks. Central to the regulators' role is the collection of information. Without information about the source, control or enforcement action cannot be taken. Investigation must therefore take place to produce the necessary information. Utilising theoretical frameworks drawn from regulation and biosecurity, Regulating Food-Borne Illness shows that control is prioritised, and that investigatory steps are chosen in order to ensure that the information necessary for control, rather than enforcement, is collected. This has the effect of reducing the possibility that enforcement action can be taken. The difficulty of evidence gathering and case-building in food-borne illness cases is exposed, and the author considers the methods aimed at reducing the difficulty of bringing successful enforcement action.

Contractual remedies aimed at performance create a well-known rift between common law and civil law traditions, in the one existing in the shadow of damages, while in the other regarded as a generally enforceable right following from the contract. Developments in approximation of laws in Europe, in particular in consumer sales law, suggest however that a convergence of these approaches may be within reach. Putting the focus on the contract of sale, which, as the most common type of contract, may fulfill a leading role in the harmonization process, this book provides a model for further convergence of European sales laws, engaging with issues of contract theory and comparative law lying at the heart of the process. Independently from this, the comparison between different systems is used in order to highlight particular problems in the remedial schemes of individual systems and to see whether a better solution may be borrowed from elsewhere. Scaling the interests of sellers and buyers as reflected in national laws as well as in uniform sets of rules such as the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods and the Principles of European Contract Law a plea is made for a primary position for performance-oriented remedies in the harmonization of European sales law. In this context, special significance is attributed to the possibility of cure by the seller, which has both practical and conceptual links to the buyer's remedies aimed at performance.

In a period when the nature and scope of the European internal market is hotly contested, this collection offers a topical analysis of the most pressing issues relating to market integration and public services in the EU. As the debate continues over the balance between state control and market freedom, questions are also raised about the relationship between EU regulation and national policy choices and the 'joint responsibility' of the Union and the Member States.
Outlining the most important current issues relating to market integration and public services in the EU, Market Integration and Public Services in the European Union also addresses the underlying, systemic questions of the relation between public services and markets, and services and the consumer. Chapters also examine the application of state aids and procurement law to public services. The final two chapters focus on two public service sectors where the mix of Treaty rules, case law, and legislation has operated in rather different ways: public service media and health services

This book seeks to fill a gap in the existing literature by describing the formulation, interpretation and enforcement of the rules on consumer contracts in China and the EU, and by mapping key similarities and differences. The study addresses selected issues regarding consumer contracts: sources of law in the two jurisdictions are first discussed to set the scene. Afterwards, one preliminary issue - how to define the concept of a consumer contract - and two substantive topics - unfair terms and withdrawal rights - are dealt with. Apart from the descriptive analysis, the book also provides possible explanations for these comparative findings, and argues that the differences in consumer contract rules can be primarily attributed to a disparity of markets. The book offers a valuable resource, particularly for researchers and practitioners in the fields of private law and comparative law.

The assumption that competition law and consumer protection are mutually reinforcing is rarely challenged. The theory seems uncontroversial. However, because a positive interaction between the two is presumed to be self-evident, the frequent conflicts that do in fact arise are often dealt with on an ad hoc basis, with no overarching legal authority. There is a clear need for a detailed and coherent understanding of exactly where the complements and tensions between the two policy areas exist. Dr Cseres' in-depth analysis provides that understanding. Proceeding from the dual perspective of law and economics that is, of justice, fairness, and reasonableness on the one hand, and of efficiency of the other she fully considers such underlying issues as the following: the role of competition law and consumer law in a free market economy; the notion of consumer welfare; the effect of the modernisation of EC competition law for consumers; economics theories of information, bounded rationality, and transaction costs; the special significance of vertical agreements and merger control; and, how consumers are affected by information asymmetries. The ultimate focus of the book is on current and emerging EC law, in which a rapprochement between the two areas seems to be under way. Dr. Cseres provides a knowledgeable guide to the various strands of theory, policy, and jurisprudence that (she shows) ought to be taken into account in the process, including schools of thought and law and policy experience in both Europe and the United States. A special chapter on Hungary, where post-1989 law and practice reveal a fresh and distinctly forward-looking understanding of the matter, is one of the book's most extraordinary features. "Competition Law and Consumer Protection" stands alone as a committed contribution to bridging a gap in legal knowledge the significance of which grows daily. It will be of immeasurable value to a wide range of professionals from academics and researchers to officials, policymakers, and practitioners in competition law, consumer protection advocacy, economic theory and planning, business administration, and various pertinent government authorities.

This book advocates a new way of thinking about mortgage contracts. This claim is based on the assumption that we currently live in a political economy in which consumer debt fulfils a social function. In the field of housing this is evidenced by the expansion of mortgage credit through which consumers are to purchase residential property as a means of social inclusion and personal welfare. It is suggested that contract law needs to adjust to this new social function in order to avoid welfare losses in terms of default, over-indebtedness, and possibly eviction. To this end, this book analyses theoretical contract law frameworks and makes concrete proposals for contract law in the EU legal order.

This book consists of contributions exploring from different perspectives the 'images' of the consumer in EU law. The images of the consumer form the foundation for various EU policies, more or less directly oriented towards the goal of consumer protection. The purpose of the volume is to establish what visions of the consumer there are in different contexts of EU law, whether they are consistent, and whether EU law's engagement with consumer-related considerations is sincere or merely instrumental to the achievement of other goals. The chapters discuss how consumers should be protected in EU contract, competition, free movement and trade mark law. They reflect on the limits of the consumer empowerment rationale as the basis for EU consumer policy. The chapters look also at the variety of concerns consumers might have, including the cost of goods and services, access to credit, ethical questions of consumption, the challenges of excessive choice and the possibility to influence the content of regulatory measures, and explore the significance of these issues for the EU's legislative and judicial process.

The book renders a basic overview, in the English language, of current issues and problems in international and Swiss finance market law for both an international and national readership. The first part is concerned with basic facts and figures and the international framework upon which Swiss finance market law is based (in particular, the IMF, WTO, GATS, BIS, IOSCO etc., as well as EU law), followed by an overview of the events regarding dormant accounts. The second part elaborates on the SNB, the FBC and the Swiss banking and securities law (including takeover law). Separate chapters are devoted to the securities alliances, the corporation as a finance instrument and investment funds. Finally, the book covers relevant criminal law subjects in the finance field, banking confidentiality and administrative and legal assistance.

This is the first systematic comparative study into how consumer alternative dispute resolution (ADR) systems work, the differing national architectures within which they operate, and how they can be improved. It describes ADR schemes in France, Germany, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the UK, as well as emerging pan-EU dispute resolution schemes. The use of techniques of mediation, conciliation, and adjudication are noted. The book also covers EU measures on consumer ADR, and the 2011 proposals for legislation on ADR and online dispute resolution. Data on volume, cost, and duration of ADR schemes are compared, both between different systems and with courts. The findings underpin EU and national developments, and outline options for future policy. Proposals are included for the functions, scope, performance, essential requirements, architecture, and operation of ADR systems. The relationships between ADR, courts, and regulators are discussed, and the need for reforms are noted. This is a ground-breaking work that will have a major impact on European legal systems. (Series: Civil Justice Systems)

This book seeks to enrich and, in some cases, reverse current ideas on corruption and its prevention. It is a long held belief that sanctions are the best guard against corrupt practice. This innovative work argues that in some cases sanctions paradoxically increase corruption and that controls provide opportunities for corrupt transactions. Instead it suggests that better regulation and responsive enforcement, not sanctions, offer the most effective response to corruption. Taking both a theoretical and applied approach, it examines the question from a global perspective, drawing on in particular a regulatory perspective, to provide a model for tackling corrupt practices.

This collection of essays is dedicated to Brian Harvey,the retired Professor of Property Law at the University of Birmingham. The contributions reflect his eclectic interests and bring new insights to issues of property law, both real and personal, consumer protection, auction sales and tax. Historical, human rights, public law, European Community and international aspects are addressed in addition to persistent domestic conveyancing concerns. Contributors: Peter Cook, David Feldman, Jonathan Harris, Tim Kaye, Jeremy McBride, Frank Meisel, Norman Palmer, Deborah Parry, David Salter, Carla Shapreau, John Stevens, Mark Thompson, Nick Wikeley and John Wylie.

New rules on distance contracts provided for the Consumer Rights Directive of 25 October 2011 do not apply to package holidays or contracts falling within the scope of the Timeshare Directive. Moreover, contracts for passenger transport services and contracts for the provision of accommodation, car rental, catering or leisure services if the contract provides for a specific date or period of performance are not covered by some of these rules. Yet measures aimed at protecting the consumer when a contract is concluded via the phone, the Internet, by mail or other means of distance communication play a role in tourism. This book helps readers to navigate through uncertainties in travel contracts regarding information requirements, the right of withdrawal or providing alternative services. Findings reveal that consumer acquis is inadequately adapted to the features of the tourism industry when an optional instrument based on the Draft Common Frame of Reference might be used in the future.

Contract: General Principles examines the concepts, principles and rules relating to contracts, and considers the jurisprudential, constitutional, and social context in which contract law operates. The authors’ expert analysis and exposition of the legislative and common-law principles underlying the law of contract provides a rich, illuminating reading experience for legal practitioners, law students, and members of the general public interested in the subject. The authors explore the theoretical basis and structure of the South African law of contract and discuss the role played by the courts – which includes discussions of the latest court decisions and other sources of reference – in the interpretation and application of these rules and principles. Where the law is not settled, divergent opinions are considered and solutions offered, often referring to foreign jurisdictions.

The sixth edition of Contract: General Principles highlights the importance of the Consumer Protection Act in relation to the construction and conclusion of contracts, and includes a discussion of new developments in the electronic age, including the use of smart contracts and their application to various aspects of contracting. Close attention is paid to the influence of constitutional jurisprudence and the role of good faith and ubuntu in the formation and enforcement of legal agreements, or as informing the application of the public policy standard. The treatment of the practical application of this standard in the context of agreements in restraint of trade has also been significantly expanded.

While the book’s basic approach has been retained, the chapters have been substantially refined and reworked with a sharper focus on the applicable principles and rules.

This book discusses the role of private law as an instrument to produce financial and social inclusion in a context characterised by the redefinition of the role of the State and by the financialisation of society. By depicting the political and economic developments behind the popular idea of financial inclusion, the book deconstructs that notion, illustrating the existence and interaction of different discourses surrounding it. The book further traces the evolution of inclusion, specifically in the European context, and thus moves on to analyse the legal rules which are most relevant for the purposes of bringing about the financialisation of the citizen. Hence, the author focuses more on four highly topical areas: access to a bank account, access to credit, over indebtedness, and financial education. Adopting a critical and inter-disciplinary approach, The Financialisation of the Citizen takes the reader through a top-down journey starting from the political economy of financialisation, to the law and policy of the European Union, and finally to more specific private law rules.

Web Systems Design and Online Consumer Behavior takes and interdisciplinary approach toward systems design in the online environment by providing an understanding of how consumers behave while shopping online and how certain system design elements may impact consumers' perceptions, attitude, intentions, and actual behavior. This book contains theoretical and empirical research from expert scholars in a number of areas including communications, psychology, marketing and advertising, and information systems. This book provides an integrated look at the subject area as described above to further our understanding of the linkage among various disciplines inherently connected with one another in electronic commerce.