The objective of this casebook, like others in the Ius Commune Series, is to help uncover common roots, notwithstanding differences in approach, of the European legal systems, with a view to strengthening the common legal heritage of Europe. The casebook covers the big legal families in the EU and contains judgments from the supreme courts and other courts of the Member States. In view of the importance of EC legislation (eg harmonisation directives and regulations) in this field, the consumer law casebook contains much material derived from Community law, such as extracts from directives (eg on unfair contract terms, distance selling, doorstep selling, product liability, unfair commercial pratices etc) and judgments of the ECJ and national court decisions. Furthermore, attention is paid to the way in which, when interpreting EC directives in the consumer field, the ECJ refers to concepts common to the legal systems of the Member States and how the courts of the Member States incorporate the concepts found in the directives (as interpreted by the ECJ) in their legal systems. The casebook also compares harmonised and pre-harmonised law, especially in the case law of the Member States. The casebook concentrates on private law in the field of consumer protection but also addresses topics, in particular in the field of enforcement, that are primarily a matter of public law. Please click on the link below to visit the series website: www.casebooks.eu/consumerLaw.

When you buy something, do you bargain about the terms of sale? Is the only consumer choice to buy or not to buy? If sellers tend to treat all consumers alike, then is it possible that government can do a better job of protecting the consumer than consumers themselves can do?

Today, consumer law consists of the common law and government regulation, both of which have changed with the passing years-and will continue to change as new consumer problems arise. Yet, there are certain values underlying consumer rights and responsibilities reflected in law. If we can identify these values, we often can tell the direction the law will take.

This is a time in our history like no other time in our history, but then perhaps no time in history is quite like any other. The Unknown attorney is at it again writing her second legal how-to book, "The Great American Rip Off " On the horizon there is a crossroad. The signs point to corporate tyranny on one hand, and true democracy on the other. It is now up to us, the American people, the many, the middle class working Americans to decide which path we will follow. The path of democracy requires only one thing. It requires that we raise our voices and be heard by writing to our senators and congressmen and congresswomen and telling them how we feel. This is our test, but there are no right or wrong answers to this test. The only way to fail the test is to stand by idly and not to take the test at all.

Having trouble with PayPal, the author filed suit and got a $150.00 judgment. One of the reasons for using PayPal was to avail himself of their money back guarantee to insure that the product he bought via eBay would be in good working order. When PayPal did not honor their money back guarantee for the item, which turned out to be defective, he successfully sued them in small claims court for the amount of $150.00.
After being served with the summons and complaint, PayPal began firing all their guns at him. They began sending letters to the court challenging venue. They attempted to scare him into dismissing the lawsuit. One letter said in part, "If we do not hear from you, we intend to file a motion to compel arbitration, along with a request that PayPal be reimbursed for its attorneys fees and costs associated with enforcing the terms of the User Agreement." Another said that, "Plaintiff entered into a binding contract with PayPal according to which he agreed that for disputes of $10,000 or less, he would resolve the matter through binding arbitration or by filing a lawsuit in a court of competent jurisdiction in Santa Clara County, California." Because he was familiar with such "scare" tactics, he ignored that contention and filed his complaint in Los Angeles County.
In How I Sued PayPal and Won , he details step-by-step how he and another reader did it and so can you.
MY GUARANTEE TO YOU THAT YOU WILL WIN YOUR CASE. Click here for details.

CONTENTS: Preface Introduction -- Muriel Mitchell-Smith Regulations and Standards General and Biological Risks Radioluminous Materials Mining, Agricultural, and Construction Materials Containing Radioactivity Products Containing Radioactive Sources Miscellaneous Products Panel Discussion

This is a new book covering the Professional Stage syllabus for the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply's British Legal Aspects course. The book is completely up-to-date and incorporates all of the relevant changes in legislation up to 2001. The text is clear and concise and an excellent aid for those new to the subject but wishing to achieve a high level of understanding as quickly as possible. The book will also prove to be a useful asset to practicing purchasing managers who require a clear and concise guide to relevant law.

All modern legal systems within advanced economies must address the question of how to respond to the needs of insolvent consumers whose burden of debt greatly exceeds their capacity to repay within a reasonable time frame. This study surveys comparatively the insolvency regimes currently in place or likely to be adopted in the foreseeable future in Canada, the United States, Australia, England and Wales, Scotland, Scandinavia and a representative group of Western countries on the continent of Europe. Modern legal systems have two basic alternatives in providing relief for over-committed consumers. The first, which involves restricting the enforcement of individual creditor remedies is a method with which this study is not concerned. Where the consumer is seriously insolvent and owes money to many creditors, a different approach is required - a collective solution to debtor's problems - and this, the solution provided by modern insolvency systems, is the focus of this study.

This book explores how EU law constrains the freedom of the EU, the Member States, and private bodies to adopt measures that seek to protect social and environmental interests abroad by placing conditions on production processes in other states. The permissibility of such process-based measures has been examined primarily within the World Trade Organization (WTO) context, but the challenges that they present are equally for the EU internal market system. Ankersmit identifies three core challenges posed by process-based measures from an EU law perspective: extraterritoriality, unilateralism and the competitive and democratic problems created by private rule-making. It examines these issues in the context of free movement, competition, public procurement, and EU tax law. This book will appeal to academics, policy makers and practitioners interested in trade and environment, the social impact of trade law, and European and international market regulation.

This book offers a socio-legal exploration of localised consumer complaint processing and dispute resolution in the People's Republic of China - now the second largest consumer market in the world - and the experiences of both ordinary and 'professional' consumers. Drawing on detailed analysis of an impressive body of empirical data, this book highlights local Chinese understandings and practice styles of 'mediation', and identifies in popular consciousness a continuing sense of reliance on the government for securing consumer rights in China. These are not only important features of consumer dispute processing in themselves, but also help to to explain why no ombudsman system has emerged. This innovative book looks at the nature of China's distinctive dispute resolution and complaints system, issues within that system, and the experiences of consumers within it. The book illustrates the access to justice processes locally available to aggrieved consumers and provides a unique contribution to comparative consumer law studies in Asia and elsewhere.

This is the third edition of the casebook providing an article-by-article analysis of the CISG Convention. Offering a fully updated range of materials, this casebook is an excellent starting point for learning about the Convention and will be particularly useful for international trade lawyers, practitioners and students. The commentary on each article is accompanied by extracts from cases and associated comparative materials, as well as references to important trade usages such as the INCOTERMS (R) 2010. The book features an updated selection of the most significant cases, each of which has been abridged to enable the reader to focus on its essential features and the relevant questions arising from it. The case extracts are accompanied by a comprehensive overview of parallel provisions in other international instruments, uniform projects and domestic laws. The analyses, cases, texts and questions are intended to aid readers in their comparative law and international sales law studies. They are designed to draw attention to the particular issues surrounding specific CISG provisions and to provoke careful consideration of possible solutions. The book is a reference work as well as an introduction to the individual problem areas. In particular, it acts as a preparatory work for the Willem C Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot. Sample questions and answers are also included, which make it particularly helpful for self-study purposes.

The oversight of consumer product safety is a complex system involving many federal agencies. The United States Government Accountability Office identified eight agencies that have direct oversight responsibilities for consumer product safety: the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Department of Housing and Urban Development, Environmental Protection Agency, Food and Drug Administration, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard (within the Department of Homeland Security). All eight agencies conduct regulatory activities to promote consumer product safety, such as rulemaking, standard setting, risk assessment, enforcement, and product recalls. This book examines which federal agencies oversee consumer product safety and their roles and responsibilities; the extent and effects of any fragmentation or overlap in the oversight of consumer products; and collaboration among agencies to address any negative effects of fragmentation or overlap. This book also discusses the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008.

In the wake of the worst U.S. financial crisis since the Great Depression, Congress passed and the President signed into law sweeping reforms of the financial services regulatory system through the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act. This book provides an overview of the regulatory structure of consumer finance under existing federal law before the Dodd-Frank Act went into effect and examines arguments for modifying the regime in order to more effectively regulate consumer financial markets. Also analysed is how the CFP Act changes the legal structure, with a focus on the Bureau's organization; the entities and activities that fall and do not fall under the Bureau's supervisory, enforcement, and rule-making authorities; the Bureau's general and specific rule-making powers and procedures; and the Bureau's findings.

Title IX of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act deals with investor protection and securities regulation. Parts of Title IX address aspects of the securities markets that are commonly viewed as directly involved in the financial crisis, such as credit ratings and securitisation. In particular, the Madoff and Standard Ponzi schemes, discovered in late 2008 and early 2009, raised questions about the quality of regulation by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As a result, numerous provisions in Title IX address the SEC's performance and resources. This book provides brief summaries of selected provisions in Title IX and attempts to include these provisions that create new SEC authority, that were controversial during the legislative process and appear to have far-reaching consequences for the regulation of securities markets.

Beginning in 2007, U.S. financial conditions deteriorated, leading to the near collapse of the U.S. financial system in September 2008. Major banks, insurers, government-sponsored enterprises and investment banks either failed or required hundreds of billions in federal support to continue functioning. Congress responded to the crisis by enacting the most comprehensive financial reform legislation since the 1930s. The Dodd-Frank Act creates a new regulatory umbrella group with authority to designate certain financial firms as "systemically significant" and subjecting them to increased prudential regulation, including limits on leverage, heightened capital standards and restrictions on certain forms of risky trading. This book reviews issues related to financial regulation and provides brief descriptions of major provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act.

An estimated 13.5 percent of U.S. adults -- 30.2 million consumers -- were victims of one or more consumer fraud schemes during calendar year 2004. Some of the top consumer fraud schemes are: fraudulent weight-loss products; fraudulent foreign lotteries and buyer's club memberships; fraudulent prize promotions; fraudulent work-at-home programs; charity fraud and telephone scams. This book examines the epidemic of consumer fraud in the United States, whom is targeted and how to avoid becoming a victim.

This book reviews the techniques, mechanisms and architectures of the way disputes are processed in England and Wales. Adopting a comparative approach, it evaluates the current state of the main different types of dispute resolution systems, including business, consumer, personal injury, family, property, employment and claims against the state. It provides a holistic overview of the whole system and suggests both systemic and detailed reforms. Examining dispute resolution pathways from users' perspectives, the book highlights options such as ombudsmen, regulators, tribunals and courts as well as mediation and other ADR and ODR approaches. It maps numerous sectoral developments to see if learning might be spread to other sectors. Several recurrent themes arise, including the diversification in the use of techniques; adoption of digital, online and artificial technology; cost and funding constraints; the emergence of new intermediaries; the need to focus accessibility arrangements for people and businesses that need help with their problems; and identifying effective ways for achieving behavioural change. This timely study analyses the shift from adversarial legalism to softer means of resolving social problems, and points to a major opportunity to devise an imaginative and holistic strategic vision for the jurisdiction.

The production, marketing and exportation of food is particularly important to the Irish economy. The sector continues to grow and has played a very significant role in Ireland's financial recovery. This important new book provides a much needed overview of the field. It traces the history and development of the fledgling system of food law as it was in Ireland during colonial times and the Irish Free State, through to an examination of the current dynamic relationship between International, European Union and domestic laws on matters such as food safety, food labelling and advertising, protected food names, hygiene and food contamination. The book also contains detailed assessments of the ways in which the law is used to address current health concerns, such as those related to nutrition, obesity and alcohol abuse, as well as such issues as food fraud, animal welfare, organics and the use of technologies like genetic modification, cloning and nanotechnology in food production.

This book provides an accessible introduction to selected new issues in transnational law, and connects them to existing theoretical debates on transnational business regulation. More specifically, (i) it introduces the argument about the evolving character of contemporary international business regulation; (ii) it provides an overview of some of the main fields of law that are currently important for firms that operate across borders; and (iii) it sets out an interpretive framework for making sense of disparate developments occurring across a number of jurisdictions, among which are the form of regulation and style of enforcement, issues of legal certainty, and behavioural aspects of regulation. The selected topics are indicative of some key issues confronting businesses looking to operate across national borders, as well as policy makers seeking to introduce and enforce meaningful regulatory standards in an increasingly global society. Topics include: consumer law; product liability; warranty law and obsolescence; collective redress; alternative dispute resolution; corporate wrongdoing; corporate governance; and e-commerce. This timely work offers a novel perspective on transnational business law and examines a range of legal issues that preoccupy companies operating transnationally. This book is intended not only for law students looking for an introduction, overview or commentary on the contemporary state of international business law, but also for anyone looking for an introduction to the regulation of business in a global, inter-connected economy.

This book charts the transformative shifts in techniques that seek to deliver collective redress, especially for mass consumer claims in Europe. It shows how traditional approaches of class litigation (old technology) have been eclipsed by the new technology of regulatory redress techniques and consumer ombudsmen. It describes a series of these techniques, each illustrated by leading examples taken from a 2016 pan-EU research project. It then undertakes a comparative evaluation of each technique against key criteria, such as effective outcomes, speed, and cost. The book reveals major transformations in European legal systems, shows the overriding need to view legal systems from fresh viewpoints, and to devise a new integrated model.

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.

How do ordinary people access justice? This book offers a novel socio-legal approach to access to justice, alternative dispute resolution, vulnerability and energy poverty. It poses an access to justice challenge and rethinks it through a lens that accommodates all affected people, especially those who are currently falling through the system. It raises broader questions about alternative dispute resolution, the need for reform to include more collective approaches, a stronger recognition of the needs of vulnerable people, and a stronger emphasis on delivering social justice. The authors use energy poverty as a site of vulnerability and examine the barriers to justice facing this excluded group. The book assembles the findings of an interdisciplinary research project studying access to justice and its barriers in the UK, Italy, France, Bulgaria and Spain (Catalonia). In-depth interviews with regulators, ombuds, energy companies, third-sector organisations and vulnerable people provide a rich dataset through which to understand the phenomenon. The book provides theoretical and empirical insights which shed new light on these issues and sets out new directions of inquiry for research, policy and practice. It will be of interest to researchers, students and policymakers working on access to justice, consumer vulnerability, energy poverty, and the complex intersection between these fields. The book includes contributions by Cosmo Graham (UK), Sarah Supino and Benedetta Voltaggio (Italy), Marine Cornelis (France), Anais Varo and Enric Bartlett (Catalonia) and Teodora Peneva (Bulgaria).

This book proposes a new way of thinking about the controversial and complex challenges associated with the regulation of high-cost credit, specifically payday lending. These products have received significant attention in both the media and political arena. The inadequacy of regulatory interventions has created ongoing problems with the provision of high-cost credit, particularly for consumers with lesser bargaining power and who are already financially vulnerable. The book tackles two specific gaps in the existing literature. The first involves inadequate analysis of the relevant philosophical concepts around high-cost credit, which can result in an over-simplification of what are particularly complex issues. The second is a lack of engagement in both the market and lived experience of borrowers, resulting in limited understanding of those who use these financial products. The Future of High-Cost Credit explores the theoretical grounding, policy initiatives and interdisciplinary perspectives associated with high-cost credit, making a novel and insightful contribution to the existing literature. The problems with debt extend far beyond the legal sphere, and the book will therefore be of interest to many other academic disciplines, as well as for those working in public policy and 'the third sector'.