Marketers baffling you with bull? There’s a law against that

Having enough information about a service or product is one of the most important consumer rights, and the Consumer Protection Act protects your right to disclosure and information, which includes any consumer communication in plain and understandable language and sufficient information on labels.

The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) protects your right to information in plain and understandable language, as well as the information that must be on product labels and in trade descriptions and receipts as part of your right to disclosure and information.

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Plain and understandable language

Section 22 of the CPA stipulates that any notice, document or visual representation aimed at consumers must comply with the prescribed form if prescribed or otherwise in plain language.

As no form is prescribed, any communication with consumers must be in plain language that people in the group it is directed at who have average literacy skills and minimal experience as a consumer of the product or service in question will understand.

You must be able to understand the content, meaning and importance of the communication without undue effort, as well as its coherence, comprehensiveness and consistency.

This also applies to the organisation, form and style, vocabulary, sentence structure, use of illustrations, examples and headings or other aids.

The CPA makes provision for the National Consumer Commission to publish guidelines that will assist in deciding whether consumer communications comply with the requirements.

Product labels and trade descriptions

According to Section 24 of the CPA, a trade description is affixed to products if they are pasted on the products or any packaging or attached to the product, exhibited near the products so that consumers will believe it applies to them or appears in a badge, advertisement, catalogue, brochure, circular, wine lists, invoices, business letter, business newspaper or other commercial communication on which you can request or order the products.

Nobody is allowed to purposely affix a trade description to goods that is likely to mislead you, directly or indirectly, or alter, infringe, cover, remove or conceal a trade description or trademark to deceive you.

These provisions must be specifically complied with by retailers according to the CPA and they must also ensure that no one does it.

The producer or importer of goods must affix a trade description to products disclosing the country of origin and any other prescribed information.

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Prescribed trade descriptions

According to regulation 6, made in terms of the Act, textiles, such as wool and cotton, clothing and leather goods, such as shoes, must have a trade description indicating the country of origin, whether the textile or material was imported to make clothes in South Africa or whether the product was manufactured entirely in South Africa.

If the product is entirely manufactured here, the label must clearly state ‘Made in South Africa’ and it must comply with local standards for fibre content and care guidelines.

However, this regulation does not apply to textiles that are so small that one cannot attach a label, second-hand clothing imported for charity or goods that individual consumers bring into the country, as long as it does not exceed 1 000 items per month.

Genetically modified organisms

Regulation 7 determines that the labels on products containing genetically modified organisms must indicate it. This regulation applies to genetically modified organisms that have been approved for commercial use by the Executive Council for Genetically Modified Organisms, which was established in terms of the Genetically Modified Organisms Act.

Only the labels of genetically engineered mielies, cotton and soybeans require this indication.

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Receipts

Section 26 states that certain information must be on any receipt received given to consumers. The receipt must be in writing and contain the supplier’s full name or registered business name, as well as the VAT registration number if applicable, the dealer’s address, the date of the transaction, a name or description of the product or service, the unit price, quantity, total price before tax, the amount of taxes and the total price.

Transactions that are subject to Section 43 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act are not subject to this section.