Consumer contracts under the Zambian Law: Does legislation provide adequate consumer protection?
Date
2013-05-20
Authors
Ngo'ma, Eustace
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Abstract
The contents of this dissertation reveal the findings of a research conducted on the status of consumer contracts under Zambian law. The objective of the study was to examine whether there is adequate consumer protection provided under Zambian law. With the concept of freedom of contract being well pronounced in contract law, a question is often posed as to whether there is any real need for consumer protection as opposed to letting the parties be free to negotiate whatever contract terms they deem fit. The simple answer to this question is 'y£s', the supporting argument being that in ordinary commercial transactions the individual consumer usually stands at a disadvantage as compared to the trader in terms of both getting the ultimate satisfaction from the product or services he/she buys and in getting effective redress in the event that the goods or services are found to be of substandard or poor quality. The reality, however, is that in the simple transactions of the market place, the consumer is, no doubt, taken to be his own guide. When he buys a kilogramme of tomatoes or takes a garment for dry cleaning at a laundry, he has only himself to blame if the tomatoes were unripe or the fabric of the garment gets damaged in the process. Yet, even in medieval times, the law stepped in to protect the buyer of adulterated wine or mouldy bread. Today, with an enormous variety of goods available for purchase, many of them pre-packed or mechanical or of intricate workmanship, so that any deficiencies are inevitably hidden, far greater consumer protection is called. In the complex field of consumer services too - repairers, dry cleaners, garages, insurance companies - legal rules are required to redress the natural imbalance between the individual consumer and 'Them'.
An argument is advanced that the current laws that address consumer welfare do not provide adequate protection to the individual consumer in the event that they purchase goods that are defective or unsafe, or the acquire services that are poorly done. Correlative to this argument the study shows how Victorian ideas of freedom and sanctity of contract, embodied in court decisions, stand in the way of the much needed reform. It is further argued that the institutions that look into specific aspects of consumer welfare have failed to sufficiently provide the needed support to the consumer as they lack the resources to adequately support their efforts. It is therefore advanced that there is a strong need for more comprehensive legislative intervention, stronger institutional set-up and wider approaches to consumer welfare in order to build a more efficient system for consumer protection in Zambia.
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Consumer rights